Fuggit. Today was tough as hell. The day started out with an 18 mile stretch of too many trucks and not enough shoulder. I was happy that Nick and Lael gifted me a reflective construction vest. I think I can notice a difference in how vehicles treat me when I'm wearing it. I'll take whatever I can get.
The trip is what you make it in most cases, so I can only blame myself for a lot of today's difficulties. I was tired, and I ran out of water. No water = no cooking. I needed a rest. I wanted to stop at about 40 miles, but in spite of directions and GPS, I got fairly lost and added about 10-15 miles to the route.
I didn't find water until 60 miles or so, and I was feeling worn out. I didn't eat very well, because I'm not very smart. I had a sub and a Clif Bar today, and now I'm sitting in Subway drinking a Coke and wishing I had a better place to sleep. It's 7pm on the dot, and I've already covered over 80 miles - much further than I was planning, and I don't want to go overboard and hurt myself. I'm already feeling like less than a normal human, and not in the good way, either.
On the upside, I'm close to Charlottesville. Charlottesville is on Adventure Cycling's TransAm trail, and I will be following that all the way to Oregon, god willing. I am hoping to meet people, and take my time. I have a guidebook that breaks the trip down into manageable sections of about 40-60 miles per day. I'm ready to start using the book and go into putt-putt tourist mode.
I'm writing this paragraph in the present tense. I'm going to decide between sleeping in the crunkest clearing that's sort of used as a trash dump behind a Family Dollar, or bust it even further down the road, hoping for something better. I technically feel good enough to continue, but I'm also used to beating myself up until I'm delirious and in pain. It's something I need to quit doing.
If you haven't done so, I think you would enjoy reading Peter Jenkins' book " A Walk Across America". He often slept in grave yards, saying they were one of the safest, least frequented places at night.
ReplyDeleteI totally read the first book where he sets off and horses around until he gets to Louisiana. It was fairly great. Having finished my cross country tour by now, I can safely say I've gotten a LOT better at finding places to sleep. Actually, I found a nice place to set up camp right after writing this post in a Subway restaurant. No trashy clearings for me... I moved on to sleep in the woods on the outskirts of a huge horse farm.
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