Writer's cramp? I don't know. I see it has been a week since I blogged. Today is a rest day, so I am going to try to muse a bit about the trip. I have developed a few routines. In the mornings I check the weather on Accuweather. Do I need to prepare for rain and bag everything, or does it look dry? Then I get dressed and hope what I washed in the shower the night before is dry. Sometimes I use the hair dryer to finish the drying. Then I get dressed for my ride and pack my panniers. Electronics, chargers, vitamins, tubes, miscellaneous in one pannier and my riding clothes and T-shirts in the other pannier. My Levi's, sweater, tools and a few other things in my trunk bag. My rain gear and maps in the frame bag. Then I look around my room to see what is still out and what I might have missed. That has not been totally successful. I am missing one charger and a camera battery, which means I have to charge my one remaking camera battery every night and be strategic charging my phone and my remote charger; no problem. And now I refill my water bottles and usually remember to pump the tires up, or many times I remember to air the tires a few miles down the road. I am not sure why I have not got the tire part consistent every morning. Then, if the motel I am staying at has a complimentary breakfast, I take advantage of that feature ... or not. The quality can vary widely. My experience has been the Days Inn have the worst breakfasts, and bed and breakfast inns have the best, of course. If my lodging does not have a complimentary breakfast, then I get on the bike and look for a diner that has a table near a window where I can keep an eye on the bike while I eat.
After the engine is fueled, it is time to get back on route. If my lodging is on or near the route, that is easy. But sometimes I have cycled almost ten miles off route to find lodging, and in the morning I need to find the best route back to the Adventure Cycling route. While I am getting back on route, I am also looking for a service station with a convenience store where I can get a Gatorade, a Payday candy bar, and a couple of packs of peanut butter and crackers. These are my electrolyte, energy boost pops for the day. Now I am rolling. My Garmin GPS has my route marked, so I can always tell if I am on route. But periodically, I have to stop and pull out the maps so I can get a bigger picture of where I am and what is ahead. If I have a long day planned, I tell myself I have to not stop all the time and shoot pictures or it will be dark by the time I get to my destination, but that never works. If I see a potential picture, the other little voice in my head says, "You will never see that view again. Put on the brakes", and I stop, over and over again. Taking pictures can add two hours to a ride some days.
Once I start getting close to my end of day destination, I pull out my phone, check my email and get the address of the inn or motel I will be staying at. I Google map the address, and then use my navigation app with voice directions to guide me to the motel or inn. On a long day, my phone could be running out of battery, so I will pull out my remote charger (a small 12,000 ma rechargeable battery) and keep a charge on the phone while it directs me to where I will be staying.
Once I get to my destination, check in and get to my room, I start charging my accessories, my remote charger, my phone, my GPS, my camera and my iPad. The first communication I do is text Dennie and my brother and let them know I am in my room. Then I download my days route to the Garmin site and upload that to FaceBook. Next I take my SD chip from my camera and download my pictures for the day to my iPad. Then it is time to get out of my bike clothes and take a shower. I take my bike clothes with me into the shower and do a hand wash. Finish my shower and wash, hang up my laundry, and get dressed for dinner. I take my iPad with me, go down to the front desk, and inquire where I can walk for dinner. While I am at dinner, I review the days pictures and select the ones I am going to post to FaceBook. I limit myself to posting 16 or less pictures otherwise I could be posting 50 pictures of the same thing ... boring. And when I shoot a 100 pictures in a day, but only post 16, people think I am a good photographer. They don't see the bad stuff.
After dinner, I finish editing, titling and posting days pictures on Facebook. Usually by this time, it is late enough and I am tired enough, that I don't blog. I take a couple of Tylenol PM and hit the pillow. Today is a rest day in Port Jervis, NY, so I have time to blog. Next morning I get up and repeat the routine.
You will remember this trip for the rest of your life! They may be less than 20% of your photos but they are fantastic. Besides, stopping and smelling the roses, or taking a photo as the case may be, gives the muscles a few moments to stretch and relax.
ReplyDeleteKeep those tires pumped up and rolling.
Try this for drying your clothes: Wring them out by hand, of course, then lay them on a dry towel folded long ways on the floor. Tightly roll the wet clothes in the towel. Leave them alone for a few minutes wrapped in the towel, then unroll them and hang them up to dry fully. Gerry Oakland showed me this last year on the Arizona trip.
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