Boogie to Boston: Holly to Canandaigua, NY

September 16, 2012

Well, not exactly. It's them thar rollers folks. Didn't factor that when I left

the flat canal path. Continuous rollers all the way from Holly to Canandaiqua. 3-6% grades. A Snicker bar an hour kinda day. I'm beat.

Wimped out and holed up in a motel, right across the road from a stealth camp spot. May be a very short day tomorrow. There's a state park about 18 miles east. Might be as far as I get, after testing the checkout rules at the motel.

We'll see how it goes.

Had good talks with Spoon and Oren today. Spoon is still winding down. Oren is very positive about the recumbent he bought in KC, and rode in Indianapolis yesterday. Legs did good which was the critical thing. I look forward to riding it when I stop in Little Rock on the way home.

Had a very special visit today in Avon with Lester. Lester owns a bike shop. Lester's friend Mikey spotted me at a C-store and invited me over to meet Lester. Lester has two bents and walks with a bit of a limp, having metal parts in both hip joints. Doesn't own a car. If Lester can do it Oren, so can you. Lester and I talked bikes for a while. I had to decline the invite to dinner due to mileage demands. Before I left, Lester made me a gift of his Livestrong bracelet to add to the Smokey the Bear one that my granddaughter gave me years ago. Two are better than one. Lester's will be used to keep my long pants out of the chain, as needed. Thanks Lester.

My bent is bent I think. I crashed it several months ago, but did not detect a problem. Somewhere east of Milwaukee, I noticed I was leaning to the right side when riding. And the idler pulley thing has to be at an angle for the chain to

stay on the pulleys. That's not right. I shimmed the right side of the seat so it's nearly level, but I'm still not totally aligned with the frame. A Bella may be in my future.

A word about my gadgets. The little puter is performing like a champ. The simple flip phone does all it's suppose to do, but no more. The new camera takes great

pictures when the photographer does what he's suppose to do. The gps gets me where I want to go with minimal hassle. But, my mp3 player gets the prize for entertainment. It plays the music I like, finds radio stations well, and serves as a memory crutch(voice recorder.) Makes the miles go by easier. All this, and not as big as a match box. This stuff has to be charged regularly, or have batteries replenished. Takes time away from riding. Life would be much simpler out here without all the electronics.

Maintaining this blog is slowing me down. It might not look like much, but takes a lot of time to compose and organize. Priority now is to get to Boston. The blog will play second fiddle to that. I'll fill in the blanks when I get home. Least that's how I'm feeling tonight. We'll see how it goes.

Daily angst: the bent bent.