November 3, 2008
like chicken fried steak, dustin, gumpish, kevin
Day Forty Three
"The only mystery in life is why kamikaze pilots wore helmets."
- Al McGuire -
Head injury accounts for 62% of all bicycle-related deaths. [source]
Head injury is the most common cause of death and serious disability in bicycle-related crashes. [source]
The use of bicycle helmets is effective in preventing head injuries. [source]
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I was the only guest at the Inn last night so I had my own little breakfast table set up in the lobby.
After a day and a half of rest and a great breakfast, I felt pretty strong this morning -- and my knees didn't hurt. In order to trim a few miles off the day's total mileage I left the route in Clinton and will pick it up again in Tangipahoa. Unfortunately, that means I won't be going on the Britney Spears tour since Kentwood is four miles off the route. Earlier I had only planned to go there so I'd have a place to stay.
Here are some pictures taken today:
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Greensburg is the last bastion of civilization until my stop for the night, so I veered in to the cafe for a bite to eat.
If you've ever traveled in The South, finding food that isn't deep fried is akin to finding a unicorn in your backyard. At the counter I asked about the turkey sandwich.
"Is it fried?" I inquired, innocently enough. The waitress gave me a raised eyebrow and a suspicious look, as if I’d just asked if I could take a sheep into the restroom.
“Yeah, it is. Like a chicken fried steak, you know, but turkey.” Her tone was oozing patronization, as if she were explaining quantum physics to a six-year-old.
With a sigh, I resigned myself to another burger. At this point, burgers had become my default meal of choice, the culinary equivalent of wearing the same pair of underwear every day for a week.
I took a seat near a guy in a FedEx uniform who plopped down seconds before me. FedEx drivers, as you may know, are like migratory birds, always on the move, and alighting only briefly to eat. So, when this one, named Dustin, struck up a conversation, I was happy to chat for a few minutes.
Dustin, as it turned out, isn't your average courier. He worked for FedEx "just to keep busy," which, for him, meant driving almost four hundred miles in a twelve-hour shift. He owns a couple of companies, and just reinvests in them. He's 28 years old, and plans to accept a transfer to Hawaii in about three months. His bucket list is lengthy, and one of the items on it is to teach surfing in Hawaii. His goal isn't to surf, it's to teach surfing. Accepting a transfer will help enable him to do that.
He tries to stay in good shape by kayaking and bicycling, balancing both upper and lower body strength. He staves off the inevitable sleepiness of 12-hour drives by going to the back of the truck to do push ups, or walk a few laps around the outside.
He mentioned a previous business venture in which he taught mountain climbing in Baton Rouge. When he saw my raised eyebrows, he added,
"Yeah, I realize there aren't any mountains there, but it did okay."
When we were talking about my bike trip, he compared me to Forrest Gump. Dustin is the third person to do so this trip, and that doesn’t include my wife. I wondered if it’s the activity of traveling across the country, but I’m coming to suspect it’s more related to my apparent intelligence level.
"That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little ride. So I rode to the end of the road, and when I got there, I thought maybe I'd ride to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d just ride across Greenbow County. And I figured since I rode this far, maybe I’d just ride across the great state of Alabama…."
That's not EXACTLY how my trip started, but Heather still thinks I'm Gumpish, in a general way. Backpedaling, she amends it with,
"But, you know, in a GOOD way."
Dustin’s FedEx machine buzzed and he said goodbye, then bolted out of the door as if I'd just asked him to accept Jesus into his heart. His departure was so abrupt I didn't even think to get a picture.
Back on the road, just east of Tangipahoa where I hooked up with the ACA route again, I came across another cyclist coming from the opposite direction. Kevin, a drywall contractor from Durango, Colorado, was able to take some time off work for his first transAmerican trip.
As bikers do, we traded tips about what was ahead of each of us. He told me about a great place to camp and, more importantly, where to find a two-story mobile home which, seriously, I would love to see.
He was dressed differently than most cyclists I've seen. For one, he was wearing jeans. They were rolled up to keep the cloth from getting ripped on the chainring (though, like shoelaces, it's ultimately impossible and his were torn). Instead of cycling gloves he was wearing regular cotton gloves with no padding. I would like to have known why, but there's very little time to get past the basics when you're standing on the side of the road going in opposite directions. After a while, you both start feeling antsy about climbing back onto the saddle.
He didn't use sunscreen because he wasn't sure what type of problems it may cause later in life if you use it. I understand the seeming logic, but I also know that there is an absolute increase in the incidence of skin cancers, including squamous cell, basal cell, and malignant melanoma, if you don't block the sun. Perhaps a long sleeve shirt and a hat that covers one's ears would be in order. I'm sounding judgmental, but didn't mention any of this to him.
I did, however, ask him why he wasn’t wearing the helmet that was strapped on to the back of his bike. On rare occasions I’ve pedaled without one (once on this trip), and was curious.
“I just don’t like wearing it,” he shrugged.
My wife is a Mayo Clinic-trained physician who treats brain injuries, some of which have occurred as a result of riding a bicycle without a helmet. So, nodding my head, I pulled out a quote from Klaus and agreed with him,
"Yeah, I don't know why I bother wearing a helmet - it's only saved my life once in all the time I've worn it."
23 miles later I stopped for the night in Franklinton, recalling today's interesting cast of characters that make these trips so memorable.
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distance: 72.5 miles
average speed: 12.2 mph
maximum speed: 26.8 mph
time on the bike: 5:54:25
cumulative: 2111 miles
Today's ride: 73 miles (117 km)
Total: 2,113 miles (3,401 km)
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