"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"
          -  Francis Pharcellus Church  -

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I woke up with the sunrise. Mornings are really pleasant here. I slept very comfortably, and didn't need a tent because there were no bugs.

I journaled for a while, then walked over to the bait shop where Wayne was visiting with his friend, Steve.

Steve and Wayne are in the process of starting a recycling business and they were discussing some of the hurdles.

I STILL had no cash and needed to go to the bank. When Wayne found out, he offered me a ride since he was going to the bank anyway.

One would think a bank would cash a traveler's check. One would be wrong.

Even the bank....

When Wayne found out they wouldn't cash my checks he asked the bank teller if I could sign them over to him, then he just give me the money. The cashier, a friend of his, gave me a quick, suspicious glance then said to Wayne in a voice barely above a whisper, "You know you're liable if..… if, something happens."

Without missing a beat, he replied, 

"Ohhhh, that’s not a problem. He's a friend of mine." 

…and the transaction was completed.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and his name is Wayne Pinkerton.

Back in the truck, I insisted on taking him and his girlfriend out for supper. He'd been so helpful, you know... practically saving my life and all, so I really wanted to do something for him.

“Yeah, that sounds GREAT!” he said.

There was a thoughtful pause, followed by,

''Or…..”  

He was lost in thought for a moment, then added,

“Maybe I'll have you over for some barbecue tonight. Yeah?"

                                                     …sigh....

Heather persuaded me to take today off , which wasn't a hard sell, so I pedaled the three miles into town and rented a cheap hotel at about 10:30. It was already in the low 90's, and by the time I got checked in I was dripping with sweat. After turning the AC on high, I took a shower and settled in.

Later, I walked across the street to the Sizzler restaurant for some lunch. Just as I arrived, two buses belched out their human contents, all of whom went inside ahead of me, so I went back to the room, climbed onto my bike, and slowly pedaled down the street to a Mexican food place.

At one point during the afternoon I briefly turned on the TV to see what the temperature was (106 degrees).

Wayne called at 6:40 to say he wasn't going to be able to make it because his girlfriend wasn't feeling well, but wished me the best of luck on my trip.

The rest of the evening consisted of washing and drying a load of laundry, walking across the street to eat at Sizzler, and talking to Heather.

It's impossible to ride after noon, so I decided to start waking up early and riding until 10:00 or 12:00, then check into a hotel. My plan tomorrow is to ride the 42 miles to Brenda, AZ, and stay at the Black Rock Motel.

Just to make sure things went smoothly I called the motel. No one answered, so I just left a message with my name and number. A couple of hours later I tried again with the same results.

I packed, set the alarm for 4:45 and went to bed, not having taken a single picture all day.

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distance:                          5.8 miles
average speed:               12.3 mph
maximum speed:          21.2 mph
time on bike:                   28:13
cumulative miles:         172 miles

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