I was surprised at the amount of light at 6:00, but considering sunrise is at 5:24 I really shouldn’t have been. Martin showed me his rattlesnake rattle collection and I left shortly thereafter. That wasn’t a cause and effect phenomenon. 

I was a bit peeved after I started riding. For the past several days the direction I’d been traveling ranged from south to southeast. As you already know, during that entire time the wind was coming from the south to southeast. Now that I’m traveling due east, the wind changed overnight and is now blowing from the ENE at 18-20 mph. I stopped frequently, grumbling at the wind gods.

I met a hitchhiker on his way to San Diego who told me, “All’s I got is a dollar.” I sometimes help people out, but not this time. I wasn’t even sure if the money I’d saved was going to get me through the summer.

In Syracuse (the first town in America to elect an all-woman city council, in 1887), I stopped at the tiny Sears & Roebuck where I purchased a few needed items. I also stopped at The Doghouse where I had something to drink, then Dairy Queen where I had two “Full Meal Deals.” I was in a bit of a sour mood because of the wind as I rode to the City Park to camp. 

Shortly after I’d pitched my tent in an out-of -the-wind corner, William Caldwell rode up on his touring bike. Three minutes later, Roger Shannon rode up on his touring bike from the opposite direction. Neither of them knew each other and, in fact, they were traveling in opposite directions. 

My spirits lifted as we talked. I learned that Roger, a tall, sandy-haired, 35-year-old with the frame of an aging rugby player, was recently divorced and recently laid off. (I realized as I was typing that it sounds like his misfortune lifted my spirits… again, NOT a cause and effect phenomenon)  His purpose in riding across the country was to get away from some old friends, and I got the impression they weren't very good "friends."  He smiled as he added, "I've got a thousand bucks and all the time I want.” 

During our initial conversation he told the story of the town he had just passed through. He left his wallet, with the thousand dollars in it, on top of the Coke machine and rode out of town. Fortunately, he remembered it a short half mile later and sprinted back to the store where, fortunately, it was still there.

William was my age, 23, and rode the bus from his home in Tennessee to Boulder. He left there several days ago, planning to pedal back to Nashville. 

The three of us talked about our trips so far, and compared bikes and gear. Both of their bikes were very heavily loaded, mine less so (they both had front panniers). William referred to me as “lean and mean” because I traveled with so little gear. What he didn’t realize was that I was taking everything I could afford.

That night we slept on picnic tables, tentless in our sleeping bags, under the pavilion in the City Park, enjoying each other’s company and conversation. 

Heart

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