A “Small” Blip In The Road
Back on the bike and smoothly going up and down the hills with a great tempo, I rode 34 miles in 3 hours. At the beginning of a 15 mile construction site, I waited for the traffic supervisor, Dylan, who gives a ride to all bicyclists that come that way. Nobody gets through without a pilot vehicle escort and cycling is not an option.
After being dropped off on the other side, I was back in the cruising mode, life was good, well for a few moments. A loud crash from behind me brought me back to reality and there was my rack, tent, and two panniers laying in the road. Only one thought crossed my mind, my trip depended on me saving the gear! Sitting on the shoulder with all the pieces, I wondered if I could put it back together with duct tape and zip ties. Two employees with the town of Circle stopped to see if they could help. It took some creative thinking but they did get the rack back in place with nuts and bolts and it is still secure to this day.
To top things off, a thunderstorm was bearing down on us. Pedaling as hard as I could, I tried to outrun it. No such luck. I had put my rain jacket on but not the pants and those fancy booties. Arriving at my motel a bit soggy, I spent the next few hours drying out me and the bicycle!
Sunshine was back the next day, it was the best day of riding to date. The first 10 miles were rolling hills and then it turned flat. I averaged 13.9 mph that day and to top it all off was seeing the phone booth in the middle of nowhere. Too bad it didn’t work.
