Starting odo 6347
Wake early! Wow, this going to sleep early really works! I start
taking the tent down from inside bit I realize that will leave the
tent poles outside of the large duffle I strap on back of the bike.
Since it's not raining, I decide to do it the normal way.
Having packed up, I head to the mcd for breakfast and wifi. As I enter
I see the USA Today cover has an article about a 1 billion gamble by
McDonalds to try and make their restaurants places people will want to
hang out in. I look inside, and there is a *fireplace* with armchairs
around it and a tv mounted overhead. So I eat and update the blog, and
now I'm sitting in an armchair with the iPod plugged in writing this!
I'm also waiting for it to recharge a bit.
On one of the quieter stretches, I see a person walking towards me in
the middle of the right lane. As I get close I see it's a woman, and
she is talking to me, so I stop. She has a German accent, and is from
Germany having lived in this area for 32 years. We talk for about
15-20 minutes just standing there in the road. She thinks the US's
destiny is to spread democracy to the world. I tell her that I don't
think our motives are always so pure. She is fun to talk to and I
finally continue on.
Sometime about 3 I stop for lunch at one of the ubiquitous coffee
stands that also has sandwiches. While she makes my sandwich I notice
there is no seating inside. She says she has to prove her water usage
is less than 250 gallons a day over a whole year before she can offer
a dining area.
Not too long after the route starts a climb of about 700 feet over
perhaps two miles. The road is not steep but it is relentless. Coming
down the other side, the next six miles go by very fast. The max speed
for today was 42 mph.
Having stopped a bit too much, I decide I can't make the next 20 miles
against a mild headwind with a decent cushion before sundown, so I
backtrack to Longview and a motel.
I spend the evening hand washing two days of clothes and looking at
the map for tomorrow, trying to figure out reasonable stopping places.
I notice to my dismay that my nose and ear are sunburned, I need to
put on sunscreen even though I can't remember any sun!
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