Late last night, I was finally able to get in touch with a friend of mine, Renee, who used to work with me at the Public Defender's Office in Pensacola, but who moved back to Louisiana several months ago. I knew she lived in the area, but I hadn't been able to get in touch with her. As I was pedaling up the road, freezing to death, she passed me on the road and pulled over. I sat in her SUV for awhile, enjoying the heater and the coffee and donuts she had brought me (and Mike, but he was still at the campground, so I ate his donuts later. Sorry, Mike.). As it turns out, Renee lived within a few miles of where we had camped and could have put us up for the night. Oh, well. It was nice to see her again, if only for a few minutes on the side of the road.
The campground we had stayed at turned out to be 8 miles out of the way. Lesson: never, never, never depend on directions from people who do not ride bicycles. They have no concept of what eight miles means. And as it turns out, Renee told me there was a campground on the route we had wanted to take. Grrrr.
Once I got on track, it was just a grinding ride to make miles. The road we decided to take had a nice shoulder in some places and no shoulder in others, which made for treacherous riding with the logging trucks, dump trucks and other vehicles. There wasn't much to see and few facilities to stop at. Curiously, stores didn't have public restrooms. Not sure what was up with that. It never really warmed up and there was, at times, a fairly steady headwind. It was just a cold, miserable day.
After noon, Mike finally caught up with me. He was really dragging his feet this morning packing up. I thought he might be baling on me, so I was glad to see him at mid-day. I was lonely riding alone all morning. I didn't see Carol all day, as she was too far ahead.
If all that weren't enough, I pulled a muscle yesterday down the side of my left leg. It was excruciating to get on and off the bike. It wasn't so bad riding, but it got worse as the day progressed. By mid-afternoon, I was in A LOT of pain. When we lost the shoulder to the road late in the day, I nearly had a meltdown on the side of the road.
Oh, and just when I thought I had resolved my bike issues, my left brake lever pulled out and started hanging down, unusable. I popped it back in a few times, but it just swings freely now. I'm going to have to put a rubber band around the lever and my handlebar grip to keep it in place. Otherwise, the brake itself works fine. It's just the lever that is broken. Oy.
So I'm kind of at my breaking point right now. It's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow morning. Then it's going to be bone-chilling cold for the next week. I knew this was going to be hard -- physically challenging. And I knew we would have some cold weather, but I just didn't anticipate how awful the weather was consistently going to be. So I don't know how much longer I can take it. This isn't fun in the least.
The only saving grace for the day is that Mike and I found this totally awesome Bed and Breakfast in Jackson, LA. It's an old house (circa 1836). It was expensive, but I was in too much pain to ride the last 8 miles to the next campground. We'd already done 60 miles. And the thought of camping in a mix of rain and snow was totally unappealing. Fortunately, Mike agreed. So we got a room.
I feel bad, though, because we have a new member joining our group today. Dave is from Houston. His wife drove him here to ride with us. We had agreed to meet at the campground, which is where he is, but I just couldn't go on. Carol showed up there about 5:30, too. So they're going to freeze tonight, while Mike and I enjoy sleeping in a warm bed. Sorry, guys.
I'm not sure what we're going to do tomorrow. A lot depends on the weather. If the roads are icy, no one will be going anywhere. So stay tuned on our destination for tomorrow.
Okay, so that's it. Time for bed.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone
Sara,Bummer Deluxe,what can i say? not much other than this too shall pass,if it was all good how would you know?hang in there things WILL GET BETTER,and if not ?there is no shame in bailing out,as long as you can say you gave it your best shot,HOWEVER i believe YOU CAN DO THIS.if you give up you will forever question yourself and any challenge that comes your way.get in touch with that thing inside of you and just tell your self YOU CAN DO THIS. just remember i wouldnt be sober if i had thrown in the towel when things got hard and did not look like they would get any better,maybe this is not as important to you as my sobriety is to me,i cant begin to know that,plus i guess its not a matter of life and death like my sobriety is. HOWEVER I DO BELIEVE YOU CAN DO THIS AND THAT YOU DO HAVE IT IN YOU TO OVERCOME THIS HARDSHIP,remember it wont always be this hard ,THERE ARE BETTER DAYS TO COME,just do it one wheel revolution at at time AND YOU WILL GET THERE,either way whatever you decide ,YOU WILL BE A HERO IN MY BOOK and i look forward to one day getting to pensacola and riding with you. your friend David a.k.a. Dave The Wave
ReplyDeleteKeep trucking Sara! And when you finish, you can come back here and be the coolest girl I know. It's not going to be fun, but as you get stronger and the days get warmer, you will be so proud of yourself. You'll have that for the rest of your life, and no one will be able to take that away. Love you!
ReplyDelete1. Today is your one week anniversary of life as a cross-country cyclist. Congratulations!!!! Very few can claim the title of one who has even attempted such an epic journey.
ReplyDelete2. By my calculation, you've ridden a bazillion miles. (Clearly, there is a reason I'm a lawyer and not a mathmatician... but you have ridden a long way!) So pat yourself on the back for that.
3. The weather sucks. But Spring will come. Hopefully soon... but I promise, it is coming. And with it, the sun, the birds, the flowers, the regrowth of green, the world in all its splendor. The winter can't last forever.
4. You and the rest of the gang all talked about how it would take at least two weeks to get your "legs"... but you all said that once you pass that two week mark of pure hell, then the journey would become so much easier and you'd really be able to enjoy yourself. You are halfway there!
and last but not least:
5. You are loved. You are great. You can do this if you choose to continue. But you are still loved and great if you decide that bicycling to California is not for you. We are all pulling for you and I really hope you stick it out because I know you CAN do it.... but if not, rent a car, drive to California, hike the PCT, or lay on the beach with a mimosa and a good book and enjoy life. Or come home and come back to fighting injustice with our gang. I know you miss the jail! ;) You only live once. Make yourself happy!
Clearly am I not only NOT a mathmatician, but I apparently can't read a calendar either.... Today is your one week + one day anniversary. Still a milestone, right? Chin up. You got this!
ReplyDeleteHi Sara
ReplyDeleteI know what the continued bad weather can do to a persons will to continue. If you and some of the others can find a place to hole up for a few days where it's warm and wait for the weather to warm up a little that might be the best thing to do.
Allen