Day 80

Gunshot
I woke up to the sound of bees. Apparently I had camped near some flowers again. I slept in a bit because yesterday was pretty exhausting- lots of freeway. Plus I was putting off fixing my flat. When I finally got up, I looked around and spotted several spiders in their webs. Luckily they weren't the crazy big ones I was used to. I flipped over my bike and quickly found the wire (or maybe it was a staple). The hole was easy to find and easy to patch. I pumped for what seemed like forever. I thought for sure that it was still leaking. But finally the tire felt hard enough. I packed up and left. Somehow I ran into a small web on the way- I have no idea how, considering that's the way I came in. I was on a low traffic highway, then some backroads, then finally into the city where the bike route started, Prentiss. I restocked at a Family Dollar. I bought water, even though I figured the trail would have fountains. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. A few people asked me about my trip while I was outside. Unfortunately I'm finally in the part of the country where people are ridiculously hard to understand. Their accent is at just the right point. I'm my even sure I could mimic it with any accuracy. Anyways, I think I've finally gotten to the point where my trip is finally impressive to pretty much anyone. I've usually been so close to Montana that it has not always seemed that big of a deal to people. But it's fun to tell people, " I started in Montana, I've been through 27 states, I've traveled over 5,000 miles, I've been on the road for 80 days." I pedalled a few blocks and got on to the glorious bike path. For 43 miles, nothing interesting happened, except that I saw like 2 deer, I peed a lot, and I lost my bite valve. One deer sighting was interesting because it was prancing towards me rather than away. It was far away to begin with though. It was a totally overcast, nice, cool day, all day. I was thinking that without sweating as much as I'm used to, my body had to get rid of that water somehow. Or maybe that's just how I react to Swedish fish. My bite valve is how I drink water. I have another one, but it was very convenient to be able to switch my waters out without switching the straw. When I got to the end of the path, I was hoping to stop by a bike shop. I've had the same front tire for the entire trip- it's starting to show the fibers and it had a few holes. My steering has felt just a little wonky. I think it's partially from the uneven bike path, the wind, and I bet my front tire is so worn out that it's not perfectly round anymore. My back one could use a replacement too.  Unfortunely, the two in town close early on Saturdays. If I get anywhere tomorrow, it'll be Sunday, and basically all bike shops are closed. Oh well. Navigation through the city wasn't too bad, although I had to be in the road. The speed limit was like 30mph so people just passed me. I got onto a divided highway with lovely shoulders- then it changed several times. At one point a car passed so close to me that I'm sure they weren't paying attention. I stopped at a gas station to restock. I hoped to make it past Richton, but since it was dark all day and I was going east, I realized it would start getting dark right after 7. I set up camp early. I'm close to the highway and technically visible, but people are going by at 60mph. There's no way they are going to glacé over and see a green tent among all the trees and bushes.