Day 89

Berries or blood
I packed up and headed out. I had to push my bike back a long ways to finally get to the road. I decided to take the route Google suggested for walking- it was 155 miles rather than 172. It was a great choice for a long time- nice shoulders, then nice sidewalk, then an actual bike lane. Then normal road riding without much traffic. There were some hills, but eventually I got to one that just didn't stop. At one point I got a flat. My front tire felt weird all day. It turns out the tube wasn't in there right. I was worried about this when I put it in, but I thought it was fine. Now I was paying for it. There was a big crack at the stem- no fixing that. So much for having a thorn resistent tube. I switched it out. I had 5 spares two days ago. Now I have 3. Back on the road. I mean cliff, cause that's what it felt like. I glanced over after a while to find that I was practically level with some clouds. Wow. So much for a shortcut. At least I have some great views. I got into North Carolina and hoped there would be some down hill- nope. All the stuff before this was fine- there were very few cars to share the road with. But after a few miles the cars seemed to come out of nowhere. It really sucked. Climbing hills without traffic is bad enough. But I just kept at it. Finally I got to a town. It only took three tries to find a huge selection of post cards. Eventually I did get to a crazy downhill- it was nice to finally get some good miles in. I got to a level part and thought "You know, it would really suck if this was the wrong way." I knew it wasn't though. I checked my phone anyways. It was the wrong way. It was less than a mile, but that mile was uphill. I thought about just continuing on- the two paths did meet. But it looked shorter if I went back. I didn't have data, so I couldn't check it out to make sure it was paved. I might as well check. I started pedaling back and instantly found 3 dogs just chilling in the road, about to get ran over. I waved to the car and he slowed down- on second thought I'm sure he would have seen them. They started chasing after me- good, I'll try to get them off the road.  They had collars- maybe I'll call the number. A car pulled up soon after and said they belonged to the house up the road. She would see of anyone was home. The dogs followed the car, so I continued on. I got to the turn I missed- oh no, gravel. The sign said private drive, no trespassing. All that for nothing. Oh well. I zoomed back down the hill again. I got to a gas station and stocked up. A few miles later I got to a bike lane and I almost freaked out, I was so happy. I learned that the only reason it was there was because of the college nearby, but at least I could enjoy it for now. When I finally turned off, it was time to think about camp. There aren't many good spots around here- lots of steep grades. I got to the end of the road when...
So I'm kinda at a standoff now. I found a spot just before a bridge. I went into the trees but couldn't help it that people saw me. I was about to get my tent out when a truck pulled up at the exact spot I came in. It just sat there with a cannoe on top of it. I don't know what to do. My only two guesses are that he saw me and is now calling the cops before I can escape, like maybe in trespassing or something. Or he just randomly stopped to figure out where he needed to go next. Should I ask? Should I just leave and find a different spot? Finally he left! I guess I will set up my tent and just hope no cops come.
All set up. That was crazy. I picked a bad spot, once again. Lots of people are turning here. Hopefully no one sees me, but if someone does, hopefully no one cares.