52 MILES

Saturday, cloudy, mid to high 40's

Wearing bike shorts, thin long underwear, nylon camp pants, t-shirt, long underwear top, wind breaker, thin wool hat, wool socks. All clothes not wool were poly something or other, cotton is no good for this sort of thing.

Plan, ride to Chuck's house (originally Justin's house, but he was the object of a surprise party at his house, and Chuck lives about 10 miles closer), about 50 miles away. Gave some clothes and a gift to Will to bring down (he's also the ride home).

Wasted time looking for camelbak pak. Left about 12:30 or so

Weather had been, sunshine, cloudy, rain with lightning, cleared up; all within an hour or so. So why not. Rte 3A to Sagamore bridge, then 6A.

Felt tired soon into the ride. (Last week felt good for quite a while, this ride followed that one for about 12 miles) About 5 miles into it, took off my hat and insulating shirt. Felt better, through Marshfield, into Duxbury, hit Duxbury town hall (13 miles or so) in an hour. Marshfield has some hills, Duxbury has windy, thin roads. Next into Kingston, cruising along, bit tired, but in a good groove. Kingston has some malls and busy areas, had to be mindful. Nice to get to Plymouth, America's hometown. Lots of cool old houses and buildings along this route. Drivers all seemed courteous enough.

Funny thing is, I had no idea if 3A was going right up to the bridge, I have never actually been here in a car. I stopped at a store after two hours, bought a MetRX BIG 100 Colossal bar, peanut butter caramel crunch, new and improved!!! $3. Filled me up a bit. I think Plymouth may be the longest town int he country, I would guess 387 miles at least. And the hills were like Nepal. (Not really) Hit some big hills, starting to get pretty beat. Knowing I bit off a bit much. Oh well, tough luck.

Then it rained. Poured for about 4 minutes, then slowed to nothing in about 15. Forearms were freezing. Put hat back on. Toes a bit numb. Next few miles were tough. Tired, wet cold, it got windy, no real idea I was going in the right direction. Passed one bike shop at the top of a hill, stopped in at one a few miles later. Bought some orange flavored Sport Beans, $1. Chatted a bit with the guy there, said the bridge was 3 miles away. He was a nice guy. Talked about all sorts of bike stuff. I'm not even close to knowing much about bikes or biking.

Revived a bit, to the bridge. Still tired and beat but feeling good about how it's going.

Bridge, yay, walk the bike over. Safety is key in a lot of this. Plus it was a bit of a nice break, and though it was foggy and drizzley had a good view. Made a couple calls, mom and Hammy. Back on the bike for the about 12 miles to Chuck's. Got caught in some more rain, steady.

Going across train tracks in Sandwich, big sign says "BIKERS DISMOUNT AND WALK BIKES ACROSS TRACKS" I was beaten and tired and drunk with pain (how's that from melodrama) I ignored this sign. When my front wheel hit the second track my bike flew away. It leapt from the earth, defying gravity, like being called to heaven. My hands stayed on the bars, my feet on the pedals. I landed, smack, on the from left side of my head. If I didn't have a helmet on I would have surely opened up my head and would now be in the hospital. Also whacked my left arm a bit and my knee and the left break/shifter has a new scar on it. Picking myself and the bike up a car pulls up and the lady says "Thank the Lord Jesus we weren't right behind you. Are you okay?" I told her I was. Surprisingly I was telling the truth. My helmet is a cheapo. But it totally saved the day. It has a scratch on it, no internal damage. Get on the bike and go.

About 10 seconds later a car from New York (big surprise) swerves right in front of me to get into a store. Oh well. I take a break, call Chuck and Will and go on about 15 more minutes to the end of my ride.

Made it to Chuck's house, took about four and a half hours. Greatly desired a good beer (Harpoon IPA...) but not for me. Had a smoothie, went to a rockin' party, glad not to ride home, but stayed up til 2 am.
Tired and sore today but, for those of you keeping score, not impotent.