Monday June 29th - late morning

It is 11 am my time. I have ridden 130 miles so far and it has been blowing 30 - 40 mph all day. I hook my toes under my highway pegs, grip the handle bars real tight, and hang on to the gas tank with my knees. So far the wind hasn't blown me off of my bike, but it feels like it is going to at any moment. The trucks are all going 50 mph, so as I am going 55 - 60 mph, I pass them occasionally. When I get next to them everything goes in reverse with the wind and when I come out in front of them, there is this major blast of air that feels like I am going to leave the ground. I guess it blows like this all the time around here. I take a break and stop for a cup of coffee every 50 miles to relax.

Someone sent me a text when I wrote that 400 miles per day was more than I wanted to do after doing it a couple of times, because I get too tired. They asked what muscles got most tired? The answer is my head and my heart. I have had 4 accidents in a car. Nobody got hurt in any of them. Cars got dented, towed, and totaled, but with the protection of the car, seat belts, and air bags - no injuries. One thing that I know as I ride on my bike, is that any one of those 4 accidents on my bike, I would have sailed through the air, landed on my head probably, and been hurt. That realization causes me to ride my bike like I am walking through a field of alligators or rattlesnakes. Every intersection, I have my hand on my brake and I am watching every person like they are blind and dumb. That constant tension really begins to wear on me after a while. It is one of the aspects of riding a motorcycle that appeals to me, but I can only handle about 300 miles a day. The first thing I do when I get to my camping spot is get my little folding camp chair out, sit down, heave a big sigh, and just sit and relax. I bet you wish that you were having all this adventure with me:-) One of these days when I become a real biker dude and not just a wannabe, I probably will ride way more relaxed.

Stopped for gas and I took my helmet off and set it on the seat while I pumped gas. The wind was blowing so hard that it blew my helmet off of my seat. It rolled across the parking lot like a ball with me in frantic chase. I caught it just before it started into the street. Bunch of scars on my new pretty helmet.