Oh, blah. I'm disappearing from the blog for awhile. I have little to say.

Day One - Crap. Trip Postponed.

I left the house around 10 this morning. I planned to work my way over to Fort Snelling where I'd eventually cross the Mendota Bridge and make my way down to Cannon Falls, MN. Once I got to the trail that goes through Fort Snelling, I heard a loud KERPLUNK behind me.

'Oh, no,' I thought. 'The tire must have popped!'

I turned around to discover my rack, along with my sleeping bag, tent, and my panniers lying on the ground. Two of the screws that hold the rack in place had flown off. I muttered, pulled the rack back into its proper position, and started walking back the way I had come.I'm sure I'm trying to carry too much weight on my back rack. The thought occurred to me that I really do need to buy the front rack and panniers I've been eyeing. My intention was to get back to Minnehaha Falls where I could get a ride home. A few yards down the trail, though, a man hailed me and asked if everything was all right. Embarrassed, I nodded and said, "I'll be fine". He looked at me and the bike and offered to try to fix it. He mended it with a spare screw and a bit of string and I was able to ride the rest of the way home. I heart you, mysterious stranger! I'm so glad that that happened so close to home and not in the middle of eastern South Dakota.

So, the bicycle tour is postponed until I decide between two options:

1. Buy a front rack and panniers so that the weight is more evenly distributed and continue on with the bicycle tour in a week or so.

2. Buy a backpack, hiking shoes, and a bus ticket and visit the Black Hills that way.

I'm actually leaning toward option two. I don't trust my mechanical skills when it comes to the bicycle and I really don't need to see all those long, boring flatlands of eastern South Dakota.

* * *
Updated at 4pm: I'm going with option 1. I doubt I have the upper body strength to just throw myself into backpacking. I did briefly consider going with a third option. Wait a couple months and do Adventure Cycling's Great Rivers route from Minneapolis to Louisiana and then fly back. But, then, I looked at the cost to transport a bicycle on a plane. Eww, ouch. No.)

Went on a bike ride. Be back in a month.

Went on a bike ride. Be back in a month.

One More Day

I keep pushing back the date I leave for the bicycle tour. I could have left yesterday. The rains that the weather service predicted never arrived. And, technically, I could leave today but the high will only reach 65 and I've decided to be a wuss. Tomorrow looks great though and I'm certain I'll set off then.

Music Monday - Morrissey - You Have Killed Me (London Live)

I like how I went into a slightly ageist rant in my last concert post and, yet, I have a mad crush on Morrissey who is... 50. In all fairness, though, that rant was more about me wanting to be fifteen forever.

Fine, then. I'll leave one day later.

3 More Days!

Woo! Only three more days until I leave for my bicycle tour through South Dakota. I had thought about leaving a week or two earlier until something occurred to me. Memorial Day weekend! Since the campgrounds and roads are so busy during this time, I decided to wait until the day after to get going.

This tour might prove to be a little more... interesting than the last one. I used Adventure Cycling's maps on my trip through Wisconsin and Michigan last summer. This time, I'm just using Google maps and convenience store maps to plan my route. I'm fairly good at reading maps though. I don't expect too many problems.

I have one specific goal that I want to accomplish. Far fewer hotels this time! If I could have avoided hotels and used campgrounds just three times, I would've saved $120. Hostels would be my ideal lodging but those rarely exist in the small towns I'll be passing through.

I also considered posting my journals at www.crazyguyonabike.com but I've found I don't really like stopping by public libraries while touring. Maybe next time, I'll buy a cheap laptop to bring along. I'll probably just post terrible quality photos and post short twitter-like posts from my cell phone again.

This would be much more amusing if I had won.

9 instruction manuals

I recently bought a backpacking stove for my upcoming bicycle tour. I was shocked when I opened the package and found nine different instruction manuals, each one in a different language. Little much?!?

One More Benefit

There's one unexpected additional benefit to going vegan for me. I hate most seafood and, for some reason, a few people around me constantly try to convince me that seafood contains the most wondrous delicacies known to man. I've had the conversation below far too many times in my life.

"Here! Try this!"
"Ewww, oysters."
"Try them! You'll like them."
"I've tried them. They're disgusting."
"But these are different. They have this sauce."
"Ohgodfine!" *gags in disgust* "It's like salty jello, you bastard!"

That conversation has now turned into...

"Here! Try this!"
"I can't eat that. Shrimp is a tiny little death in every bite!"

I win.