Sidelined!!!!

Wednesday was a difficult day. I kept icing my knee and working out the kinks only to find 2, 3, and 4 mile climbs ahead of me. Finally, after a big climb about 2 miles from the Connecticut border, I threw in the towel. I got off the bike to look at some maps and when I got back I realized that this just isn't going to work without some time off. It was a real kick in the pants to realize that I've only been riding for four days and something is going wrong. I've pushed through just about everything before without any sustained problems but this one is different. So, after being mad at myself for about 15 minutes I sucked it up and started figuring out a plan. I called my sister in Niantic, CT and will spend 2 days here icing my leg, stretching and visiting my neices who I haven't spent any substantial time with in years. I'm also going to rip apart everything that I'm carrying and scale down to just the bare essentials. Most of the food is going to go, two cycling jersey's are going, one pair of cycling shorts, a few spare parts, the journal (only wrote in that once so far), bunge cords are being replaced by rope, no more air mattress (I'll use my fleece and other clothing underneath my sleeping bag), and a few other items will probably be left behind too.

One thing to remember is that this is an adventure....to quote a famous cycling book, "It's Not about the Bike." Wednesday night I grabbed some chicken wings and a beer at the only bar in Quinebaug, CT. I talked to about 10 different people who all had different stories. One guy was retired from designing kitchens and he told me all about his daughter going to school. Another woman trained horses and she explained to me everything there is to know about ethanol, hay prices and the grain industry. I realized she really didn't want to have a conversation about this as much as she wanted to tell me everything she knew. Good enough, hit me with another Sam Adams barkeep.

The owner of the restaurant found me a bed and breakfast to stay in called The Bird Song Inn (http://www.bird-song-inn.net/index.htm). The owner was a German woman who kept the place up very, very well and was extremely kind. She made me a breakfast of coffee, juice, blackberries and cream, sausage, a tomato/mushroom/cheese omelet and fresh blueberry pancakes. One thing I've decided, camping is highly over-rated.

So, today is Friday and this morning I was show and tell at my neice's first grade classroom. It really puts the pressure on when you have a bunch of first graders who want to track your progress all the way to Florida. I'll be sure to send them a couple postcards along the way.

Lastly, if all is well, then tomorrow morning I get back on the road. I need to find a path that will bring me back to the main route but that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Until next time, may the weatherman be wrong and the sun be shining tomorrow am.