Sunny Side of the Mountain

Hello Everyone,

Today, it's been one week since I've been on the road. I've travelled 2,678 km, burned 509 litres of gas, and biked about 50 miles. Apologies for the archaic units of measure on that last one, all the signs here seem to still carry them.

Last night I camped in a Walmart parking lot. When I was first planning this trip, I figured I would likely end up doing so, but I wanted to avoid it as much as possible as it seemed either sketchy, or not in keeping with my idea of staying out in the wilds when possible. However, it turned out to be a pretty good experience.

First of all, I was cold, tired and hungry when I pulled in, so it was a bit of a refuge. I had tried two different rest areas along the highways, but they were strictly enforcing the no overnight parking rule. Secondly, I was among my people. By about 9 pm, there were cargo van campers, another truck camper, a big fifth wheel, and a monstrously big Class A. That last one is a luxury apartment on wheels, and it was towing a pick up behind it to boot. A quarter million likely wouldn't touch it, but they're staying in a parking lot. I also met a couple who were staying in one of the converted cargo vans. They were here to climb the local rock faces, and I would have loved to chat with them some more, but I could tell they were getting very cold standing outside. It was, after all, nearly freezing.

Today was a great day of riding as well. I drove up to Five Points, opened up all the vents and windows of the camper to let it air out, and took off on the trails. It was a big day for Arthur, he did a lot of running, sometimes behind me, sometimes chasing the deer we ran across. He's asleep beside me now.

The trails were great, very flowy but not at all challenging. I think they put the usual ratings (green circle, blue square, black diamond) that denote levels of difficulty on these trails just to make themselves feel better. They were all green circles.

It was chilly in the morning, so I tried to stay on the sunny side of the mountain. A good metaphor for life. At about mid-point in the day, I was taking a break in a different trailhead/parking lot and struck up a conversation with a local who pulled in. He gave me about 20 different recommendations for places I have to check out, none of which I can remember. It's unfortunate, but I think I'm going to have to skip North Carolina. The weather on the weekend would preclude any riding, and I want to get to Bentonville, Arkansas. It's a bit of a hike to get there, so I'm going to take my time.

Tonight, it's back to the Walmart parking lot, among fellow travellers, and an early bed time.

wes

#Biking #Travel