A long email in a short amount of time

Hello Everyone,

I learned to type in 9th Grade, under the watchful eye of Madame Graham. These skills have served me well since, and rarely more than now. I have about 20 minutes to write this update, as my paid parking is going to run out, and Arthur is in the truck. That's a long intro for a guy with a time constraint.

As I left it, I was gutted about not being able to ride in Arkansas. It was a lot of driving, only to be turned away. And lest you think I wasn't planning ahead, I did email a bike shop a couple of days in advance. They got back to me today. Said I shouldn't ride there as the trails are wet. Thanks.

Rather than look for somewhere else to go in the state, I decided to head for warmer weather. Side story - in the morning, Arthur and I were walking one of the trails at Devil's Den state park, while I waited for my laundry to finish, and we ran across an armadillo. As luck would have it, I had my camera and my phone with me, so when those upload, I'll send it out.

It's about a day's drive from where I was to Dallas, especially at the speeds I drive. I have time and a fixed budget, and I'm driving a big square down the road, so I keep it just below 90kph. Driving through Oklahoma though, I got caught in a speed trap. I've been pulled over before, but I was kinda nervous this time. I forgot to mention it, but when I was at a rest stop in Tennessee, I saw a couple of cops with guns drawn on a guy in a car there. I didn't know if this was standard procedure. And I (used to) watch a lot of TV.

Anyway, the guy was really nice, didn't pull his gun, and said he had me clocked at 64 mph. There's simply no way there was that much of a discrepancy between my cruise control and his speed reader, but since he said he was letting me off with a warning, I didn't press the matter.

After a low yesterday, I'm in a pretty good mood today. I finally got to ride, and while the trails weren't amazing, I did meet some fun locals and got some good recommendations for tomorrow and the days ahead. Arthur also got to stretch his legs, which is always a concern for me.

There's a trail system called the North Shore, and while I'm told it's a small step down from its BC namesake, I'm told it's the best in the area. After that, I'm off to Austin, described to me as the most interesting city in Texas.

wes