A day off

Hello Everyone, I don't like to take days off. Not while I'm on adventure, it seems like a waste. After a big ride two days ago, and the unexpected ride the evening before, Arthur seemed to be walking a little gingerly, so I figured we'd take a rest day yesterday. It's a little hard to tell how he's doing, as laying around and panting is kind of his thing, whether we've been riding or not. So I erred in the side of caution. I often avail myself of the wonderful resource that is the local public library. With free power and Wi-Fi, they are a traveler's friend. However, as with my riding schedule, I am limited in when I can go and for how long. In the morning, Arthur and I were able to sit in the shade for an hour on a table outside before the sun moved out of position, and my battery run out. After that, it was laundry then getting Arthur's nails trimmed. This last one turned into a bit of a debacle. Though he's running outside a lot, I try to make sure Arthur's nails aren't too long, and thus uncomfortable for him. Well, the first thing the groomer does is clip one too short and makes it bleed. Arthur's already scared to be in there, and now he's just let out a yelp. I was not impressed. The guy cleans that up and continues, but then cuts another one too short. It bleeds too. I was angry at this point and could barely look at the guy. I was angry at his incompetence and at myself for bringing Arthur there in the first place. Needless to say, there were a lot of treats going around when we got out of there. And we went swimming down by the river.  

I had planned to do a few other errands, including going back to the library to send out this email, but it was just too hot, and there was nowhere to park in the shade. So we went back to our campsite and set up for the evening. 

This morning I made the sacrifice of skipping second breakfast and went for a ride while it was this reasonably cool. Turned out to not actually be that cool, and I was dripping rivers of sweat before long. 

The plan is to leave Kimberley today and head towards Nelson. Not sure we'll make it that far, but that's the advantage of having your home on your back. Strict schedules are for the inflexible. 

Wes

Photos

The first is from the ride this morning. Arthur looking heroic atop a pretty cool feature. You can kind of tell from this angle, but at the top of the crest, you are quite high up of the ground. A good idea to keep your wheel straight. 

The second is of our camping spot the last few nights. It's just a pull off at the trailhead, but was quiet and affordable.