Day Twentytwo- Done (Over 1655 miles)

August 11th-

I know how sad it must be to see that I only finished about 25 miles of riding today. I understand because it is just as sad for me. But, everything happens for a reason. Here's today's story:

Steve gave me a ride from his house in Kansas back to the corner that I saw the bar from. I thanked him for the hospitality and he asked if there was anything else he could do for me. He is a very kind man. I said no and set my bike up and he saw me off.

I felt great. I was a little tired because of the whole time change situation confusing me into thinking that I got more sleep than I actually did. I rode about five miles before a spoke broke on the rear wheel. I know this may sound exactly like the day before. Trust me, it felt like the same thing to me. But, this time the spoke was in a spot I had to pull the gears off to get to it. The only problem was that the tool I got for that almost fit my bike, but no quite. So, I had to find a shop to change it for me or to sell me a proper tool.

I rode into the next town with a little wobble. It was early so most things were just opening. I went into the subway and asked if there was a bike shop in town since the population seemed to be supportive of one. I was wrong. So, I asked for a phone (directory) book to look up the nearest bike shop. I called one 27 miles away; no longer in business. I called one about 27 miles past that one; also no longer in business. Frustrated with the lack of support for cycling, I sat on the corner with my thumb out to get to the next closest bike shop which was just over 80 miles away. How crazy!

I sat there for over an hour and a half with people either pretending to look the other way, shaking their heads "no," or waving while not realizing what a thumb in the air means. Finally, a guy pulled up in a white van with a military signals sticker on the back window. I wasn't sure if he was actually going to give me a ride or not, but he said, "I would've stopped earlier when I drove by but I had some things in the back. So, I went and dropped them off so I could give you a ride." Wow!

Well, I put my bike in the back and introduced myself to my new friend Clair (see picture). We talked for the entire ride up to the next town, which he happened to know a guy that fixes bikes at a hardware store. I learned a lot about him in the thirty minutes and he learned much about me as well. He took me into the town to see if the guy would look the bike over, and the guy (Shad) said he would. So, Clair told me that he had to drive back through on the way to Fort Collins in a few hours, and that if we couldn't fix the bike (find the tool to get the gears off), he would take me up there to the bike shop.

Shad and I worked at the bike for a few minutes and found the right tool to get the bike back to its rightful state. I repaired the spoke, put it back together, and thanked Shad for his help. I told him he could have the tool I had to fix the bike, since it didn't fit mine and served me no purpose. He ended up giving me the one that fit in an exchange.

I rode the bike across the street, bought some food from the local grocery store to eat for lunch, and headed back to Highway 34. Right as I turned onto the road, the rear tire whihc I had just repaired, locked up and wouldn't budge. Coincidentally, I asked Shad for the store number incase something happened. I called and asked if I could come back and borrow a socket wrench. He said he would come and get me and bring me back to the store so that my stuff wouldn't grow legs (not his words; mine).

He picked me up, we rode back to Hardware Hank('s), and we tried to fix it together. We took the entire wheel apart and racked our brains. He kept offering left over pieces the store had to fix what was wrong. We were close to fixing it when I got worried that it wouldn't work and I would miss the ride from Clair to a shop that specialized in problems like that one. It just so happens that Shad knew Clair, and had his phone number handy.

I called Clair and he said he would take me up there in about an hour. So, Shad and I continued the struggle. We came close to solving it when Clair got there. So, I scraped up all the spare pieces and packed them in his van in the hopes that someone in Fort Collins would be able to fix it right (unlike my way of fixing it). I thanked Shad and off Clair and I rode.

We stopped in a town to fill his gas tank and our bellies, and then continued up to Fort Collins. He said that we would find a bike shop so that I could get there in the morning when they opened. That we did. It wasn't easy, but the phone book always works. He dropped me off in a semi-vacant field without the bike and said he would be back to pick me up in the morning. So, I set up my tent and got ready for bed as usual.

Daily Lesson: Just because you know what's wrong doesn't necessarily mean you can fix it.

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