Days 1 & 2 (And A Big Pain In My .... )

(Distance travelled so far 1,143 km, major storms avoided 1, hair elastics lost 1, unaccounted for bruises 2, ear plugs and watches lost but found again 1 of each)
1,143 kilometers and I’ve crossed three (almost 4) state lines – You can’t get out of Ontario in that many kilometers. I love travelling this way, seems like you’re always making progress. Dan and I have come to terms. I figured out it was his new software causing him to eat the tunes and that has been corrected. We had an argument and I won, we went my way (of course he was right and my way, my short cut, turned out to be about 41 km longer).
Day one was uneventful, except for the big pain in my –EAR. I bought a new set of Sony ear buds so I could listen to Garmin Dan tell me where to go. I only use one so I picked the side with the longest cord wrapped the other bud up and never thought anything more about it. I hit the highway. Knowing my way to the border I didn’t put the bud in until I landed on US soil. Within minutes the dammed little bud was grinding and poking at my poor little ear – sure a little discomfort might be useful to keep you awake but it was hurting to the point of distraction. Finally, by about 12 I pulled into a gas bar/coffee shop. Thought I’d have a cup of coffee while I figured out how to deal with the issue. I was cursing the fact that I’d thrown the old, mangled and dirty ear buds out, when I had a “GA DUH” moment. When I first took the new buds out of the pack I thought, "Isn’t that cute, they’ve marked one L for left and one R for right" (thinking it had something to do with stereophonic sound, which has nothing to do with Dan). On close inspection at the gas station I found the two little buggers to be different shapes, the buds being just offset on opposite sides to each other. Once I switched from the R to the L, it fit like the proverbial glove in my left ear.

I had a two hour delayed start due to rain … the intermittent down pours kept sending me back to the couch for a sit down with the cat (who ultimately did not get packed) and who thoroughly enjoys a good “sit down” on the couch. Finally it stopped raining and I geared up for adventure 2012. Within 10 km it was raining again. It wasn’t a serious downpour, there was no thunder or lightning. It was simply an annoying rain so I decided to keep on going. Once again I’ve decided to limit the rain gear, but I found with the rain liner in the Rocket Alter Ego jacket I was dry as toast inside, my pants were another story, but then I didn’t put the rain liner in them. I’ve had two reactions to the Hi Vis jacket so far. First, a lady on the Wolfe Island Ferry asked me all kinds of tourist quesions, which I tried to answer in a friendly, yah, I live here kind of way…then she came back and apologized. She thought I looked so official in my safety colours that I worked on the boat. (We had a long conversation, from Kingston to the Island about how Kingston has changed since she went to school here, and how her son travels Europe with just a back pack.). The second was at a gas station in Pennsylvania, an older fella looked at me then told me to turn around, I did and he said, “Yup, you’re visible,” and I said “Yup, that’s what I wanted to be .” DO YOU SEE ME NOW?

Day Two I made it out of the mountains without a single bear sighting and started to cross the plains. A lot of freeway driving. Glad I could access the tunes and glad it was Sunday, not a lot of big truck traffic. I’m still making frequent “stretching” stops. My arms have finally stopped complaining (I knew I should have done a few more warm up rides before I started.)
I haven’t taken many pictures – it’s the same old route as last year with the same old sites. Tonight I’m camped (so to speak, in a cabin) in Wapakoneta OH. Last year it was a different cabin, surrounded by soya beans this year it’s corn – but same folks are still running the place and it still has the same great swimming pool. (Did I mention that the campsite asked to take a photo of my bike outside the cabin for on the website last night? I almost said no, she was so dirty after a day in the rain.)
The Cicadas are singing tonight.