Total Distance: see last post
Average Speed: speed of light
Time on bike: I actually don't think my butt touched the seat today...
Today was an interesting day... We woke up to pouring rain and thought we would wait it out until we realized it was supposed to rain all day! So we packed up camp in the rain and started to walk our bikes down the gravel hill so as not to slip. Well, my bike decided to slip, topple over, and bite me in the process. As my bike fell, my front gear took a big chunk out of my right shin.
Joe, fully trained in first aid, rushed for the first aid kit and proceeded to throw every piece of bandage or gauze my way to stop the bleeding. He finally ran to the next campsite and asked the campers if they would mind driving us to the hospital (it was a deep cut). Thanks Beth for taking the time to drive us to the hospital!
Now I don't know if my family officially placed bets on when I would be needing a hospital on this trip, but who would have guessed in the first week!
The doctor cleaned out the cut and decided it did need stitches except that since I'm not old with wrinkly skin he was afraid it would just pull out, especially with me biking. He settled on putting a big glob of doctor super glue right over the cut, gave me a tetanus shot (which will definitely hurt tomorrow) and an antibiotic prescription, and sent me home with some hospital "swag" of extra gauze and wraps!
We called a cab and $40 later we were back at the campsite in pouring rain... good day for a day off! We spent the afternoon drying our gear under the pavilion and giving our bikes some much needed TLC!
I want to take this time to answer some questions from the audience.
A common question: Do your butts hurt?
Answer: YES! The first 6 days were the worst! They are honestly feeling better and definitely don't hurt as much when we sit down. Our shorts are padded and we frequently use baby powder to dry out the downstairs and stop the chaffing. So much so that often when I sit down you can see a cloud of white dust.
Question: Are you bored yet?
Answer: Nope, not yet. There is a lot to see when it takes you 10 times longer to get up a hill on a bike rather than a car. Joe and I hold conversations when we are on a back road and able to ride next to each other. We are having a great time and despite the "ups and downs" of travel we are having a load of fun and not sick of each other yet!
Question: Where do you pee?
Answer: As you saw in the pictures... Joe can pee anywhere. I have a little more difficulty. Since we are traveling roads that aren't very busy sometimes it's as easy as poppin' a squat right on the side of the road. If it is a populated area there is always a convenience store I can use, or a portapotty at a work site... something along those lines.
Keep the questions coming!
Mary and Joe
PS Mom, I'm still alive.