03/25 Lot’s of firsts today. Had my first flat tire. Also had my second flat tire. The first one was happened about 3 miles after I left my Aunt’s house. I was able to find the culprit–it was a chunk of glass from a reflector. Pulled it out with some pliers and patched the 2 holes. The repair took about 45 min but I think the next one should be much faster.
I wish I would have gotten your names but hi Aunt Lynne’s friends that saw me fixing the flat and stopped to see if I needed some help. 4 other cars ended up stopping to check on me too.
The second flat happened about 4 miles later. I think I might have missed a hole from the first time or one of the patches sprung a leak so I just replaced the tube. I’ll look for it tonight and see if it’s worth fixing. There’s another spare tube if need be.
That brings me to my second first time experience–riding in the rain. It rained non-stop for the last 40 miles of my trip today. It only got really heavy once but it was steady all day. The only part of me that got cold was my feet because I was only wearing wool socks and my sandals. Tossed on my waterproof socks and solved that problem. I didn’t stop once for more than 30 seconds because I was worried about getting cold.
Broke my Max Dogs Chased By At Once record. Had 4 of them after me for a bit but they just wanted someone to run after and stopped when they realized they were getting soaked.
It’s probably going to rain all day tomorrow but I really didn’t think today was that bad. If it was 10 degrees colder it might have been a different story. It was about 55-58F I think. The people driving by probably thought I was insane.
Everything stayed dry in my panniers which was great. I was pretty much drenched but I had on a rain jacket and rain pants so I was insulated very well from the wind. Under the rain pants I had on 2 pairs of shorts and they didn’t get that wet. The jersey I had on was soaked.
Staying at the Hearthstone Inn ($50) tonight. Great place. Has a fridge, microwave and popcorn in the room. They also have free breakfast and internet access. It’s easily the cleanest room I’ve stayed in so far.
Thanks Aunt Leta and Uncle Paul for letting me stay at your place for a few days. The home-cooked meals were incredible. Nice job on the stairs too Uncle Paul. 
The next time I’ll be able to see family will be when I get to see my sisters in Calgary but that’s not going to be for a while.
Made a last minute change to my route. I’ve never been to the great state of Indiana and would have come within a half days ride of it so I’m heading more to the north so I can visit.
UPDATE: Escaped prisoners weren’t on my list of things to be prepared for. OK, I guess they were but I just sold my gun. Doh.
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oh i get it…i thought that picture of your hand was a squashed bug. i’m like, oh well good for you for squishing that awful bug, scott…:)
Squish it? That would have been dinner!
Glad to see you got your tire fixed. It was really neat to meet you today. My husband works with your Aunt Lynn & sent me the link to your website. I thought it was a great thing although a little insane. I never dreamed I would have seen you on your long journey, but glad I did. Good Luck & Hope all goes well!
Your Aunt Lynn’s friends
OMG!!!!!!!! I couldn’t believe it when Lynn told me about your flat and Elizabeth running into you. Well, not literally. LOL Thanks for stopping Elizabeth! I was going to try to find you about 1/2 hour after you left because I accidentally deleted 2 of the 3 pics I took before you left. I was so mad. If I had only known you were just 3 miles away. It was the butt pic lol. Uncle Paul is sad you left because now he’s back to eating PB&J. He ate well for 3 days. hahahahaaha
Keep dry Scott.
50 bucks for a hotel thats way over your price range. Blaming it on a piece of reflector. Could it have possibly been from eating to much fudge or 7 layer bars.