New Possibilities

Here I was today just doing some editing on Chapter 12 (as I write this I am actually on Chapter 13) while my Twitter feed was scrolling at an alarming rate when up pops a message in Facebook from a fellow touring cyclist whom I hosted back in March/April.  He's been in New Zealand for the past few months (?) on a tour and will be returning to California on Nov. 22, to his wintering grounds in Borrego Springs.

He suggested that maybe we could ride together some after the wintering.  I am fine with that idea.  I then suggested that maybe I could ride down to visit him while he was down there.  It would mean I was gone from here for a bit, but that's okay.  I'd have to figure out exactly where he was, and it would take me a few days down and a few days back.  But I wouldn't have to carry as much stuff on the bike, probably since it would just be a "short" journey.  Definitely worth thinking about.  Definitely worth doing.

(laces are actually orange)

Would be nice to have a traveling companion who has probably 30,000+ touring miles under his belt.

I've been taken to the New Balance shoe store where I was fitted for some new shoes - paid for by the landlady where I am getting the free rent.  Mens, size 10 - EEEE width.  Yeah, I have funky shaped feet. If they were hairy, they'd be like Hobbit feet.  Then she bought me another pair that were slip-ons so that I didn't have to lace up the trainers each time I had to go outside.  Yeah, probably well over $250 in shoes for me today. And she keeps buying me new underwear.  Well, I have new underwear already that I haven't gotten to, and I tell her that really I can't take all of it on the bike. Maybe a week's worth, max.  Now I have around three weeks worth!  Plus new tops and pants and even a sort of cardigan thing and one skirt (not that I have but the new shoes to wear with the skirt, and the shoes are not really dress shoes!  And did I mention I don't wear skirts or dresses?).  However, the 2nd pair will come in handy for those midnight camping times when I have to leave the tent for the loo and don't want to step on anything nasty.

This is all just another way of how God is providing for me... giving me new shoes for the journey I will be on, shoes that I wouldn't have been able to afford, nor that I had time to go get.  The way I see it is that after the whole Britain excursion was just cut off from me - God completely closed that door there - that God provided a soft, comfortable landing for me to recover from the shock of having my dreams completely shattered.  Yes, shattered.  So the first two weeks were with a best friend, and now I will spend 4-1/2 months surrounded by the love of other friends.  Also, San Gabriel has a lot more hill work that can be done than where I used to live.  So I can build up better.

One thing left to get, really, and that would be a couple of new bras or sports bras.  The two I have are getting ratty.  Would like to get a proper fit, however, and that won't happen at K-Mart or Target, so I will have to just do my best at those stores.

I have definitely been told that I can stay in the apartment rent-free through February 2015, and that's probably about the time I will want to get on the road anyhow.  Not sure of which direction I will go except to head eastward.  If I choose to go with my friend who is a touring cyclist, we'll plan a route together.

A little rain tonight in the San Gabriel Valley with a little thunder.  Much needed moisture.