Bike Mojo

All my bike stuff is off the in waiting.  All the Ortlieb panniers are mostly empty but not entirely.

In the handlebar pannier I have a small ziplock baggie with little bits of mojo in it.  Now, I don't really believe in mojo per se, but let's just call them little bits of sentiment.  Mostly small notes of encouragement from friends and supporters.  Then there are the theater tickets - from seeing the Nation Theater version of Frankenstein to seeing The Imitation Game last night.  And there's also a picture of my family that I cut out of my parents' 2014 Christmas letter.  It's a picture taken from their 60th wedding anniversary this past June.  Marty Bear isn't mounted on the bike at the moment, but he's another piece of bike mojo, and that's really it for the mojo.

I tried to explain to a friend yesterday that my journey is not just a trip across the USA.  I am not bound anymore by a job or an apartment.  I am not bound by the bills others pay.  I am not tied to possessions in a storage unit.  No, I gave almost everything away.  What else I have is stored privately.

I can start and stop my journey as often as I want.  If I need to stop and work for a bit, I can do that.  If I need to move on, I can do that.  I can go where I want, when I want.  I can see what I want.  I don't have to be anywhere.  I am not on anyone's timetable.

My only timetable is right now... that I have through Feb. 28, 2015 to stay here.  If I am to stay here longer, God will need to open a door for that to happen.  Right now I'm not seeing any leads for that.  I am, however, among dearest friends, and I would hate to leave them.

Feeling blessed

My little kitchen.

Third night sleeping on the floor although the aerobed (or lie-low as the Brits call it, but I don't know if that's how they spell it) did arrive today.  I just need to set it up.  Honestly, however, sleeping on the floor has proven quite comfortable.

Today is when Gail's workforce arrives - people who do her cleaning and gardening.  This includes her sister-in-law, Joan.  Well, I was shocked and blessed when Joan came to my door with a brand new toaster oven and some clothing and towels.  I have been given a LOT of clothing since coming here.  They probably don't understand that I won't be able to take any of these things with me on the bike when I leave, but nevertheless these things are welcome right now.

So today I have been sitting back and resting.  Still feeling like I need to crash every few hours and take a nap, but I think that's still the anemia talking to me.

I really need to get out on the bike and explore the area.  I did find a local bike shop that's about 3 miles away, so I will ride up to them and introduce myself.  I need to get some more ankle bands to secure my long pants at my ankles so that they don't get caught and torn in the chain.  I had them while at Jeanette's house, but one of them disappeared because I didn't put them away properly...and the sock thief, Opie (short for Optimus Prime - he was a Chiweenie), may have taken off with it.  That little dog would take off with anything but mostly socks.  I'm not saying Opie took it.  It could have fallen down between the sofa cushions, and I just never really looked for it.  But, it definitely disappeared there.  Not that I care.  Just need to replace it, that's all.  However, I actually only need to have one for the right leg since it is the one that comes in contact with the gears if not tied down.

Last night we looked and looked for one of the cats.  I knew Sealy hadn't gotten out, but where he was hiding was a complete mystery - and there are only so many places he can hide.  The cabinets in the kitchen are open and we looked in all those, but he wasn't there... then Gail pulled out the top drawer... and he had crawled into the cabinet and up behind the drawer and gotten into the drawer.  How long he was in there we don't know, but a long time.  Hours.  So today I checked that drawer first thing, and he hadn't gotten in there again, but an hour later I found him in that drawer.  So, I have temporarily removed the drawer.  He's not hiding in there from me again!  The cats have not at all warmed up to me yet, but it may take them a few weeks.  I have managed to pet them, however, so there's a little progress.

Training day 3 - what a slog!

Usually works good, but today not so much.

Today I upped my mileage with the loaded bike to 30 miles.  Yesterday's 25 miler felt pretty good, but today did not.  There was an element missing:  Gatorade.  Yes, I didn't have it Monday and I slogged at 20 miles.  I had it Tuesday and wasn't bothered at all at 25.  Didn't have it today and I was feeling it.

I did take some fig newtons and some peanut butter crackers.  Usually fig Newtons are good for some energy... but not so much with a fully loaded bike.  No, the carbs are too complex for fast energy.  That's where Gatorade is so powerful.  It hits your bloodstream quickly and thereby your muscles quickly.  So it looks to me like I am going to need a steady supply of Gatorade on the road.  Like - don't leave home without it.  Ever.  Because I literally kept having to stop to rest, and it took me much longer on the ride than it should have.

I know some people think that Gatorade is nothing but sugar, and there IS a lot of sugar in it, but hello!!!  The body runs on sugar.  I don't want to hear any anti-sugar arguments.  You go out on a fully loaded bike and see how well you do on water alone after 30 miles.  Yeah, Right now I am downing sugar.

That being said, I did stop on the Ballona Creek Bridge again (both ways), and the 2nd time I was approached by an Southeast Asian man and his wife who were on a tandem.  He said he had just ordered a Surly LHT and was waiting for it to arrive and that he planned on touring the USA also.  He kept saying how much he wish he could go with me.  He said he also wanted to tour all of Thailand and asked if I ever wanted to go there, but I said I could only go if someone sponsored a ticket for me.  Well, more than that, but that's the general idea.  I introduced him to Warm Showers and also this blog.  He had never heard of Warm Showers.  He said he was doing the tandem with his wife to get used to extra weight, but only real way to get used to the extra weight is if she's not pedaling, because the weight on the bike is dead weight.  I still have too much of it.  Need to get serious in the next 48 hours and start dumping some stuff.

The Ortlieb Rack Pack arrived today... more weight for the bike.  The tent, however, is a different matter.  I ordered it off eBay but like a doofus forgot to tell the seller to send it to the address where I am currently staying, so of course it went to my old address where I don't live and now it is already being sent back.  So I will have to get another one from a store or something.  Time is short but thankfully I don't need the tent for several days, potentially.