Transition Day

As I implemented my new strategy today, there was no riding and, sadly, no good pictures either. But I’m going to take the “off” day to catch up on a few things that people have asked me about and some other random observations that I haven’t worked into previous posts.

Before I start in, I want to thank everyone for their comments and well wishes. I must admit that I felt like it was a bit of a letdown to make the change, but a letdown is better than a failure, or worse, and I appreciate the encouragement. I also got firsthand confirmation about how bad the rumble strips have been. I dropped my bike off at a local shop in Mobile on Friday and picked it up this morning. It required a new chain and I had a broken spoke in my rear wheel that I hadn’t noticed. That tune-up might have been the best decision of all!

Now on to more serious matters:

FOOD

Generally, the food on this trip has been horrible. I don’t believe there has been a piece of fresh fruit within 500 miles of me (until today, now that I’m in Florida). The only fruit I’ve seen are the green bananas and the mealy apples at the monotonous hotel breakfasts. Those breakfasts generally involve some variation on Fruit Loops, mystery breakfast sausage (today was little beanie weenies), toast, a mini bagel or an English muffin. And juice. Lots of juice. On a few occasions, no hotel breakfast is available. I actually look forward to that in hopes I can find a local spot. Sadly, in small-town middle ‘merica, those places seem to have been replaced by McDonalds. With that fantastic start to the day, the morning typically has a stop or two for a beverage. Always at a convenience store. Always a store that proudly advertises Hunt Brothers Pizza. One time, with no hotel breakfast and no other option, I had a piece of pizza because I needed some food before lunchtime. Picture the little display case with the “hot” food, most of which was probably hot last Tuesday when it was actually cooked. Now picture a single slice of pizza in a small cardboard box with the little plastic window so you can see what your buying. Now take the pizza out of the box and throw it away and begin to eat the cardboard box. It tastes better. I’ve generally had better luck finding local diners for lunch and the food quality ranges from fair to so-so. Never good. Rarely awful. Always fried. A salad bar is a rarity but I‘ll eat the brown lettuce and random toppings instead of

mashed potatoes just so I have the illusion of eating healthy. More drinks and maybe a candy bar in the afternoon and I struggle through to the end of the day. I have a variety of better snacks that I’ve been hauling along, but the truth is I’m always very thirsty and rarely have an appetite. Finally, dinner has to be within walking distance of the hotel (defined as 500’ or less) because the last thing I’m going to do is get on the bike and ride around looking for something. You all have seen the towns where all the hotels are bunched together around a highway exit and the types of restaurants that surround them. By far, the best meals I’ve had were exactly where you‘d expect - Nashville and the surf n’ turf at the Allen’s house in Magnolia Springs, AL last night.

MUSIC

I‘ll keep the music conversation brief. After adding about 500 songs to my playlist based on friends and family recommendations, I ended up with just over 2000 in all. Unfortunately, the road conditions have really prevented me from feeling comfortable with the AirPods in, so I’m only into the D’s. However, I can make a few observations already about some of the music that is new to me. There have been a few very pleasant revelations - Lucinda Williams, the Last Waltz album from The Band, all the Eric Clapton Unplugged (I had some but downloaded the rest as well), and Jason Isbell. Frank Zappa makes me laugh out loud and I enjoy the Duke Ellington and Ray Charles, but that’s all a little odd for riding. Finally, there are a few that I knew I would struggle with and I was right. Is there any song by Yes that’s less than a half hour long? Does anyone know the words to any of their songs? And Rush and Jethro Tull mentally transport me back to 15th century England. I believe the “nails on a chalkboard” description seems amazingly apropos here. Last but not least, can someone explain the musical talent required to pen a hip hop tune where literally every line has a minimum of one and a maximum of infinity “mother-f***er” in it? Not trying to bash the genre, just the songs within it that the “E” for explicit warning doesn’t begin to describe it. They should have multiple E’s, like shoe sizes.

Back on the bike tomorrow.