Day 26 – January 4th

It’s pretty crazy how biking is a full time job. You don’t realize how much time it takes until there literally isn’t enough time left in the day to finish your goal.

Today Ryan and I woke up focused to make at least 55 miles by 5pm. Piece of cake we thought! We have plenty of time!

7am
Our morning was fantastic.
We rose with the sun and gently broke camp which generally takes an hour. We have to change into biking cloths, brush our teeth, pack all of our sleeping gear into eight strategically organized panniers, tear down the tent, then situate our bikes.

8am
We went inside the Get N’ Go mart that we camped had behind for the night and they surprised us with a complementary breakfast to rival any Days Inn! We ate biscuits and gravy with sausage and bacon, drank coffee and tea, and then topped the meal off with our own oatmeal, chocolate, protein powder, and the DELICIOUS cane syrup that was gifted to us in Thibadeax Louisiana by our breakfast pals.
After saying our goodbyes and thanking Pam one last time for her generosity, we went back to get our things and stretch.

8:45am
Time for some quiet slow stretching and a five minute Kimchi squat (Ryan is working towards 20 minutes!). I took this time as an opportunity to focus on my breath. Ahhhhh.

9:30am
We hit the road fresh and full of fuel. 55
Miles, piece of cake!

10am
The first flat happened. A quick patch and we were back on the road smashing pavement and enjoying podcasts until……

Noon-3:30pm
ANOTHER flat. Then another and another until we had one patch left and tubes full of holes and were literally stranded on the side of the road. On top of that, our pump began leaking air making each pump a fraction of what it normally was. Cars were racing past us at 80 mph reminding us of their presence by occasionally honking. Why? We still don’t know but let’s just say it didn’t feel friendly.

4pm
Out of desperation and only 30 miles in for the day, we stuck out our thumbs and hitched a ride with Buck, a very friendly and kind local who was on his way to butcher one of his own cows. I loved his philosophy, knowing where his food comes from was very important to him and so was fair treatment of the animals he was eating. No meat was ever bought from the store for him! He brought us to a gas station, out his way, where knew we could hitch a ride from there into Liberty where there was a Walmart that could sell us new bike tubes.

4:45pm
Ryan managed to patch two holes with one patch at we got back on the road to put in a few more miles for the day.

4:55pm
FLAT.

5:15pm
We hitched a ride with another kind local who looked strangely like Buck. Turns out he was his cousin! Ethan drove us also out of his way all the way up to the Walmart in Liberty. We loved talking with him on the way and enjoyed his hunting stories. I was amazed at how intentional he was to listen carefully when we were speaking. These were some amazing people we met today.

5:30
Walmart at last. Ryan and I split duties. I tackled the food shopping list while he set out for new tubes.

10pm
FINALLY we are in bed, stealthily camping in the darkest patch of grass we could find behind Walmart. Oh man. Allow me to fill you in on the last 4.5 hours.

Turns out this Walmart was three days away from having the patches we needed in stock. Ryan had to deal with burnt out associates for a couple of hours before on his own he miraculously found the exact tube we needed unboxed hidden at the end of the aisle and thankfully still without holes. HALLELUJAH!!!

He tore my tire apart for what felt like the 100th time that day and again, HALLELUJAH!!!! I had a working bike.

We made a hearty dinner on a bench outside the store braving the eyes of passerby’s. It was a lot of fun but Ryan was so tired from his insane day of working on my bike and dealing with Walmart employees who were clearly not trying to be named employee of the month.

We even got to share our meal with a soul in need and that brought a little lightness into the night.

Anyways. Here we are, ultimately with a job well done but just goes to show:

When the day is going right, it’s time to get to work. You can’t count on being able to finish the job if misfortune strikes! Amazing the distance lost when your time is stolen on maintenance.

Thank you to the kind cousins who helped us reach our goal today and to Walmart. While you somehow feel evil, you also are keeping us on the road and fed for cheap. Tonight you are even providing us (not consensually) with a bed.

Today turned out to be one of my favorite days. Im not exactly sure why, but I think the complete loss of control over our bikes reminded me that I could control my mood and my responses to our situation. There were some truly rich and beautiful moments today. I am feeling thankful for Ryan, for this trip, and for being alive.

Route info for interested readers:
We left Evadale on Highway 96 W and turned onto 327. That turned into the 287 which we took north then turned onto 770. We hitched a ride from the 770 into Liberty.