Road Trip Day Three

"Maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed.  Maybe they just need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with them."

~Carrie Bradshaw~

I woke up lat this morning.  Back home it would have been 9:30 am, but I've gone east to the next time zone.  I decided to head into the small tourist town I saw just outside the state park when I drove in yesterday.  I found some coffee and poked around town, visiting the local bike shop, along with some others.  They rent bikes for $30-$50 a day at the local shop.  Not too bad a price, but I still suggest you just bring your own.

As I was debating heading back to camp or stopping for lunch, I spotted a guy in a jeep turning onto the same road I was taking.  Our eyes held contact (or so I thought) while he turned the corner.  Keeping up with road trip tradition I thought, "Why not?"  A red bandana worn like a cap covered shoulder length, wavy hair.  A guitar occupied the passenger seat next to him, and his dog rode in the backseat, leash strapped to the roll bar.  

He looked cool as hell and I was craving some company.  I started following him, and eventually declared out loud, "Well what do ya know?" When he turned into the state park where I am camping.  I followed him around twists and turns, thinking about what I would say if I actually pulled up next to him.  I went back and forth between feeling ridiculous and reminding myself that life is short.  What else was I going to do today besides ride my bike?  Besides, I rarely regret the things I do, but rather those things I avoid in fear. 

After passing through the registration booth I could see that he had paid for the car behind him.  It looked like he already had 3 ladies joining him.  Damn the luck!  Ah well, the adventure was fun while it lasted!  Then imagine my surprise when he pulled into a campsite no more than 100 yards down the road from mine.  Hmph.  I hadn't needed to follow him after all.

I went straight to my camp and started getting into my gear for another bike ride.  This time I was out in the woods for four hours, about an hour of which was spent visiting with locals that I ran into on the trails.  When I could feel my body wearing out from hours of pedaling up hills and gripping handlebars on the downhills, I decided to head back to camp.  My bike gear was beginning to stink up my whole car, my blankets were still soggy, and I knew a laundry run was in order.  I headed back into town for a laundromat and met a former local while I was washing laundry.  He used to live around these parts before moving out to North Carolina years ago when he started his family.  They were staying at a cabin, and he came into town alone to do the family's laundry.  I was glad for the company.  The hour and a half went by quickly as we found topics of conversation where we had some common ground.  

We said our goodbyes and headed out with clean laundry.  I pulled up at camp, and even though coffee sounded good again, I had learned my lesson from the night before.  I decided to call it a night so I could get up early for one more ride before my next leg of the journey.  When I crawled into my tent all I could hear were frogs.  What sounded like thousands of them.  As the rain started coming down again I was so grateful for dry blankets and the added protection of a tarp over my tent.  I'm sure I fell asleep with a big smile on my face and peace in my heart......