Woke up and so did not want to get out of the sleeping bag. It had been a very windy night. The wind battering the tent whispered seductively to sleep in, just lay there. But I got up and made coffee instead.
My back is still not happy and I had to fix head turn signal. The glue on the crank had dried overnight, and I screwed and glued it back in place . Good thing I don’t have to do an oil change but the tool kit had what I needed.
Skipped making breakfast and made a decision to stop making breakfast too. so I’ll get to Sheffield tomorrow and send back shit I’m just not gonna use. I know better for next time I guess.
Writing this at a rest stop. I’m stopping lots today and staying at a hotel. I need an easy day. I’m irritable, dropping helga has me shy about stopping. And low speed turns in parking areas. I’ll get over it but my back is reminding me all day lol. One bright spot there was an accident on 10 so Google suggested a mountain highway and it was way better driving with nice twists. I keep failing to mention how awesome the roads have been bene the campsites. I wish I had Harold for those twists but still they’ve been the highlight of the riding miles .
I’ve been covered from head to toe during daylight and I feel like I’m getting rickets. So stripped down to my tank top and took a few minutes to get some sun and write .
Some lady sat down next to me at the rest stop and in just like, really there’s 5 open picnic tables sit elsewhere. If she wanted to be social she could have said hi, instead she just chatted in her phone. Fucking people confuse me.
As I left the rest stop, I found all my skittishness in Helga was gone. Threw my leg over the saddle and took off like a boss. Which got me thinking. So confession time. I did figure it was more likely than not, that said lady wanted me to chat her up. I mean why else would she sit there. Not to mention at the moment I am a fucking trope. The lone traveling dude by horse or by motorcycle has gotten laid in just about every movie he’s been in. Too bad I’m not that kind of biker baby. I may not be fat and grizzled, but I do smell I’m sure, 2 days since a shower. Confidence is a strange and slippery thing sometimes. I like to think I’m more evolved than that, but I suspect that little ego boost is why my bike feels mine again. Or maybe I just needed vitamin d.
Pointless angst and pretentious desire for meaning aside. I’m happy to be enjoying the ride again, even if West Texas is ugly and smells of CAFOs.
I stopped at the days inn in Van Horn Texas. My phone refuses to understand I’m in a new time zone. Oh well. I wanted to get more miles in today but the next place with anything, ft. Stockton was 120 miles more and I’m not doing it today. I’ve got my clothes in the laundry and I have the cook gear a good scrub in the sink. Although due to lack of camp grounds along my route and the things I want to do in Sheffield, I’ll probably hotel again tomorrow. We shall see.