Last night when I was getting ready to crawl into my tent, there was a threat of rain. Some well-meaning neighbor walking by, told me to feel free to move my tent under the owner of the campgrounds carport so it wouldn’t get muddy. Great idea.
So, I emptied the tent and carried it over to the carport and climbed on in. Cozy times.
An hour or two later a car pulled into the carport and apparently didn’t want to get wet either. It nosed up so close to my tent, that it covered my tent stakes. I was so deeply asleep, I was only dimly aware. Not for long.
Out of nowhere, a shrieking, honking, pulsating blast permeated my dreams. What the hell?! I bolted up right and scrambled out of the tent. The cars alarm had gone off, less the 2 feet from my head! The headlights flashed and the alarm sounded on and on, shattering the night with its wail. It would stop for a minute and then start again, over and over. I stood there waiting for it to quiet, or for the owner to appear for quite some time, but did they? No.
So, again I collected my things from my tent, then picked up my tent and hauled it back over to its original patch of dirt. The car finally ceased beeping and my heart stopped pounding. Another night full of adventure.
This morning as I headed to San Luis, I was feeling a little sluggish. The first few miles were fine, but then my route took me back to a highway. A two lane highway in each direction this time. I just couldn’t stomach it. I turned back and decided to give Ms. Kamoot a try and take one of her fabled dirt roads that ran parallel to the highway. All went well for the first three miles, until the road disintegrated beneath me and turned to sand-it is impossible to bike on sand-so back to the highway.
This time though the highway surprised me by having a wide paved shoulder. What a treat.
For 40 miles I trudged (can you trudge a bike?) up a long subtle grade, and was rewarded by a 15 mile descent. No up and down-just down. That means the hills are here and the hills will lead to mountains!
When I moved my tent to the carport and when I took the sandy road, it wasn’t lost on me that one of the benefits of traveling alone is that nobody groans about your poor decision making-except maybe yourself. There are no rolled eyes, no what were you thinkings, no I told you sos. It makes the bad decisions I make much easier to bear.
OMG…. that car alarm!!!!!! Jeez!!!! At least it didn’t rain on you when you had to move your tent back out from under cover! The sandy road doesn’t work at all, but I’m glad the road was better once you got back to pavement! Hope it goes well thru the mountains!
I don’t know about Ms. Kamoot, but i am relieved when you make it another day. You have a strenuous journey ahead! I hope Kamoot is more helpful.
You are so brave! I could never do what you are riding! I admire you!
From your descriptions, Leah, your words, I can literally see your experiences, hear the sounds, almost smell the places. Then you photos seem to confirm what I was imagining. Thanks for it all. Buen Camino!
You certainly are having an experience. Can’t imagine how fast your heart was pounding when that alarm went off. Thanks for sharing your trip. Really enjoying the daily reports.
Gary
I agree with your mom. Ms. Kamoot doesn’t seem entirely trustworthy.
As long as you survive there are no bad decisions. They are learning experiences, adventures and great stories.
You are very brave and I admire you.