With the bike tour over, I seem to have zero energy. I sleep late. I don’t know what to do from day to day. So each day I assign a task or two to myself. Sometimes the task is “Go for a bike ride.” Others it’s do this errand or that.
Today didn’t start well. I intended to get up before dawn, ride into the city, and attend a coffee get together with the folks from WABA (the Washington Area Bicyclists Association). One look at the numbers 5:38 on my bedside clock and I turned the alarm off and went back to sleep.
Once I reached some semblance of consciousness, I did three errands by bike. First, I rode to the hardware store to drop off a lawn mower blade to be sharpened. Pro tip: do not crash when carrying a 23 inch metal blade, even a dull one. I made it with all my appendages intact.
Next, I rode to a store in Alexandria to pick up a battery for my point and shoot camera. Yeah, I still have one. It’s for those times when I’m riding and don’t want to fiddle with my phone. I took it on tour. The battery was already suspect. It died after one day. The camera found its way to the bottom of one of my panniers for the duration of the ride.
There is good news in this. My upper left arm survived almost the entire tour without pain. After last year’s romp in Michigan and Wisconsin, my left arm ached for days. I was taking pictures with my right hand which meant that I had to control the heavily loaded Mule with my left arm. It just wore my arm out.
On the way back from picking up the battery, I stopped in the left turn lane at a red light. The old lady in the Kia Soul next to me rolled down her window and said, “Wanna race?” I almost fell off my bike laughing.
On my way home I swung by the local rec center to buy a pass. You get to go 25 times over a two-year period for $159. Not bad. I had free access to a gym at work and never used the weight machines. Once my bruised ribs heal, I plan on going a few times a week to see if I can instill a new habit. It’s also good for skating and swimming so if weights don’t float my boat I can try out other methods of self abuse.
Speaking of my ribs, they still ache when I breathe hard, go over a bump, or dismount my bike. They are getting better though. It doesn’t hurt to cough, get on my bike, or drink beer.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
It is interesting how strange it is to re-enter “normal” after a long bike trip. We happened upon each other in Wisconsin last year and you took my photo. I might have sent you my account of that trip or, maybe not. If not it will give you something to do during re-entry! http://ronnies70thadventure.blogspot.com/2016/10/jordan-montana-to-sandusky-ohio-ronnies.html
Great to hear from you. I found your blog some time ago. You are an inspiration. Before my tour, I ran into a tourist from Minn. who was riding the 48 States perimeter. His blog tells of how he stayed with you. Small world.
Point and shoot cameras are so last century…LOL, I bought a small digital camera in about 2011 for the express purpose of taking it on rides, I almost always forgot to pack it and or use it and finally sold it on. My iPhone on the other hand gets used on rides all the time.
I turned my phone off for most of the time. I needed to be sure that the map function would be available