the Roam

We will get to the x man part later, but first…

Decided to end day two in Long Valley, New Jersey.  It was about 5 pm when I turned back from the huge hill ahead, Schooleys Mountain Road, after a day of hills I couldn’t bring myself to conquer another. I knew I had it in me, but I knew too that it could ruin me for tomorrow and take time from writing this blog and setting up camp.

I knocked on the door of a beautiful blue house with a  plaque stating it was built in… 1870 I believe. I didn’t take a picture because I was about to make a huge request of a complete stranger. I asked the answerer if I could set up my tent on his property to which he said “well no” and really what would you expect someone to say? but then! he texted his pastor and sent me a few blocks back down hill to his church. I’m sitting behind their ballfield now with my bivy set up.  Apparently there is even a tap I can use somewhere on the back of the church. I’ll find it in the morning and refill all my containers. Thank you very much for your kindness Burt and Zion Lutheran!

So thank you very much Burt Horner! Please forgive me if I misspelled your name. Yours is the first kindness I’ve had on the trip and it choked me up a lil bit!

One guy did shout at me earlier today “Are you using google maps?” to which I replied “well.. yes I am” then he shouted “I’LL BE DAMNED” and sped off. I immediately realized he had said “are you google maps” and I felt horrible about my accidental lie.

All in all it was a good day, though it was entirely hills after this stressful flat section of road.

Also on that road I had to use a crosswalk with a button to prompt a green light… The button had a huge spider on it and I didn’t realize.

Now the part where I found out I’m a mutant.

At one point coming up yet another steep long hill and as I was forcing myself to take step after step the little solar radio strapped to my handle bar starting making a slight noise. It was turned off and at first I thought my iPod was on. I reached in my pocket.. no its off and the headphones are disconnected. So I turned to the radio and I heard softly from its speaker ” …like Lady Godiva I’m gonna go go go there’s no stopping meeee!” and then it stopped.

I looked at the radio.. it was off. No more sound came from it. The most logical explanation seems to be that I have some kind of magneto like control of electromagnetic waves and I projected the song into the speaker to motivate myself unconsciously. It could be a hallucination brought on by heat and extreme effort and me listening to that song on loop before I quit my job, and yesterday as I trudged up a hill pushing the cart through the mud, but that seems far fetched.

After that hill and all those before it all I could think of was how much I wanted Dairy Queen and as I came into the town of Chester I was rewarded with Dairy Queen and Bella Pizzeria which had a great sausage pizza!

Sorry I didn’t take more photos today. I was really focused on forcing myself over almost 29 miles of hills. But I did it! I’m already 57 miles in on day 2 when I was hoping to average only 20 miles a day!

p.s. I found a sealed box of sexy temporary tattoos under a cabinet in my hotel room this morning.

I was going to open it up and share whats inside, but I’m camping on a churches property tonight! It just feels wrong so stay tuned for that excitement at a later date.