Different Goals Yield Different Results

From the start BJ's goal has been to ride from Seattle to Bloomington, Indiana for the Hilly Hundred, a two-day invitational bike ride beginning on October 20. Each year they give an award for the person who rides the most miles to the Hilly. BJ wants to win.

My goal has been different. I don't have the time to ride all the way to Bloomington. What I have told people all along is "One way or another, I have to be home by October 2."

We looked at the maps and did a little figuring and it doesn't look like I will get all the way to Dixon on my own power. The problem does not reside in my body or my bike. The calendar is just running out.

We left Rte 12 for a while this morning, going east out of Selby to Java. Not much to see there except an old Lutheran cemetery. Then we cut south back to Rte 12.

We stopped for lunch in Ipswich. BJ, who lived in England for a while, pronounces the name of this town "Ippish." The locals and I say "Ip-switch." One of said locals told us, "We're kind of hurting for restaurants around here." Our choices were Subway or the truck stop deli. We opted for the latter.

When we left the truck stop BJ discovered that his front tire was flat. He repaired it and we traveled on...

...for about four miles before the tire went flat again.

When BJ flatted in Regent, I offered him my spare. He refused it and cash booted the tire. When he flatted in Ipswich, I offered the spare again. Again BJ declined. When he flatted the second time today, BJ finally accepted my offer.

It was a warm day and tailwinds carried us all the way to Aberdeen, which is, I believe, the largest metropolitan area we've seen since Seattle. It is large enough to have a good bike shop (Gearhead Bikes) where BJ bought a new pair of tires. He replaced the front tire and returned my spare with only a few miles on it. We also bought some fresh tubes and tire levers.

Somewhere along the way BJ lost a piece of his tire pump. Fortunately we both carry a pump and I, saint and all-around good guy that I am, shared mine.

Aberdeen has two city parks with designated campsites and (yay!) showers. We are staying on Melgaard Park where it is dark and, if the traffic on Melgaard Avenue dies down, may be quiet.

Today's ride: 91 miles. Trip total: 1659.