summerwinter nz: video

summerwinter nz: video: "July 31 - August 1 weekend at Mt. Hutt. Closed due to windstorm."

summerwinter nz: heli commute mt. hutt

summerwinter nz: heli commute mt. hutt

summerwinter nz: Driving around Methven

summerwinter nz: Driving around Methven

Muncie, IN

I made it home this afternoon pretty early. It was surreal. All of a sudden, after miles and miles and days of pedaling through places I had never seen, I came upon my parents' house. I think I could have gone on indefinitely across the country. However, the weather is starting to turn pretty miserable so I guess it was good to stop.

Everything always looks small when I get home. When I was a kid I always thought my street was kind of big. Now I realize that it's only about 12 feet wide. There were boulders at the end of the street, but now I see that they are just rocks.

My clothes are pretty filthy so I put on some of my dad's sweats. They barely hang around me. I weighed myself for fun and thought the scale was broken. It said 163 pounds. I haven't weighed that much since about my freshman year of high school.

I learned a few things on this trip, although I can't think of too many now.



Evil dogs



Chilly donut






Barn for Jane



Smile!



Eastern Indiana sunrise



Where's Linus?



Wow, I'm really here.






Taking the flag off for the last time in the snow.

Frankfort, IN

Today was a fine day. I had some hills in between Danville and
Attica, but made up for lost time when it flattened out. I had the
wind at my back and rolled into Frankfort in no time. I listened to
some Prairie Home Companion followed by the Colts. Even the dogs gave
me a pass today, for the most part.

I found the library and hooked up to an internet terminal, but once
again the computer wouldn't read my camera. I have some photos, but
they will have to wait.

Frankfort has a Pizza King, a Village Pantry, and a Marsh supermarket
with a girl wearing a Manning jersey at the checkout. Seems like
home. Only 60 miles and I ought to be there tomorrow night. I might
miss this, actually. I really enjoy this bike. It's also nice to
order a sundae in a five-gallon bucket and not have to worry about it.

danville, il

Today wasn't that much fun. It was cold and my feet were numb most of
the time. Maybe one day I'll design some bike booties that work. I
pedaled and pedaled under the featureless gray sky. It's impossible
to tell what time it is by the sun because it's all gray and dark.

It was a bad day for dogs. I must have been chased by twenty of them.
Mostly I'm going fast enough that I can escape, or I yell at them and
they stop. There seem to be many more here than out in the country.

As I felt more emboldened, I thought I would push it by taking a video
of the next dog encounter. Sure enough, as I crested the next hill, a
couple of medium sized dogs came at me. I fumbled with my camera and
started recording. As soon as I started, about five more dogs came
running out from behind this house. I pedaled as fast as I could but
I was still in low gear from the hill, and I couldn't shift because I
was holding the camera. I shouted at them and almost crashed.

These weren't even regular farm dogs. This shack was out in the woods
and the guy was probably brewing meth. So these were foaming tweaker
dogs who probably hadn't been fed in a week. I was legitimately
scared for quite awhile after I escaped.

I got a motel room tonight on a commercial strip north of town. There
was a Wal-Mart about a mile up the road. I had to get some new socks
and some food, so I walked up there. As usual, there were no
sidewalks, just a curb with cars whizzing by. I've noticed this in so
many cities that I've passed through. If I want to walk down the
street, I have to walk through yards, car dealerships, and cemetaries.
By walking, I feel like a trespasser or something. Walking a little
more might be a good idea for some of the folks I see. But it's
dangerous and unpleasant to walk, so I guess I wouldn't recommend it.

farmer city, il

today was good. made it almost 80 miles. found some nice back roads.
winds at my back and flat terrain. may make it to IN tomorrow if i
don't freeze. supposed to get nasty. went to eat at imo's family
restaurant for their friday buffet. i had beef soup, beef lasagna,
chicken and vegetables, mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, and apple
cobbler. i also stopped to get a Dove bar on the way home.

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