Last night in Kansas. Heading for Missouri tomorrow.
When the route provides lots of uphills and downhills, you might drag the bike up and then just roll down. I guess that was what I did during the first weeks of this trip, because my knees were fine.
In Kansas, however, I have cycled and cycled and cycled, and now those knees of mine are complaining. I will NOT make the same mistake I made last year when I just ignored the pain and kept going. And I really don't have to: I am six days ahead of schedule.
Having more time and thereby also the possibility of letting my body decide the pace, are two of the first positive things on this years cycling holiday, in comparison to last years when I hurried around the Baltic sea. Another two are that the tarmac here generally is better and the drivers more considerate.
But I don't need to compare this year with last year to find positive things to mention. I just love it here! Sometimes, though, I feel surprised at what I enjoy. I promised a list of positive things, so here we go:
1. Walmart. You can get almost anything you want at a low cost and there are Walmarts even in smaller towns. Yesterday, I even found carbonated mineral water (and it wasn't expensive Perrier). Thumb's up.
2. Early mornings. I do not yet have a "favorite spot", but I certainly have a favorite time of the day. If I get going at 6 am or earlier, every place is the best place. It doesn't matter if I am in a town or out in the desert or up in the mountains, if I am alone or if there are plenty of cars around, I just can't stop grinning. Going early is always good, and the earlier the better.
3. Elderly ladies. They come up to you anywhere (outside a library, outside a shop, at the gas station...) and invite you to their homes and take care of you as were you their beloved grandchild. And they are sharp and cool. Tonight I'll be staying with Ruth and her cute poodle Miss Penny.
But actually, I could just as well have said "People in general" because there are just SO many incredibly nice people helping me out every day. Like Kat, the talented photographer, who I stayed with last night and who actually managed to take good pictures of me cycling with my little Samsung...
I will list ALL my hosts in a posting later on... There will be pic's too, but you'll have to be patient... :-)
Among those positive things, I also would like to mention another couple of food items that I enjoy but forgot about in my last posting.
Mountain House freeze-dried food is easy to prepare in the tent and their lasagna is an absolute favorite for breakfast after a camping night.
But that's for chilly mornings. For the very warm afternoons there is ICE CREAM. When I reach the town I intend to stay the night after a sweaty day of cycling, I always get into the first gas station I see and buy a Sandwich ice cream, which I always eat in the shop (they have air condition...) while I chat with whoever sold it to me. That way I get information about where the library/swimming pool/city park/camping/motel is, or whatever I need to know, while the risk of hypothermia is lowered and the chance of survival is increased.
And on the subject of food: A former American student of mine (he's still American, just not my student anymore), listed a number of American food items he figured I should try. Getting a task to carry out made me surprisingly happy and I had the list printed for me in a library. Like an eager Golden retriever I went to fetch the stuff.
Once at the store, I managed to grab the probably most service minded store staff person I've ever met in my life. She immediately saw the great importance of my list and my task and went and got me a basket to put everything in and then took me on a tour. We got everything except for the frozen yogurt with chocolate mint chips. I'll get them later.
The Coffee Cake (which was gooood, as were Reece's pieces) made me go buy some milk too. I drank at least half a gallon yesterday. I will get another half a gallon tonight. I bet Ruth has a fridge.
In Kansas, however, I have cycled and cycled and cycled, and now those knees of mine are complaining. I will NOT make the same mistake I made last year when I just ignored the pain and kept going. And I really don't have to: I am six days ahead of schedule.
Having more time and thereby also the possibility of letting my body decide the pace, are two of the first positive things on this years cycling holiday, in comparison to last years when I hurried around the Baltic sea. Another two are that the tarmac here generally is better and the drivers more considerate.
But I don't need to compare this year with last year to find positive things to mention. I just love it here! Sometimes, though, I feel surprised at what I enjoy. I promised a list of positive things, so here we go:
1. Walmart. You can get almost anything you want at a low cost and there are Walmarts even in smaller towns. Yesterday, I even found carbonated mineral water (and it wasn't expensive Perrier). Thumb's up.
2. Early mornings. I do not yet have a "favorite spot", but I certainly have a favorite time of the day. If I get going at 6 am or earlier, every place is the best place. It doesn't matter if I am in a town or out in the desert or up in the mountains, if I am alone or if there are plenty of cars around, I just can't stop grinning. Going early is always good, and the earlier the better.
3. Elderly ladies. They come up to you anywhere (outside a library, outside a shop, at the gas station...) and invite you to their homes and take care of you as were you their beloved grandchild. And they are sharp and cool. Tonight I'll be staying with Ruth and her cute poodle Miss Penny.
But actually, I could just as well have said "People in general" because there are just SO many incredibly nice people helping me out every day. Like Kat, the talented photographer, who I stayed with last night and who actually managed to take good pictures of me cycling with my little Samsung...
I will list ALL my hosts in a posting later on... There will be pic's too, but you'll have to be patient... :-)
Among those positive things, I also would like to mention another couple of food items that I enjoy but forgot about in my last posting.
Mountain House freeze-dried food is easy to prepare in the tent and their lasagna is an absolute favorite for breakfast after a camping night.
But that's for chilly mornings. For the very warm afternoons there is ICE CREAM. When I reach the town I intend to stay the night after a sweaty day of cycling, I always get into the first gas station I see and buy a Sandwich ice cream, which I always eat in the shop (they have air condition...) while I chat with whoever sold it to me. That way I get information about where the library/swimming pool/city park/camping/motel is, or whatever I need to know, while the risk of hypothermia is lowered and the chance of survival is increased.And on the subject of food: A former American student of mine (he's still American, just not my student anymore), listed a number of American food items he figured I should try. Getting a task to carry out made me surprisingly happy and I had the list printed for me in a library. Like an eager Golden retriever I went to fetch the stuff.
Once at the store, I managed to grab the probably most service minded store staff person I've ever met in my life. She immediately saw the great importance of my list and my task and went and got me a basket to put everything in and then took me on a tour. We got everything except for the frozen yogurt with chocolate mint chips. I'll get them later. The Coffee Cake (which was gooood, as were Reece's pieces) made me go buy some milk too. I drank at least half a gallon yesterday. I will get another half a gallon tonight. I bet Ruth has a fridge.
upplagd av ACROSS THE US
13:57
6 kommentarer:
Du är ju helt grym :) Kul att höra att det rullar på så bra, att folk är snälla med dig och att du har tid att vila knäna lite också. Kan rekommendera såna där knästöd jag hade när vi vandrade om knäna behöver lite hjälp på traven att återhämta sig.
Har själv varit på en liten roadtrip i Tyskland, men medelst AC-bil (men iofs en del promenerande) känns det inte som någon vidare strapats i jämförelse så klart :) Värmen tog hårt dock, till och med på mig som gillar värme - det var mellan 35-40 grader i torr tysk luft... Men det var trevligt nonetheless :) Nästa vecka blir det semester, som tillbringas zu Hause pga ... surprise! Entreprenad. The "saga" continues...
Trampa på! Kram!
Hej Monkan!
Vad roligt att du har lyckats göra en så här kulinarisk resa. Jag tror att motsvarigheten i Europa är att köpa en Guide Rouge/Michelin och kajka runt nordvästra delen av medelhavskusten. En sak jag uppskattat mycket när jag varit på den andra sidan är deras sötpotatis som jag tror det översatt heter sweetpotatoe. Den är mumsfilibabba i rätt sällskap. Jag måste också framhålla deras fantastiska öl som heter Budweiser, den är framtagen för att vara lagom lättdrucken och berusande en varm dagen då familjefadern avverkar sitt sexpack till grillningen. Budweisers dotterbolag i Tjeckien tillverkar den europeiska motsvarigheten som heter Budowar och den anses vara Tjeckiens finaste öl.
I övermorgon ska jag börja min resa mot den nordvästra medelhavskusten via Paris. Det här blir dock mer en kulturresa än en matresa då höjdpunkten på utflykten är Friidrotts EM i Barcelona.
Du otroligt grymt imponerande i vad du gjort, genomför och framför allt kommer att genomföra. Vi är många som hejar på dig, ha det jättebäst och trevlig resa!
Tusen glada kramar från Ola
Monica,
Glad to hear you've survived the Kansas heat and wind. We were sure happy to have you over the other night and wish you the best. Safe travels! We'll keep an eye on you here and check in from time to time.
Lester, Sam and Chilly
Q: Vilka är de längsta damerna i USA?
A: Mrs Sippi och miss Ouri!
:-D
Ok ok ok, that was an oooold one - but so am I! And you are slightly older than me but still the one pedaling across a continent while I'm busy eating strawberries in my sofa! :)
/Patrik
Det är spännande att läsa dina berättelser från din resa.Vi är imponerade av det du gör.
Vi önskar dig lycka till på den fortsatta cykelfärden. Nu är det semester och vi åker till stugan idag. Kram från MoP
Hi Monica,
Leo gave you a lot of good suggestions, but I think you should check out the cereal as well. The choices are one of the things I miss most about being away, although the options of Swedish bread makes up for it. Some are more like dessert than breakfast, but here are my favorites:
-Quaker Oat Bran
-Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds
-Frosted Mini-wheats (I think Post brand is better than Kelloggs)
-Corn Chex and Rice Chex mixed together, preferably with a banana sliced on top
-Golden Grahams
-Alpha-bits
-Cocoa Pebbles
-Lucky Charms
Also, you should have better luck finding the Stonyfield Farms Minty Chocolate Chip frozen yogurt at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, or other organic grocery stores. I hope you can find it!
-Allison
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