Tom Week - Cyclists Beware
7/8/21 – Kill The Cyclists
I try to pick RV parks near bike paths, or at least bike lanes. The Fort Hill SC KOA is right on York County Bike Route 4. Apparently York County is intent on killing all cyclists as soon as possible. The road is two lanes in each direction with no shoulder and very heavy traffic at a 55 mph speed limit. There is no way bikes should every be ridden on this road.
I tried a couple side roads listed on Google Maps as bicycle-friendly. Google Maps lies again.
7/9/21 – More Danger
Today I took bike route 4B. No sidewalks, but slower traffic and the cars gave me plenty of room. Unfortunately there were way more hills and no shade. Got worn out pretty quickly.
7/10/21 – Limbo Day
A change in my meds has me a bit off kilter. Today was better thinking-wise, but not quite up to speed. Today was that weird combination of boredom and restlessness.
Went to John’s Place, a bar at a gas station. It was surprisingly normal. Beers cost $2.41. The bartender refused to explain, YET AGAIN, why they were that price. There was a live band playing songs from the 70’s. They were good, but probably because they’ve been playing those same songs since they were in high school. Yes, the band was older than I am.
7/11/21 – A Breeze
We are in an RV park in Lumberton North Carolina and there is a breeze. That’s pretty much all that matters.
7/12/21 – Radar Lies Again
I checked the radar. No rain till 3PM. Plenty of time for a bike ride. Just as I got up to change into my bike clothes the rain came pouring down. It rained off and on all day.
7/13/21 – Sad History
Before we travel to a new town I look it up on Wikipedia. The last few towns have been very depressing. Today’s town was occupied by Native Americans for 12,000 years before the Europeans came and killed them all. The town is split into two counties. One mostly white, the other mostly African American. (But racism no longer exists, right?)
7/14/21 – Hot and Stuff
I went for a bike ride through the tobacco fields today. I checked the temperature before I left. It was 81. Not bad. The roads were flat, but entirely lacking in shade. I was exhausted when I got home. The sun was fierce. I checked the temp again and it still said 81. I hit the reload button. The temp was 88. The humidity was 90%. The “real feel” was 97 degrees.
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