Saturday, October 9

East Haven, Newark, Brighton, Lewis, Ferdinand, Brunswick, Bloomfield and Lemington

Miles: 58, mostly on paved roads

I have so much to write but not a minute to get it down. I am trying to take advantage of the daylight hours and nonrainy days to ride, and my nights have been a little full, to say the least. One was downright crazy.

I again rode without my gear. A friend, Dottie, joined me for the morning on a non-ebike, so I rode most of that time with my assist on zero. Between that and trading bikes with her for some of the hills, I was reminded why I purchased an ebike.

Dot’s car was dropped off on a dirt road in Lewis on one of the very few roads in that town. Just before reaching it, the road forked, and we asked a hunter which way to Lewis. He assured us there was no Lewis. “There is nothing there, no town. You are the second person to ask me. What is up with Lewis? It does not exist.” I explained about the 251 Club, and he settled down.

As we set out down the right fork, Dottie took a nasty spill on her bike, but true-to-Dottie form, this older-than-I-am woman bounced back up and was eventually able to ride on with me to Lewis. I was so relieved she had not broken anything.

It was another bluebird day, and riding through miles of falling leaves left me feeling giddy. The colorful leaves twisted and spun as they gently fell to the ground. It was like riding for miles with confetti falling from the sky.

After Lewis, things took an interesting turn. Dottie was done riding for the day. We made arrangements for me to ride on while she napped and found a place to camp with electricity. She would pick me up by 6:30 along the side of the road.

I cycled on through Brighton into Ferdinand and more towns north. Just north of the Lemington town line, I paid respects at a memorial telephone pole festooned with flowers, beer cans, and written memorials for a recently deceased motorcyclist

I rode on a ways more, then stopped at a good place for Dot to pick me up along the side of the road. It was almost 6:30, and I had expected her around 6.

I waited and waited. I called and left messages on her voice mail. I put on my wind jacket as full darkness descended and the cold began to seep into my bones. I ate whatever snacks I had with me. And I tried not to cry. I was hungry and cold. I had very little with me. If I had had my iPad I would have at least kept busy writing, but when I set out from Brighton I made the decision to take the bare minimum.

I felt drawn to go back to the memorial telephone pole. Once there I focused on what I most needed. After two nights of being up until almost midnight sleep was foremost on my mind, so I huddled in my wind jacket and lay on the ground next to my bike.

This worked for a short while, but real sleep never came. A rare car came by, and I sat up as it passed me and made a U turn. The young man inside asked if I was okay and informed me that his grandfather lived down the road a ways, in case I needed anything. After thanking him, I once again tried to get some sleep.

As 8:30 rolled around and tears were again welling to the surface of my chilling body I made the decision to find the house and ask for a blanket. I walked up the wheelchair ramp and knocked. A voice called for me to come in, and I entered a blissfully warm dwelling where a 70-something ex Vietnam lieutenant-colonel was sitting on a large overstuffed sofa, his wheelchair beside him. I explained my situation, and he invited me in. For an hour I sat by his window watching for Dot to come up the road. My bike was sitting under a streetlight in clear view of any approaching cars. I gratefully ate the sandwich and drank the ginger ale which Mick generously provided me. I left more messages for Dot.

Sometime after 9 p.m. a call came in. It was the state police asking if I was okay. They patched me through to Dottie, and I learned that she had first driven miles in the wrong direction. When she stopped to ask directions, her keys got locked inside her car. She was waiting for AAA to arrive. The folks she was with couldn’t come get me, because her car was blocking theirs in!

I was so exhausted that I felt dizzy and a bit queasy. I tried to nap in a comfy chair while the TV taught me more about deer hunting than I will ever have to know. Finally, at almost midnight Dot arrived. We loaded my bike on her car, drove to the campground she had secured a spot in, plugged my battery into the bathroom socket, set up my tent, and fell into a much needed sleep.