Wednesday, june 5th, 2024

Another day where the trip was delayed by rain. It is dusk and I am sitting in a friend's comfortable recliner - quite a change from the saddle sores of earlier in the week. I've been here three days due to rain, and fatigue.
Back to the trip. County Road 657 is roughly 13 miles from its origin, on Forest Highway 16, to the Paint River Forks campground. So exhausted, dehydrated, and bone tired. I covered the 25 miles and felt like I had won the Tour de France when I finally found this primitive camping ground. I must say that County Road 657 is a great ride through magnificent woods and forest. Along the way I witnessed a startled doe, who had recently given birth to a nervous fawn, right in the middle of the dusty road.

You'll notice a photo included with this slice of my trip. If you are familiar with wild scat, this is a pile of bear dung. Not a sight you choose to see on a back road, when you're miles from nowhere. I pedaled faster and whistled, partly to warn the Bruin, and partly to allay my anxiousness. Took a bad fall on the way, due to my own negligence. When I stupidly took my left hand off the handlebar to check my front pack, I came crashing down, bending the handlebar and suffering some mild abrasions - and a large ugly purple bruise. Fortunately I did not break my eyeglasses, which would have been a problem, as I am visually half blind without them. I straddled the front tire and, w'ith considerable effort, aligned the wheel and the handlebars. Disaster avoided. A little later I had a case of the "shits" - I needed to evacuate in the woods - not pleasant but entirely necessary. If you haven't read the almost famous book How Do You Shit In The Woods, do so before you ever venture into the wilderness. You might learn something that you think you already know.
I will leave you for the day. If all goes well, I will be continuing on the road again tomorrow.