Every time I see that it’s someone’s birthday, I’ll usually post my wishes to them on social media and ask if they’re getting out for a birthday ride.  I also asked about this when I hosted #bikeschool a few weeks ago to find out what sort of cycling rituals people had on their big day.

It seemed like the most popular response was for people to ride the amount of miles that equals their age.

Well, today it’s my turn.  Yes, Mr. LovingtheBike turns another year older today, and as always I’ll be getting out for one special birthday ride.  So how old am I, you ask?  Well, I honestly feel like age is just a number and I don’t personally get too tied up with it.  But two years ago I posted about having abs at 42…..you do the math.  Oh, and thanks to my time on the bike, and decent nutrition……I still have abs at 44.

I don’t have a consistent ritual for my yearly birthday ride, but I tend to do something out of the ordinary so as to make it memorable.  Some years I’ve gone ultra long distance.  When we lived in St. Kitts, I was sure to do an around-the-island ride.  Other times it was a ride that allowed me to clear my head and spend time in nature.

I’m not exactly sure what’s in store for this year, but all I know is that after I’m done putting in some hours at Mocha Spoke this morning….I’m heading off for a sweet journey with just me and my road bike.  After that, the rest of the day will be spent celebrating with my Family.

Okay, so what about you?  What are your birthday riding rituals?  Let’s hear about it.

My Off the Grid cycling tour buddy, Rob continues his journey to promote sustainability.  Here’s his journal entry from Day 53 that includes wise words and an update on his ride.

“Every day we choose, whether we realize it or not, to be a part of the solution or to be a part of the problem.”

Off the Grid Bicycle Tour: Day 53

by Rob Greenfield

I left Grant’s house at 3:30 as the clouds rolled in partially covering up the sun. It had been a hot day, 85+ degrees, and this cooled it off a bit.  A few sprinkles fell from the sky and the humid air was full of vigor and life.  Leaving town I was tremendously grateful to have spent time with great friends and rested my drained body.  I stopped behind the grocery store on the way out and loaded my bag full of blackberries, apples, nectarines, spinach, and melons.  This ten pounds of fruit would last me for about twenty-four hours.

The terrain outside of Boscobel was stunningly beautiful and brought excitement to my mind and body.  The road took me along the flooded Wisconsin River that was flowing through the forests creating a river wonderland.  The green land enthralled me and was full of magical scents from blooming trees and wildflowers.  The air was the ideal temperature to be riding in just my shorts and my hairy body trapped hundreds of little insects all over it.  Insects bounced off my forehead and flew into my eyes but I enjoyed this knowing it was a sign of the life that this river had created.  I pedaled along the Wisconsin River feeling as inspired as could be by the beauty surrounding me. The beauty was so grand that it brought sadness to me, as nature often does.

This is Wisconsin. This is my homeland. This is where my roots spread into the ground as a youth and soaked up knowledge, experiences, friendships, love, and memories.  This is where I was molded into the man I am today.  This is Wisconsin. This is my homeland.  As far away as I travel and as long as I stay away it will always be the land that made me who I am today.
The lush dense forests and the green pastures full of spotted cows were a source of great inspiration for me.  Emotions flooded my mind, opening it up and allowing me to come up with inspiration of methods to create the happier and healthier world I desire to see.  I took voice memos of the ideas as to not forget them so that I could capture them in their peak and transcribe them onto paper when I had the time.

On this journey I have created and solidified my mission in life and have dedicated myself to being the change that we need in this world.  To being the inspiration that people need in order to take action. To lead by example to demonstrate what can be done and what is attainable for anyone. To teach simple ways to live a happier healthier that will create a happier healthier planet.  That is who Rob Greenfield is and that is who Rob Greenfield will be.  The path that I took in my younger years in Wisconsin did not always have an obvious arrow pointing in this direction but I am thankful for every moment that I have spent on this earth because it has brought me to where I am today and it has led me into this mission. It has created a desire deep inside me to be the change that this planet needs.  I gave thanks to the Wisconsin wilderness for the shivers it sent down my spine as I rode today and for being a source for the greatness inside me.

I passed familiar places in an unfamiliar way, via bicycle. When I lived in Madison just fifty miles from where I was pedaling today it would have been quite the task to pedal out here.  Now it was just another 50-75 mile day on the road. It is something I can do now without even thinking twice about it. In Wisconsin I drove everywhere I needed to go and I used a credit card to pump the gas the car needed to go.  This credit card detached me from the fact that I was pumping money into my tank everyday.  For many years I never thought twice about reducing the amount of fuel I used. I just assumed, hey if I want to go somewhere I’ll just put the gas in the car to get me there. I did not think about the idea of saving myself money and not contributing to global warming. It was simple, if I needed to go somewhere I put gas in my car. Now that I realize what this mindset does to the planet and how much more financially free I am not pouring my money into my car I would cringe to pump gas into a vehicle. This is a perfect example of how life is just a matter of perspective and how we shape the world around us. Everyday we have choices to make, and each one of us as individuals makes the decision to be a part of the problem or to be a part of the solution.

I carried on pedaling through favorable conditions in love with the lush jungle green hills that rose straight out of the flooded waters. This land is so thick and so full of life. The birds sang songs all around me, deer watched me ride by from within the foliage, frogs croaked, muskrats scurried off the roadside, and turtles sat lazy on the river banks enjoying the summer nights they had been waiting for. I had been told that it was a very long winter here in Wisconsin that had just recently ended and it was quite obvious to me that the fisherman on the riversides and the cheery birds above were happy to be out together in Mother Nature.  My knees ached and the bursitis in my foot burned hot. Even though the pedaling was quite easy I felt much pain along with a very itchy body from all the biting gnats and mosquitoes. Occasionally it would distract me from my heightened spirits but never for too long as every time I looked around me into the beauty the emotions flooded back. I’m in pure bliss here in the driftless region of Wisconsin.

As the light faded away from the sky it was so pretty that it hurt. I had a tough time deciding whether to end my night in Black Earth still amongst the lush rolling hills or to continue on all the way to Madison. I mulled it over for an hour as I rode and just couldn’t make a decision. I wanted to stay out here amongst the beauty for as long as I could but I knew I had a busy ahead of me tomorrow and it would be helpful to wake up in Madison. Rather than deciding I just keep my wheels turning until I was far enough past Black Earth that I was far enough way to not be able to turn back. The beauty was bittersweet for the rest of the ride as I yearned to soak it in and walk through the forests, visit the farms, and drink fresh milk from the cows. Alas I kept on pedaling at my casual pace of 12 mph and carried on into the dark figuring I’d make it to my friend Lars’s house around 10:30, where I would have a bed to sleep in and a good friend to hug.

I turned off of the dark and busy highway 14 onto a country road where the only lights in sight were those of the lightning bugs in the ravines below and the twinkling stars above. It was eerie but I was happy to be alone in the dark woods. This alone time creates growth for me. It was so quiet I could hear every creek from my bamboo bike and I could have heard a rabbit nibbling on leaves if there was one. The light gray road was lit up just enough by the reflective clouds above that I could pedal along in the dark safely. I heard shrieks from the forest from an animal that I could not identify. At first I thought a Bob Cat, but who knows what it was. The air was cool and comfortable to be pedaling in. I was so close to the familiar city of Madison but pedaling on a road I never had before that felt very unfamiliar. With nightfall I felt loneliness but I was grateful for it because I know that many humans do not get the opportunity to experience solitude in nature. Many humans do not take the opportunity to connect with nature and experience the peace it can create within. I arrived at Lars’s home as planned around 10:30 and was happy to be in a comfortable home where I could rest my body and mind.

For more on Rob’s incredible bike journey, follow him on Facebook.

Photo by Brent Martin.

Last month we introduced a new deal on the site called Cycling Tips from Broken Bones.  Yeah, kind of a messed up title….but if you checked it out you would have seen that these are a series of tips from Josh at Broken Bones Bicycles.

He’s a cool guy and shares his cycling wisdom over at what he calls, Broken Bones Garage.  We’re going to be featuring one of his tips each month, and this time around Josh is talking about your first ride back after a rest week.

We all know how important it is to protect ourselves while out cycling, but Barry Seltz reminds us that we also need to protect our bicycle as well.  Here are his three tips for protecting your bike and yourself.

Protecting Your Bike and Yourself as a Cyclist

by Barry Seltz

Cycling represents one of the very best forms of exercise, as it is extremely enjoyable, gentle and accessible to people of all ages.  Whether you are looking to cycle around your local park or venture further, it is important that you take the necessary steps to protect yourself and keep your bike in good working order.  Not only will this guarantee you years of uninterrupted fun and enjoyable activity, but it also enables you to safeguard your financial investment.

Image c/o Wikipedia

How to Protect You Bike and Yourself as a Cyclist: 3 Tips for Success

With this in mind, what practical steps can you take to protect yourself while cycling?  What can you do to ensure your bike is stored and maintained safely?  Consider the following:

Ÿ Purchase High Quality Safety Equipment:  When cycling out on the open road, your first task is to ensure you travel safely.  In order to achieve this, you will need to buy various safety products that protect individual parts of your body.  The most important purchase you will make is that of a helmet, which should fit well and provide adequate protection in the event of a fall or collision.  Similarly, you should also invest in suitable gloves and kneepads, as this may help you to avoid damaging your hands and legs during an accident.

Ÿ Learn the Rules of the Road: While cycling and driving are rarely compared as being similar to one another, there are a number of fundamental similarities.  When you take a vehicle out onto the open road, you are ultimately responsible for the safety of fellow travellers including pedestrians and motorists.  With this in mind, it is important to learn the basic rules of the road before you begin to cycle regularly, especially if you are looking to commute to work or travel within busy, metropolitan areas.

Ÿ Identify a Safe and Secure Storage Options: While there are an increasing number of new build housing products in the UK, modern properties are far smaller and more compact than in previous generations.  This creates something of an issue when it comes to finding adequate storage, but it is important to ensure that your bike has a safe and secure location when idle.  This can be achieved by purchasing a compact, durable bike shed, which provides adequate protection against theft and adverse weather conditions.

Image c/o drdul

The Bottom Line for Cyclists

While bike ownership is often seen as a light hearted and more enjoyable alternative to driving a car, you have various responsibilities as a cyclist.  Not only must you uphold your own safety and that of fellow road users, but there is also a pressing need to take good care of your bike and maintain its performance.  So be sure to cycle responsibly and with the rules of the road firmly in mind.  It’s also a good idea to buy a bike shed at www.asgardsss.co.uk – Storage for Life to provide comprehensive protection against a host of external threats.

About the company:

Asgard are Storage experts based in the UK, who specialize particularly in secure cycle storage alongside their other lines of work in garden and motorbike storage solutions.

Old habits die hard.  It’s difficult to change your thoughts, and your habits.  But worthwhile tasks are seldom easy, right?  This week, I’m going to challenge you to rethink your dessert and what you put into your mouth before bed.  To trade in the sweets at night.  It’s not always been my way of thinking.  In fact, I’ve generally allowed for a small treat each night after dinner.  However, the more I learn about recovery, and our bodies own hormonal balances, ebbs and flows, and cycles, the more I see sugar before bed as a big problem.

This week’s Loving the Bite will help you replace an old habit with a new one, and promote better recovery through the night.

Recipe of the Week: Super Recovery “Ice-Cream”

Ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen fruit such as pears, cut into 1-inch cubes if necessary
• ¼-1/2 cup coconut milk (from cream, such as canned)
• 1 scoop protein powder (20 gm protein) OR 6 oz. organic plain greek yogurt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp (9-10 grams) l-glutamine powder (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut pears into small one-inch cubes.  Freeze on greased cookie sheet for approximately 2 hours.
2. Place frozen fruit, protein powder/yogurt, cinnamon, and optional l-glutamine in blender.  Begin to blend, adding coconut oil (only as much as needed to get fruit blended…too much will result in a smoothie rather than ice cream).  Blend until desired consistency.
3. Eat 1-2 hours before bed.

Serves 4, approximately 2/3 cup each serving. Nutrition Information: 85-125 calories, 9 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 4-6 grams protein

To use for Recovery after Your Ride: Since you need more carbs immediately after a hard ride, consider eating 1.5 servings and drizzling 1 Tbsp raw/organic honey on your serving.  If you finish training late in the evening, eat as written without extra carbs.

Comments:

One of the main hormones at play in cellular and muscular recovery is Human Growth Hormone.  And, like it or not, it has everything to do with dessert.  Over 50% of our daily dose of HGH is released by the pituitary just 1-2 hours after we reach deep sleep.  It just so happens that an intake of sweets and sugars, and therefore an increase of insulin in our systems interferes with HGH release, reducing its effects.  Why is HGH so important?  It:

• Improves cellular recovery, protein synthesis,  and increases muscle mass
• Stimulates the immune function
• Promotes fat breakdown
• Increases calcium retention and improves the mineralization of bones

How can you optimize your body’s release of nightly HGH and recovery?

• Avoid high amounts of carbohydrates, especially highly refined ones likes starches and sweets, before bed
• Consume nutrients that improve blood sugars and reduce insulin needs such as coconut fats, proteins, and cinnamon
• Give your body adequate protein for recovery and specific amino acids used by skeletal muscles such as l-glutamine
• Prioritize sleep and do what you can to reach deep sleep with a total average of 6+ hours of sleep per night

Of course, you could certainly skip dessert altogether if as long as you’ve already consumed the nutrients you need each day for optimal recovery and aren’t tempted by desserts.  This is fine.  But, there’s nothing wrong with a small snack after dinner as long as it helps your reach your overall goals for recovery and performance.

Bonus: Click Here to Watch Kelli’s Short Video on L-Glutamine

This week, replace an old habit with a better one.  Rethink your dessert (at least 80% of the time).  If your priority is performance and recovery, you can still have a satisfying treat before bed.  Just make it one that will make you a better cyclist and not work against you.

Fuel Your Ride.  Nourish Your Body.

We’ve had quite a few readers write in asking how they can find passion for cycling and use it to help achieve their fitness goals.  Today’s post is the starting point for making it happen.

So you’ve decided you’re going to get that body of yours into better shape, and you’re going to use the bike to help make it happen.  Good job.  I couldn’t think of  a better vehicle to take you there. But to make sure this thought becomes a lifestyle that sticks, here are a few tips:

1. Start Slow – A lot of times people get so fired up with their new fitness motivation that they go gang busters for the first week or two….then when they realize they can’t keep up with the intensity, they totally drop it all.  Start small.  Make a goal of getting on the bike 3 times per week for 30 minutes.  Get comfortable with that and then slowly start increasing the amount of times and duration of your rides. A great way to track your riding and stay committed is using Daily Mile to journal your rides.
2. Get a Good Bike – If you’re pulling out an old hardware store, no-name brand bike from your storage shed to take out on the rides….you likely won’t be enjoying the ride like it’s intended.  Invest in yourself and buy a good bike.  Whether you go with a road bike, mountain bike, hybrid, or whatever….a good quality bike will make it easier to stick with it. It will provide a smoother ride with minimal maintenance and the funds you sunk into it will also help add to your motivation to get on it. (if you need help selecting a good bike, please ask us or stop by your friendly neighborhood bike shop and have them help you out)
3. One Bad Day - Okay, so you got caught in a rainstorm while riding…a dog chased you down….your neighbors saw you in your spandex; don’t let it stop you from getting back out there and doing it again next time.  Same thing goes for missing a couple days.  All it takes is one step back in the direction of your goals and you’re back on the way to success.
4. Friends – If you’re the type of person who finds motivation in numbers….find someone to go out riding with you.  You can also join a bike club where you can get in on group rides catered to your riding level and make some new friends.
5. Eat Well - Just because you’re burning up calories and boosting your metabolism by riding your bike, don’t think you now deserve to splurge on all those treats.  Your body needs good quality food now more than ever so that it can fuel you through those increasingly tougher rides.  Eat Well My Friends.  (Hydrating yourself properly is equally important).
6. Suffer – Don’t let the thought of a tough cycling workout scare you.  If you truly want to get in better shape, you’re going to have to push yourself.  A nice easy ride through the neighborhood is a good way to get you started, but before long you’re going to have to start challenging yourself more and more. Yeah, that means lots of sweat, pain, and suffering….but, believe it or not, it just may be something you start looking forward to.  When you’re out there pushing yourself to the limit you might be hating it….but I’ll guarantee that when you’re all done and back home, you are going to feel like a million bucks…and just itching to do it again.

It doesn’t matter if you’re new to cycling or just wanting to take your cycling to the next level, these 6 tips will be the building blocks to success and for making it stick.  In my opinion, there is no better form of exercise and I hope that you too are able to use it to make that body of yours better. Remember, it’s the only body you’ll ever have.

I know at least a few of our readers use cycling for weight loss….if you’ve found something that has helped you stay on the bike and stick with your goals, please share them.

Many people pray and hope for world peace and the end to human suffering, what would that world look like to you?  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was able to articulate what a world might look like without racial discrimination when he delivered his, “I have a dream” speech in Washington DC on August 28, 1963.

It’s difficult to find something if you don’t know what you are looking for, I believe.  So, if you’re like me, quietly praying, hoping for peace on earth and the end of human suffering, but don’t know what that might look like, I suggest writing your own, “I have a dream speech”, it’s a cool way to make some self-discoveries as you explore what’s most important to you in revealing what your dream world might look like.

Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it”, so let’s not forget that this is just some fantasy, but rather an invitation to make a difference and be the possibility you created.

I Have a Dream Speech

by Joel

I have a dream, where the human spirit prevails, where we find peace and love through acceptance, acceptance of who we are and who we are not.

I have a dream where the word community is about common unity and the context of our words and actions are always in consideration of others, where those actions include labor as a gift, after all, next to love, our labor is the most precious gift we have to offer.

I have a dream where we turn our seemingly endless capacity to hate and wage war into a mission to cure disease, put an end to starvation and erase poverty.  Imagine for a moment what this planet might be like if we worked harder to create peace than we do to build a false sense of security.

I have a dream where profits do not exist, where we’ve evolved as individuals into a community that believes in giving more than we take.

I have a dream of sustainability within the community, where every home and building collects solar energy, where renewable energy sources are the only option.

I have a dream where the echoes of kids playing sandlot baseball resonate through neighborhoods, where vacant lots become community gardens, where the bicycle is the preferred transportation choice, where we are no longer afraid of each other, where children can experience the freedom and joy of riding that bicycle to the movies, or park or ice cream shop with their friends, where the only crime is the day eventually has to end.

I have a dream this country is opened up and rebuilt by the very same means that we used to build it in the first place, trains…removing interstate highways and replacing them with high-speed commuter trains, available for everyone to use.

I have a dream of a world without boarders, where there are no Asians, or Europeans or Africans or Australians or Americans; we are just humans and we share the whole planet.  Aren’t geographical boarders between counties just invisible walls trying to designate a difference or distinction that only exists because we accept it to be true?

I dream of a world with no religion, where we understand that we are all children of God and there are no favorites.  We can’t be blind to the fact that religious differences have been at the root of war, hate and discrimination since the dawn of man, why do we hold onto something that has caused so much destruction and call it sacred?  We were created in god’s image, then we should believe in each other as we believe in God, what kind of world would this be if we had the same faith in our fellow-man as we do God?   It occurs to me part of God’s image is that of a creator, which also makes us creators; God created the universe, we created the world we live in, and I have a dream we learn to create heaven on earth.

I dream of a healthy happy community and this is what it looks like to me.

Happy Riding…

Joel

Because I live in the Caribbean, I’m often told that I’m living in paradise.  Oh, and having a bicycle tour/rental company along with all of this makes it sound even more paradise-ish.  But what exactly constitutes the creation of paradise?

Looking in from the outside, living in a place like this definitely creates the notion of paradise….but being on a tropical island surrounded by turquoise blue water is not the definition of paradise.

For me personally, a place like this contains a lot of things that I desire…warm climate, laid back attitude, and nature.  But there’s so much more to defining this word so many use to describe my location.

My definition of paradise is being surrounded by the things that are most important to yourself.  The more of these things that you can surround yourself with, the closer to paradise you’ll be.

When it comes right down to it, paradise exists in our soul….and it’s up to us to unlock the right doors to make sure it stays open.

Let’s get back to me living in this so-called paradise.  There are times when I’m on the beach playing with my kids that I totally feel that I’m there.  But along with that come things like poor living conditions, backwards ways of doing things, and so mch more.  Would you believe that in order to get warm water to wash dishes in the kitchen, we have to fill a pot of water from the bathroom shower?  How about the fact that if we were to run out of cooking gas for the stove and oven on a Friday, we’re looking at no cooking available until at least the following Tuesday.  Or you want to make something for supper that requires sour cream, and then run around to every store available just to find out the island is out of it until the next shipment arrives.  Yeah, and that’s just a couple simple examples of the realities of living the Caribbean dream.

Paradise lies within and around you.  Determine what core values are most important to you, and build your paradise from there….Make it Happen.

Let us hope that today we are all able to find our own little piece of Paradise no matter where we are.  It is there, I promise you.

My new buddy Rob continues to ride across the United States on his off the grid tour to promote sustainability and goodness.  He’s a super cool guy and sure is a great advocate of cycling and mother Earth.  We’ve been periodically posting updates from his trip, and we’d like to share his journal entry from Day 48.

Off the Grid Bicycle Tour: Day 48

by Rob Greenfield

I woke up at 6:00 exhausted and definitely did not want to get out of bed.  I had no choice though as Dan wanted to lock up the house …when he left for work.  I was out at 6:30 and it was a bit chilly but the sun was shining and I felt really good about that.  I went for a morning stroll and hit the road at 8:00.

The sun peeked out from the clouds from time to time as I biked but was mostly hidden behind the clouds.  It was thirty miles to Iowa City from Williamsburg and having started my day at 8:00 I figured I would make it there at 11:00.  I traveled on the small farm road and had a pretty pleasant morning.  I was blessed to see a calf that had just been born within a few hours.  The placenta was still hanging from the mom and the baby was trembling on its shaky legs as it took its first suck from the moms utters. The mom licked the calf with affection and protected the calf from my view.
At 11:00 I reached Iowa City and I took a break for a bit to catch up with some people on the phone that had gotten some charge from the sun.  I walked down to the river where I would have liked to have gone for a swim but due to the flooded conditions settled with just washing my hands and face.

Next I stopped at World of Bikes (www.WorldofBikes.com) and they were nice enough to do a quick tune-up on Brent’s bike.  Mine was not in need.  I spoke to them about installing a generator in the wheel to charge my iPhone and laptop.  This would make so that I am not dependent on the sun.  After all I am pedaling every day, I might as well be harnessing the energy that I am creating with every pedal.  They weren’t able to do this job on the spot but they did give me some good insight.  I’m not sure if I can get a generator that will create enough power to charge my laptop but I will certainly be able to get one that will keep my cell phone battery charged at all times which will be a huge relief.  I stopped at the New Pioneer Co-op in town and filled up my honey jar with local bulk honey and grabbed some local organic vegetables.  I sat outside and nourished by body with the good food and soaked up the ambiance of Iowa City.

The afternoon was wearing on so I headed north on highway 1 with Mount Vernon in mind as my destination.  The partially sunny morning turned into a dismally cloudy afternoon and dampened my spirits.  The road had no shoulder and noisy cars and trucks whizzed past me and all the commotion put stress on my brain.  I continued on until I reached Mount Vernon where I stopped at a grocery store right at the beginning of town.  Before going inside I made a quick stop at the free outdoor section and loaded up expired Naked pomegranate Acai juice that had not even reached the suggested sell by date, peaches, grapes, strawberries, yogurt, loads of wheat bread, and bottles of fitness water.  Thousands of pounds of food was going to waste in their dumpster and this is becoming a common find for me.

It started to rain as I sat under a tree eating so I called up a warmshowers.org host and the man on the other line told me to come on over.  It turned out that my hosts, Richard Peterson and Shannon Reed were professors at Cornell College, which is where my brother Levi attended college. Having reached their house at 5:00 I decided to take it easy and enjoy their company for the night and discard any other things I had on my to-do list.  The two of them were absolutely pleasant people to spend my evening with.   They were big in to local organic food and living an earth friendly life and they had all sorts of delicious and nutritious offerings for me.

For the first time on this trip I allowed someone to cook me a meal.  This broke the off the grid rules as they used electricity, gas, and water to prepare the meal.  Water and a paper towel to wash and dry the lettuce, gas to cook the food, and electricity to ignite the gas stove.  The food was all local and organic including a salad of greens, radishes, and onions, a hamburger from a cow that was raised just down the street on grass, and asparagus.  I used some bread and tomato from the dumpster to make the burger into a sandwich.  They did an excellent job of preparing this meal in an environmentally friendly manner but nonetheless it still used some resources.

The real key to a sustainable world isn’t to use no resources but to use our resources wisely and in moderation.  Thus I felt it ok to have this meal with them tonight.  It was so wonderful to sit and eat with these fantastic people and I don’t know what I enjoyed more the interesting intellectual conversation or the pure local food.  They were two of the most enjoyable people I have spoken to on the trip and it may have been the most enjoyable night of the trip yet.  Good conversation, good food, fun, and knowledge gained from food to politics, to university statistics.

At 10:00 I used the 10% battery on my computer that I had managed to get from the solar panels during the day and finished up my blog from the past two days.  I got to bed around 11:00 feeling beyond exhausted.

For more on Rob’s incredible bike journey, follow him on Facebook.

Photo by Brent Martin.