cops and amish.

it's been hot. prohibitively hot. the kind of hot that forces you indoors and takes away your motivation to do anything other than sweat and be crabby. it's not fun by any means and i've never sweat as much as i have in the past week or so. i'm disgusting. i guess it's all part of the adventure.

frustrating is a pretty accurate way to describe ohio and indiana. finally the roads have flattened out and i can really start logging some miles except that damned heat stops me in my tracks and i'm forced to spend several hours at a walmart or mcdonalds waiting for the sun to ease up some. i can't help but feel bad because i can waste time at one of those places a few miles from home. but i'm on this bad-ass adventure and i can't do what i set out to do... ride. i know, i know, it won't last for much longer. i have quite a bit of time of what will probably be fantastic riding weather to come, and i'm looking forward to that, but it's hot now. dammit.

all negativity aside, let's talk about the positives... the grass! oh my stars the grass in the midwest is luxurious. ultra-flat lawns, fluffy grass, and apparently no rocks to catch tent pegs on. everything looks like it's been mowed within the past day, and i wouldn't doubt if it had been. i respect the midwest's lawn pride. it's a freedomcamper's dream.

last night i rolled into a town just as the sun went down and spotted a nice patch of grass behind some commercial buildings and some trees. really, around here everything looks mint. i quickly set up my yardsale and called it a night. as i laid there reading my kindle a wicked bright light swept across my campsite and a police office on a quad rolled up. he was just curious as to what i was doing, obviously. he saw the bike and we got to talking. he said he had no issues with me staying there and let me know he'd be around the area if i needed anything and then he rolled on.

a few thoughts on that... since 99% of the campsites you end up using on tour are either private property or are otherwise public and definitely not for camping, you have to be low-profile. set up in the dark. get up, pack up and be off before other people are awake. not the most comfortable schedule, but, eh, you gotta do what you gotta do. if you are discovered, like i was last night, and certainly by the authorities, be polite. be very polite. explain the situation. it's not all terribly odd, if you think about it. you're on a bike tour. you're an adult. you're not some teenager making a mess. clean up after yourself and ride on.

post script. just a moment ago as i was sitting here writing this post an amish couple came up to me and asked about my bike. we got to talking and they are very much into bikes as well. i told them of my tour and they thought it was fantastic. they then handed me two $5 bills and told me to have an exciting adventure. believe me, i tried to give the money back but they refused. now that was amazing. just amazing.