Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases

Jumping back to the second to last day..


My biggest concern withe the rain was braking. There are points when we ride that we are all pretty close to each other. Nothing quite as stylish as the Tour de France but still pretty compact. That tended to make me nervous if someone in front suddenly braked then I wouldnt be able to stop and before you know it legs are through tire spokes and my shammies are all in bunches.

Luckily that did not happen but it did get a couple of flat tires. After the first one I said it was simply my turn. It felt like the second half of my bike was not connected to the front half. I would turn left and feel the back half turn in the opposite direction. We were going downhill when I started to brake and did not know that Liz and Billy and Billy were right behind me. Liz nearly crashed into me as I stopped, and the two Billies avoided a collision as well. The roads were very slick and I feel that I am lucky to have been able to stop without gettng hurt or causing a pile up. As I walked up to tell Liz and Billy and Billy what happened I passed a statue of Saint Jude on the front lawn of the house I parked at. Collision avoided right in front of my patron Saint.
I bought a replacement tire in Spencer Ma that cost me $16. Now here is my new philosophy on bargan shopping. I bought a pair of $12 shoes at payless that I am using on the ride. Now when you buy a pair of $12 shoes your get $12 shoes. You buy a bike tire for $16, you get a $16 bike tire.

That baby went flat in less then 10 miles. Quinn walked about a mile with me in the rain before we met up with the rest of the group. It was decided that Liz and I would walk up to the Hotel and call different bike shops in the area.

We showered and then called a cab to take us to Barney's Bike Shop in Worcestor with my back tire in tow. The cabbie was glorious! A little old man who talked to us about his days of being a truck driver and his misadventures. He hated the troopers in Maine (why would people bother going back!!) Talked about the tickets he got for idling in Brooklyn, ($1,200). He was a hoot.

The guy at the Bike Store was really nice and not looking to make a buck. He told me that my tire was good and would probably be able to finish the trip but they dont carry that tire any more. I wanted nothing to do with that tire so I asked for a new one and hey gave me one with kevlar in it.

Called the cab company and waited a few minutes outside for it. After 20 minutes we got a bit nervous but sure enough a cab pulled up. It was our buddy!!! He told me that I have to read A Confederacy of Dunces. He said he read it in five hours and was upset when it was over. He then handed me a poem to read by a poet that he really enjoyed. He copied it down from the library and carried it with him in a little handbook, it was by Sylvia Plath. It was incredible that he carried that around with him.

He did not charge us as much for the ride back as he did for the ride there. He forgot to put meter on right away.