I hate to say it, but the last few days have been tough. Most of it is going to sound like a total bummer, it hasn’t been the walking, just pretty much everything else. I will say I have entered Alabama as well as the central time zone, so I can look at that as my silver lining. I have gone roughly 440 miles in 19 days. Saying these things helps me see the bigger picture and not just look at how rough the past couple days have been. No matter what, things will get better and I’ll keep walking.
Ok, so I headed out of Canton the rain began to pour down. This has been the theme of the last couple days, constant downpour of rain. Heading into Cartersville my cart began to shake as I pushed it. I then realized my front tire was flat. I filled it up with air at the next gas station, but it wouldn’t hold. Luckily there was a Walmart only a couple miles away. I walked there with the front when up in the air only using my 2 side wheels. I got to Walmart only to find out that they don’t carry a 10” tire tube or have anyone in the store with any knowledge of anything relating to a wheel. I sat there, on the floor of a Walmart bike section in a panic fidgeting with my wheel with no success. It was a sad scene. With no easy solution in site I camped behind that Walmart.
The next morning I went in and bought a tire tube repair spray. That didn’t work at all, Wasted 7$. I then walked to a Tractor Supply store, hoping I could find anything that would work. Here I met Rob Hansen the manager of the store. He spent about 45 minutes rigging up a plastic never flat wheel so it could attach to my cart. I remember as he was doing this he looked at me and said “you know I’m not an engineer,” but at this point I would take anything that rolled. He finally got it on there, “free of charge” he said. I rolled smoothly out of that Tractor Supply store with my head held high. Only a few hundred feet later the wheel that isn’t really designed to swivel began to just dart in different directions without the captain of this carts permission (ME). I needed to figure something out. The nearest bike shop with a 10” tube was in Rome, GA 22 miles away. They were only open for 3 more hours and were closed the next 2 days. Knowing this was my only hope I pushed my cart down the road, only this time, it worked. It was pure “magick.” I stole the word magick from Damien Echols, he adds the “K” on the end to differentiate it form stage magic, using it to describe a moment. I ended up just shy of Rome, GA camped behind what appeared to be an abandoned old car shop.
Then the rain came again…
At about 10pm it started, I woke up around 3am with my sleeping bag looking like it had been submerged in water. Not able to sleep anymore I packed up all of my soaking items and headed towards Rome. A cop stopped me about a mile in saying he got a call about me. He was cool though and wished me good luck. I will say that walking in the rain brings even more attention to myself than the usual crazy looks I get from people watching me push a cart. I remember walking by a church where two old men were giggling about their umbrellas after church. Until they saw me, they locked in on me, in shock for no joke 45 seconds. Neither of them even flinched during that time. I felt like the fact that I even existed, ruined their day. I was able to find a laundromat where I threw everything I had into a dryer.an hour in the dryer and my sleeping bag went from sopping wet to damp. From there, I was determined to get into Alabama despite the steady rain. I felt like I needed to beat the rain. Reach my destination as if it didn’t affect me and my goal. I finally crossed the state line! I always expect there to be a big sign saying “welcome to this state” but I have yet to see one. Knowing I couldn’t camp with how wet everything I had was and the forecast of rain continued into the night and next day I made the decision to go another 9 miles into Cedar Bluff, AL. The rain was really taking its toll on me. My feet were like concrete, so heavy from the water. This is where it got ugly. The rain continuing to pour down and I became angrier and angrier. Here I was, again, making things tough on myself. I began to run any chance I got, my new front wheel did not like that, as I run the cart keeps shifting right and left making me constantly zig-zag across the puddled road. I remember looking around to see if anyone was around so I could just scream at the top of my lungs, but when I saw that it was, I had nothing left in me. I couldn’t even muster a scream loud enough to give me any sort of satisfaction. I got about 4 miles away from the Weiss Lake Motel, and I ran. Using everything I had left, I sprinted as fast as I could, still zig-zagging a bit, but too fed up to care. At one point a dog ran at me barking, but this dog wasn’t breaking my stride. I barked back… hard. I happened to glance over and saw the owner of the dog stunned at what he was witnessing. A man sprinting in nowhere near a straight line down highway 9 barking at his non-threatening Chihuahua.
I traveled 31 miles today, and it rained the entire way. It wasn’t easy but I’m here. Everything I have is laid out around me in this motel trying to dry out. I wish I could just camp. It is a lot cheaper, but I know there are clearer days ahead. I have realized that upon entering any motel room on this trip, every article of clothing on me must be taken off upon entering. Didn’t anticipate that.