In yesterday's post I mentioned that I was interested to see what the major differences would be between riding alone and riding with friends. I've done long rides both ways before but never one way so soon after the other. Well, one difference has presented itself immediately. I miss Nathan, not just as a good friend, but as a good laugh partner. Alone I have no laugh partner. A good laugh is best and easiest to achieve with a good spirited partner. On the scale of "things hard to accomplish alone" a good laugh places right between sex and tickling. It's not usually as satisfying alone but not impossible to accomplish either.
Subject change:
Have you ever seen a girl take off her bra without taking off her shirt. It's quite a sight. I don't know where they learn these tricks. Well, if you know what I am talking about, it's that little pull-twist-slide-pull out the other arm maneuver. I was wondering if I could do something similar in reverse with boxers. And I can. I'm sure I'm not the first to discover this, but for guys out there this could be useful. If you're wearing shorts you can slip your boxers on one leg, slide the rest through the crotch of your shorts, and if your boxers are stretchy and your legs flexible, you can pull and contort until your other leg is through it's proper place. Then, stand up, pull your boxers up through your shorts and voila! You can drop your wet shorts on a crowded beach with a family next to you and slip on your dry pants. And a bonus, you don't have to walk in the public bathroom/change-room with that questionable water content on the floor.
Do I just discover these things randomly? The credit of invention once again goes to necessity for today was a day of water and bridges; two things that make me happy.
My first stop today was Miami Beach where I got into the warm clear water and released the Pacific Ocean I have been carrying in my bike since day 1 of the ride from Santa Cruz, CA. Then, I filled the small mason jar with Atlantic Ocean that I now carry on its way to the west coast. I think it is so neat to do this water exchange. Some of the water molecules I am moving have been to both coasts several times over millions of years. And hear I come and just grab a bunch of the molecules and comparatively rush them over to a whole nother part of their cycle. Better, worse, or neutral, I was a force of nature in that act. That must be the appeal. Well, I act again with my precious select cargo that gets a rush west.
Then there is the bridge part of today's adventure. I love bridges- a lot. They are one of the coolest visuals we humans create. They dramatize the suspension of molecules above others, contrary to gravity. We are always suspended. No molecules actually touch; so your feet when standing are suspended above the ground, and that layer of ground is suspended above the molecules below it. There is a lot of space between the mass of the Universe. But we never get to see that space smaller than the wave length of visible light. A bridge brings this reality to light in a grand way compared to our usual visual experiences and raises us above so that we may see clear through the molecules that separate us from the molecules below.
It is the love of bridges that drew me to Key West, Florida and the fact that it is the southern most point of the U.S. land that made it even more desirable to include in this cross country ride. Today I was there. And..... I rode over a lot of bridges to get there. The picture shows me at the "Southern Most Point" of the U.S. After that I went and had a good time at the beach and discovered a trick with boxers...... well, we already covered that.
Eventually I did ride out of the Keys and am now in a diner in Miami, Florida. Tonight's fare? Veggie Burger Wrap and a Long Beach Tea.