Well, folks...

So, the bike riding part is nearly(perhaps completely) over for the year, and I've just started writing about it.

A few good reasons for that: My ailing laptop is filled with sand and mildew and I really don't want to touch it. I've been picked up by a couple of good friends and I'd rather talk to them then write. It's cold out and my fingers don't want to type..

Most of all, I'm pretty sure this whole ramble isnt really a "bicycle tour" anymore. It hasn't been for a while. Some critical straw tipped that changed me from "bicycle tourist" to... what? Another travelling kid? Getting a bit old in that demographic. Someone called me a rainbow mama a month ago in north california. That was just bloody wierd. Ain't no one's mama. I used to say "I just live on a bike", but I'm not adverse, entirely, to coming back out here with just a backpack. Maybe horseback(muleback?).

Anyway, point being, it felt a bit odd to continue this journal as if I'm still doing the same thing I was when I took off from Minnesota. Really, I'm not. Since leaving Portland in September, I've moved my wheels all the way to... Garberville. Some of that milage was hitchhiking. Most days I never biked more then 20 miles. Most stops I stayed stopped for a few days. I've been selling jewelry and trading along the way, hooked up with some good people and spent about four weeks in Humboldt county. I've a lot of plans for the next few days, but for now I'm heading to Quartzsite for an easy winter.