Today was a short day, but it didn’t feel like a short day. I woke up early, made some coffee, and went out to watch the sunrise. After a few hours, I called the pharmacy to make sure my prescription was there, and it was. Yay! I ate the other half of my Cuban sandwich for breakfast and went downstairs to ask for help getting my trailer down. The nice young man who helped me get it up there yesterday immediately came up to help. I said my good-byes and rode off. My left trailer tire felt a little squishy, so I stopped at Cumberland Farms and put air in both tires.
I followed the Google directions to CVS, and realized I had ridden right by it yesterday. I was backtracking by about 3 miles, but I had plenty of time, since I was only riding 24 miles today. I got a couple of cold water bottles, and headed south on Route 1. I rode on the sidewalks for the first part of the trip today, since there was no bike lane. It slowed me down, trying to get around all the obstacles. I was happy when the bike lane appeared. I was following Google Map today, and for some reason they told me “Turn left to continue on Route 1” so I turned left. That was wrong. I then had to follow their directions to get back to Route 1.
Once again, the heat was hitting me hard today. Luckily, there were plenty of places to stop and rest or just get shelter. I stopped for lunch at a little Japanese restaurant, and it was very good. I apologized for my appearance, because I haven’t been able to do laundry for a while. I took my time eating and drank lots of water. I got back on the road, but it was still slow going in the heat. I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts for an iced tea, and got in a nice conversation with some people from Maine. They told me that they always look forward to the Ploye Festival, and I had to ask what a ploye was. They said, “You’re not from Maine, are you?” Nope. They explained that it’s a pancake, similar to a crepe. Sounds good to me!
I continued on towards Stuart (it felt like my odometer was broken, since I didn’t feel like I was making much progress). Stuart is a beautiful town, but the road to the hotel was torn up with construction. A sign said the sidewalks were still open, so I went ahead, but they were not bike friendly. No ramps at all, so I had to drag my trailer over curbs, and in the process, I got a flat. My heart sank. Then I thought, “You know what? This was bound to happen at some point. At least it happened in the middle of town, 500 feet from my hotel, instead of in the middle of nowhere.” The owner of the hotel was an absolute sweetheart and said she’d take care of me so I could get back on the road tomorrow. I called a local bike shop and they said they could help me. I was unable to get the tire off, so we put my trailer in the back of her car, and she drove me over to the bike shop. They had me good as new in about 5 minutes. We drove back to the hotel, and I was able to get my laundry done.
I had a great time in Stuart. There was live music at the tiki bar, which was interrupted by a thunderstorm, but I met a couple of nice ladies who offered me some shelter, and we chatted about my ride. I will definitely be back to visit this town and explore it some more. This is another place I had never heard of, but I will never forget.
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