I began my second day a little bit frustrated that I had spent so much time fixing my bike rack and so little time actually riding. I finally fixed up my rack in a more permanent way using the zip ties I had acquired the previous evening at the Brass Rail.
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| Thank God for zip ties! |
I was feeling great! I snapped a few pictures on the way out of town.
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| Old church full of birds |
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| Thanks Rosalia! |
All was going well! Then reality caught up with me a few miles out of town. A small screw that connected the rack to my rear tire hub rattled loose. The rack leaned to the right and the metal support slipped down and started clicking against my rear spokes. I had brought replacements but not many. I couldn't replace a screw every 40-50 miles of the trail! I also got my first flat tire. These were demoralizing events! By the time I got to Malden, I had lost two screws and I felt I might need to quit.
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| The first of many locked gates I had to climb over |
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| Cool canyon on my way into Malden |
I called home and nearly asked for a ride home but received the
encouragement that I needed. I chose to see if there were any resources I
could use in the Malden area. I found the nicest family! We chatted all
evening, ate dinner, and got the bike working again. We found screws
for extra replacements and super-glued the screws in the bike. They also
gave me an old backpack and I took most of the weight off the rear bike
rack. It was a wonderful blessing!
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| Malden Post Office |
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| Watched a beautiful sunset from City Hall |
I was told that I could sleep on the lawn behind Malden's City Hall, a portable building that also housed the library. I slept well and was excited to give things another go the next day. I didn't know it at the time, but I had made it through the hardest part of my trip. After Malden, things got gradually easier.
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