Day 22: Flatlands

I had breakfast in a cafe and chatted to a local policeman and a construction worker over french toast before I hit the road.

It was windy today. And the first 50km were flat. Give me a flat road and a tailwind any day, but flat with a headwind? You can stick that where the sun don't shine. It was both difficult and boring, and that's a rare combination reserved for maths tests and cycling flat roads into the wind. It's so noisy in the ears! Just bugger off! And give me some damn hills if you're going to throw the wind in my face, then at least I get to freewheel occasionally. 

It was so busy, I stopped bothering to look in the mirror. The constant tyre noise and turbulence rattled my eardrums and my nerves. The truckers are the only consistently considerate drivers. If half the cars were replaced with trucks, the road would be a safer place to cycle.

My hated of certain drivers is rivalled only by dogs' hatred of cyclists. You could track my progress across the country by listening for the angry dog barks. I've got used to them going nuts as I ride past, tearing at their leashes or running along their garden fences. But today, a little Jack Russell ran across the highway to chase me, the jappy little shit. All the cars had to slow down to avoid running him over! A little way ahead, there was a dead beaver in the road. Shame someone didn't slow down to avoid him.

Google told me there was a 0% chance of rain today, so I'm not sure what the wet stuff falling from the sky all afternoon was. Drivers are less considerate in the rain and I was glad to leave the highway with 20km to go. I took the bumpy old minor road, my ears enjoying the lack of traffic and the still air.

So yes, I didn't enjoy myself much today. My eardrums feel black and blue, my legs ache, my hands get more sore every day and I'm really tired. Looking forward to a bath and dinner.