Be Safe

I hung out in my tent until nearly 11am for no particular reason. As I was packing up, a police truck pulled into the Fire Dept. driveway and I worried it was for me, but he only stayed a few minutes and then drove off. My spot was quite inconspicuous.

It was hot out and the route north of Manitoulin island was hilly. The wobble in my rear wheel felt worse since I had applied my gaffer's tape patch. I noticed that the hot sun and asphalt had ruined the integrity of the gaffer's tape quite a bit. I removed the tape and found that the sidewall of the tire had failed completely and I could see my tube through it! Luckily the gaffer's tape seemed to have protected the tube from being punctured.

I passed a snowmobile trail, which had some of the only shade I had seen in a while, and installed the spare folding-bead tire I had bought yesterday. I had never installed a folding bead tire before -- it required a lot more caressing. This is the first time in the 5 years of owning my bicycle that I've run anything other than Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 700x35 tires. I like the versatility of the Schwalbes, and I've only had 4 punctures in 5 years of daily commuting + light touring. However, I've seen the sidewalls fail twice now in a predicatble pattern, after running the tires at low pressure. Anyways, it'll be fun to experience something new. The replacement tire has far less knobby and weighs 400g instead of 680g, so I should be super fast now.

The terrain of Northern Manitouin and Whitefish Falls was beautiful. It reminds me of Acadia, with bare slab rock hills and trails, many ponds, including slabby rocks going into ponds.

I got a motel room in Massey ON because it was convenient. The owner, Raymond, was very friendly and we chatted about bicycle riding a bit. (I gave him the website link, so he might be reading this. Hi Raymond!) His voice was also exactly the same as comedian Lewis Black. He was very interested in what goes through my mind while I'm pedalling along for 8+ hours a day.

Here's an example: This morning just after I passed the swing bridge which connects Manitoulin Island to the mainland, a middle-aged woman with short curly hair shouted at me from the passenger window of a car, "Be Safe!" For the next few hours, the connotation of her two word sentence was what went through my head.

• First, what compelled her to shout at me?
• Second, what does it mean to be safe?
• Is being safe different than being comfortable?
• Does the syntax and semantics of the phrase 'Be Safe' differ from 'Remain Safe' or 'Keep Safe'?
• This particular phrase shouted from a car interested me because it was the only repeated phrase shouted at me so far this trip.
• I've been hoping for more intersting things shouted at me during this trip. My favorite ever thing shouted at me while riding my bicycle was, "It's an orange peel you asshole; It's fuckin' biodegradable!", about 3 years ago in Kenmore Sq.
• Is it possible to be safe? That is, as humans we are all aware that we live a finite life. We are not safe from the passage of time, as no human has ever lived more than 120 years. Is it best to extend one's life as long as possible? What is safety?

As you can see, my mind can be occupied for hours by only two words shouted in passing. These are the things that go through my head. I also think a lot about the places and people I see. I wonder how they got there and why they are the way they are. Especially when I see patterns of living repeated in seemingly different places. (And typically any of this daydreaming only occurs once I'm satisfied with how my body feels, how my bicycle feels, and I know I'm on the road I want to be on. Otherwise, any of those feelings/thoughts preside.)

Be safe.