the warm shop and take more than my normal , polite time browsing for things to buy . I walk into the washrooms again and greedily put my hands under the warm water and then my face into the warm air dryer . Reluctantly I step outside and walk back , standing shivering next to the bike , putting my hands on the hot tank and deciding just what to do next . I feel like I ’ m just surviving . Little did I expect that the temperature would drop a dramatic 60 degrees Fahrenheit from just over 100 F yesterday to now just over 40 F !
I ’ m still not convinced I should set out again . It ’ s dangerous . Around me the foggy hills seem to have remote dwellings surviving further up them . The massive trucks and a few horse trailers are still belting along the highway throwing up torrents of water . The whole landscape feels desperate . Then out of the murky , rain sodden roads , a large black German Beemer , BMW , parks up next to me and looks almost like a knight in shining armour . And he looks a lot better equipped ! Glancing down at his bike , it looks like the side panels in front of him are there to protect him and diffuse hot air onto his legs .
We exchange the usual friendly opening pleasantries of where and for how long we ’ ve been traveling . He ’ s another long-distance traveler having come down from Canada .
Ben smiles and memorably says , “ Remember , a trip without things like this doesn ’ t make it something to re-
TRAVERSE 35