Thoughts so fat

Roads: not all roads are the same. It is hard to plot a course. Most roads in Iowa go north/south, east/west. And, not all of them are paved. So in order to avoid gravel roads, you have to sometimes go up then down and etcha-sketch your way. The gravel I've been on so far is not tarmac, but a bunch of loose rock. When riding I look for hard-packed dirt tracks.

Covid: I have forgotten all about it, between the winds and being exhausted. Yesterday I never once reached for my mask. There are no signs on doors requiring one. I met a Warmshowers host on a day ride when leaving Bettendorf and I queried him, would you be inclined or not to take someone. He said he probably would. No one is thinking about it out here.

Wind: I've been so demoralized these past few days. I'm really wondering if I can make it. So while in my room at the motor court I called a friend. The whole time I'm talking it sounds like someone is trying to break into the room. It's the wind rattling the door. My friend in the religious community I belong to has been busy stopping looting on our block in Chicago, they go out in lawn chairs and sit on the sidewalks with music blaring and try to keep the peace. Anyway, she acknowledged the winds. What?! She heard about them on the news. So I'm not making it up. So glad--now back to the riots.

Social media: so grateful to unplug. Is this what one needs to go through, a crazy cross-country bike trip in order to get away from the staggering amount of news, hype, outage, commentary, and sometimes actual nonsense??? The pressure to post and pick a side.