may 12
day 3
32 miles total 77
i was rather disappointed when i started out this morning,
that i had not gone further yesterday.
right after the motel where i stayed was a sidewalk
and then a great shoulder
followed by a stretch of the old US 1 thru the center of north attleboro.
in retrospect, it was still a good decision to stop when i did.
after 8 hours of the equivalent of running in the lane on an interstate,
i was utterly exhausted.
i just went to bed and slept til 0100 so i could get a good start on today.
having missed yesterday’s goal by a mile
and having the mystery 5 mile gap
i was 6 miles off.
it would take a 32 mile day today to get back on track.
realistically, i was hoping to make up the missing miles over 2 days.
but i was really anxious to finally turn west.
so far i was only moving further from my ultimate goal.
the early day was great.
i was out before 0200,
and there is nothing more peaceful than having the road to yourself.
not to mention all the cool stuff to see along the way.
i was moving so well,
that i got 8 miles in the first 3 hours.
the fastest i had moved the whole trip so far.
altho i did not realize it at the time,
i was capable of more.
john fegy, and then fred murolo came and walked with me.
john relieved me of my pack after about 4 hours,
and i was amazed how fast it was to walk without 25 extra pounds on my back.
as the day went on,
i realized that i had a good shot at knocking out the 32
and being back on schedule in one day.
things were going well,
and john left with 8 miles to go,
to run some errands and pick me up later.
he took my pack with him
fred left shortly afterwards.
and that was when the trouble started…
finding a place to pee had been a trick all day long
in the center of boston it was more than a trick.
coming up ahead i saw a big train station.
that was a place that i figured had to have public restrooms.
and they did…
on the other side of the gates.
first i walked up to the gate,
thinking i would just walk in and use the bathroom and leave.
as soon as i touched the gate an alarm sounded.
“you have to have a ticket” a lady said,
and then went thru.
i thought it might work better if the gate never knew i was there,
so i hopped over.
the gate makers have thought of everything.
the alarm went off with real authority this time.
after a quick trip to the bathroom,
made all the quicker by the man inside who started yelling at me as i came in.
(not sure what he was yelling about, as the only words i could understand were variations on the f-word)
i found no transit authority cops waiting on me
either they are less diligent than the bridge authority cops
or they were looking for someone getting on the train.
at any rate,
you can exit the gates without an alarm.
if i thought the fun was over,
it was only beginning.
leaving the trains station there was a bunch of construction.
i followed the signs for the road i had been on thru a maze of barricades and barriers,
and continued on my way,
after a while something just did not seem right
so i consulted my magic phone.
i was on a road i never heard of,
still just as far from the commons as when fred left
and way above them.
so i consulted my magic phone for directions.
it sent me down a long alleyway
that looked way shakier than the neighborhood i had been in
fortunately i only saw one person the whole way.
i was a little nervous to see him
he looked a little sketchy to me
but he looked both ways
as if seeking a direction to flee
then he backed up against a wall
eyeing me nervously
i guess i did not look so great myself.
so i walked on past him.
when i finally came out
i was in an even worse neighborhood.
all the windows were boarded up
(except one with a bullet hole in it)
and the people who were there did not seem friendly at all.
everyplace i have been people have been really friendly.
not here.
i found a spot no one could see what i was doing
and consulted my magic phone for more directions.
now i was way on the other side of the commons
and still the exact same distance away.
my magic phone was trying to get me killed.
john kept texting,
asking where i was.
i did not want to answer
and show my magic phone.
even if it hated me,
it was my only hope to find my way out.
then i saw the “neighborhood outreach police station”
unfortunately it seemed to be the neighborhood fortress police station.
i was about to give up on that
when a policeman showed up to go inside
i had found a street that i thought would take me to the commons
by not asking directions
but just looking at the map.
i asked him how to get to that street.
“it is a long way from here.”
(he has no idea)
“surely not too far”
“a long way to walk”
he was not a very friendly cop
(maybe he was not there to reach out to people who look like me)
but he did point out the direction to take.
now, earlier i had been feeling pretty leg weary.
but, inspired by the thought of darkness catching me in this neighborhood
i walked like a man possessed.
all thoughts of fatigue were forgotten.
i was so happy when i finally came to buildings where the windows only had iron bars over them!
i did get to the commons.
probably walking 35 miles to get credit for 32.
and now i am preparing to grab some sleep.
some kind of dam adventure is waiting for me down the road!
laz