I was able to spend my final night in Austin on Morgan’s couch hangin’ with her and Julius. Julius is the prince of kitties and has the perfect belly for scratching. Morgan is super cool. She is an audio editor and works on a ton of Philly bands. It makes sense that she lives here. I don’t think I went a single day in Austin without seeing live music. Anyway, I had to split in the morning and make some sweet sweet love to that black top.
Check this. I went to the Tamale house on last time. I’m convinced it’s the best food I’ve had thus far in Austin. After simultaneously savoring and inhaling some breakfast burritos, I was approached by a fellow cyclist. We began chatting and he informed me that he too had cycled around the country, beginning and ending in Austin. That’s the second person I’ve met in Austin who has done this. I think I’m just going to ride straight back here after reaching Jersey. Anyway, this guy was the real deal. We knew we both had stories and instead of swapping them, we just kind of stood there and nonverbally enveloped each other’s auras. He did tell me that he met, and fell in love with an Australian girl. They rode together for three months of bliss and then she flew home to Australia. I asked him if he was going to go see her or vice versa. He sighed and I had my answer. It kind of reminded me of Yaris and myself. Obviously our relationship wasn’t the same as theirs, but I could at least relate to the whole spending all your time with someone, sharing this unique bond with them, and then a day later they’re gone. It’s a real bummer, but at least we still can stay in touch without the urge to touch (sorry Yaris, I’m just not that into you). I can’t say the same for my cycling friend. I unfortunately forget his name because I am pretty awful at remembering names. If it’s any consolation, he kind of looked like a Chester. It definitely wasn’t Chester.
Not long into the day I looked back on last week and realized that I spent almost all of my time in Austin with women. That didn’t change much because today was spent with the most beautiful girl in the whole world. This gal takes me right off my feet. She never judges me. She doesn’t seem to mind that I’m lacking in the bulge. She doesn’t get all jealous when I’m out with other girls because she’s usually there too. She takes me home when I drink too much and is always there to say goodnight. I’m greeted every morning by her glistening smile. We’re never apart, which means we fight sometimes. But we always make up. Boy oh boy, do we make up! She’s got curves that would make a bling man see the light. She tastes sweeter than sugar, and is more robust than a complex merlot. She’s tougher than nails, rocks, and glass. If she ever gets down, she knows I’m there to get her back on her feet. She listens to my ramblings and doesn’t mind when I play rough. She’s my girl and I’m her guy. She’s my purdy little bicycle.
My bicycle and I had a fun filled day. We rode over 100 miles together. We barely even had to do any work too. I leeched off the succulent teat of Mother Nature the whole day. The winds blew me down the road at averages of about 20mph. Twas a good day to ride east. Speaking of the east, I’m now on the east side of the country. I don’t know how I feel about that. The vast openness of the Wild West is now behind me. Sand is now dirt. There’s a significantly higher amount of road kill which means there’s more life abound. That also means desolation is now a thing of the past. The abundance of trees means more options for my hammock, but less views of the horizon line. There was always something pleasing about seeing a definitive meeting of land and sky. At least now I’ll be returning to the east with visions of bountiful nothingness. I’m coming back west; it’s just a matter of fact. Now I’ll know what to expect. Well, I’ll at least think I’ll know what to expect. So Western America is behind me. Ahead of me…I don’t know. I can’t wait to find out.
Tonight I’m in Hempstead. This town seems pretty beat. There is one fascinating aspect of it though: the dogs. I’m used to being chased by dogs and it doesn’t really bother me anymore, but here it’s different. The dogs in this town chase after me for about 10 seconds then abruptly stop and stare blankly off into the distance. It happened three times to me. This is extremely disturbing and off-putting. I can’t tell if they’re just messing with me, or if these dogs are being possessed by some exterior element in this town. Perhaps a secret coalition of cats are controlling these dogs and protecting me because of all the loving belly rubs I hand out. I hear you loud and clear Julius. Thanks pal.
One of the ways I used to keep food in my stomach was by working in a hotel gift shop. I fucking hated it. My co-worker, Eric hated it too. We hated it together. So instead of complaining about it, we just talked about everything but work. Music was at the forefront. He told me about this guy. King Khan. I listened to one of his songs, loved it, but never pursued acquiring his music. The other day, Selene and I swapped albums. Among the archives of Captain Beefheart and T. Rex, two King Khan albums found their way into my library. Iggy Pop + Doo Wop + Sextacy. This is music. As per usual, please enjoy at an inappropriately high volume:
Stats:
Miles: 111.0 (How ya like dem apples?)
Calories: 5653
Time: 7:21:29
Total Ascent: 3105 ft.
See Tom Bike 
safe sailing!
NICE MILAGE