nh's on the way to va, right?

how many people have asked me where i'm going, to which i say (truthfully) "initially, virginia" and they say, "when'd you start?" and i say something like, "yesterday," and they say, "where'd you start?" and i say, "boston..." and then i get this look. sometimes, followed by, 'you know you're going the wrong way, right?"

yes, i know new hampshire isn't on the way to virginia from boston. i've actually looked at a map before.


i swear tho, from here, my path will make a lot more sense. granted, i'm going to be spending a couple few days here in dublin shacking up with the parents before heading out again. but i'll definitely be going south-west-ish from now on.


so on arrival to manchester thursday night, instead of a grand welcome, my front tire exploded. yes, exploded. thank god i was pulling into manchester and not in the middle of the wilderness in west virginia. i suppose i should have expected it to happen (after all the trouble it gave me and the worker bees of bike international). it meant i had to walk my bike the last 2ish miles into downtown to the nearest bike store, where i spent at least an hour trying to get the right new tire from their severly limited options.

i eventually worked that out, and $50 and a fair amount of stress later i met up with my couchsurfing host for the evening, had a shower and got some food. peter was a great host; we watched the movie 'holy mountain' which i would happily recommend to anyone who likes abstract film, but not for the conventional minded movie goer.

and then yesterday i rode from manchester to my parents' house in dublin. it's a hilly ride, but i imagine that's something i'm going to want to get used to, seeing as i'll be basically following the appalachian mountain range all the way to virginia.


i passed through the boston university sargent camp, which apparently is going to be shut down due to financial concerns (i don't even know what it is, but i have always seen the sign on the highway). crossing this river made me nostalgic for summer. i wished it was warmer so i could go swimming. of course, there's still snow on the sides of the roads around here.