This morning Phil and I set off on a practice ride from Fairhaven to Orleans, where we are staying with Julie and Rick, a couple that Phil contacted through Warm Showers.  Despite a late start, the day flew by insanely fast.

We drove from Providence to Tiverton, where Phil made sandwiches and I wrote out the route that we were planning to take (we still have yet to acquire a GPS navigation device).  From there we drove to my family’s beach house in Fairhaven, where I discovered that a squirrel had broken in and made itself at home.  We finished packing our panniers and set off towards the cape.

broken screw plate on shoe

We had planned to hit LL Bean on the way out, but because of the late start decided it was best to save it for the way back.  Several stops were made along the way to adjust seat height, check directions, refuel and stretch.  Due to the adapting to our new rides with all of our equipment weighing us down and challenging our balance, our average moving speed was a modest 13-14mph.  My new shoes broke less than halfway through the day!  The screws holding the cleat to the bottom of the shoe tore apart the fitting on the shoe, so it could no longer be held to the shoe, and the right cleat ended up stuck in the pedal.

Rick and Julie's dog, Dude, lounging on the couch

By the time sun had set we were still 15 miles from our destination.  After pedaling 6 or 7 miles with me using Phil’s head lamp and Phil using a blinking light on the back of his helmet, we decided it was too dangerous to continue in the dark on that road.  We ended up hitching a ride with Tim, who generously went out of is way to drive us and our bikes straight to the door of our hosts.  After a delicious meal and good conversation (and a warm shower), it has been an eventful and educational practice day.  We owe enormous thanks to Tim for the ride and to Rick and Julie for their hospitality.