We met an older man at the sandwich restaurant in Jacumba (pop. around 50) who was born there and then "didn't return again until the 70s" and has been living there ever since. It was a hot day when we met him, but he was wearing dark clothing, including a dusty leather vest, wool scarf, and cowboy-like hat. He gave us some history of the town's glory days when it was considered a resort town for hollywood people, and he gave us some advice. He told us (Greg really) to ride single file, use lights and rear view mirrors, setup our tent out of sight of the road, take good care of your woman, and to "keep your protection close".
And this morning we met an impressive woman who was deciding how to celebrate her 85th birthday. She had celebrated her 70th birthday by biking across the country! It sounds like she had taken a lot of the same route that we are taking. She was able to give us a lot of good advice on what roads to take, and where to stay. My favourite piece of advice though was, to wear a whistle. I've been a little worried about what I'll do if a dog starts chasing us. People have given us different (bad) advice that I can't see working like: bike faster, spray them with water from your water bottle, carry pepper spray and even carry a gun (but I think that was a joke). The woman we met this morning, said she wore a whistle around her neck and blew it when a dog chased her. And it worked. This is a method I am willing to try for myself. If you are interested, her blog is "bike70th".
I wonder what I will do for my 70th ... anyone want to come biking with me?
As we said goodbye, she smiled and gave us one more piece of advice, "don't talk to strangers".
ReplyDeleteDude and Dudette, when y'all 70, I will join you, and we will go cross country and talk with all the rednecks and old folks we meet. And they will all wonder how we have maintained our youthful good looks, and we will be able to say, "I don't know."
ReplyDeleteI look forward to that tour, Paul!
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