Day 38: Somehow I didn't end up taking a single picture today...

I woke up at Tucker's house and felt really good. I can't believe how much better I sleep when I'm indoors. I guess it's not all that surprising, huh? I ate some cereal, packed up and left. I had a number of errands to run, and a growing hunch that I wasn't going to leave Madison today which was fine by me I could use a day off. I swung by the post office and sent a bag full of clothes back to Brooklyn. It felt really good to get rid of the weight, but I knew that I would replace the weight with double that weight in food. Oh I guess I never explained why I decided to send back clothing to make room for food

***Yesterday afternoon, I decided to change a few of my habits in the hopes that it will readjust my way of thinking about this tour. I feel as if I have been 'jetting' from one city to another and just looking at that time in between cities as filler Hurrying along so I can get to the next town Sort of like I am planning on enjoying the memory but rushing through the experience so I can hurry up and enjoy that memory . You follow?

Well after Fargo there's going to be a large gap until I hit Seattle so I reckon I better teach myself to more fully enjoy the total experience, right? So to start . I'm not going to rely on restaurants or fast food anymore; I will cook for myself or prepare meals in advance so that way I won't be driven by hunger to hurry off to the next town with a McDonalds. This causes a dilemma Being a lone cyclist I think I kind of rely on fast food stops for the interaction with the locals So I guess I'll still try and take my breaks in parks and town centers but at least I won't be dependent on those populated places for sustenance.

Also I'm not going to force myself to ride during the hot mid-day hours in order to make a particular destination. I'm going to start and end earlier in the day. This should alleviate any stress in finding a place to stay at night and I can use the evening hours to write.

Basically . The idea is to not force myself into any uncomfortable situations because of a desire to 'get' somewhere quickly. 'LAISSEZ-FAIRE' Is my war cry! Or maybe 'STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES!' Which sounds more intimidating?

After the post office I took my bike into the shop and had them replace the brake pads and take a look at the shifters It was a neat shop and the proprietor seemed a tad eccentric but the bike rides SOOOO much smoother now. I am very happy about that. There was an indexing issue with the gears

I then went and checked into a hostel downtown where it would only cost $20 for the night already cheaper than a campsite Dropped my stuff off and decided to go buy a pair of cheap running shoes so I could start jogging while on the road. I want to get started on some good exercising habits Ive been spending a lot of money Will need to live cheaply from here on out Oh Maybe after Minneapolis I've been wanting to see that town for 7 years.

They shut off a section of STATE STREET for 'Jazz at 5'? It was a bunch of people in folding chairs watching musicians perform jazz on a major city street in celebration of it being 5pm? I bought a pair of running shoes and worked on the ol' blog and sent out a few emails. I'm trying to do some research into finding a temp job for when I get off the bike in late October no luck yet I'll seriously work anything My only stipulation is that I'd need to work some place that could provide housing. It's a tall order I know That's why I've started looking already.

I 'jog' to the store and buy food supplies for the next two days The weather is gorgeous, and the guy in the store is blasting Architecture in Helsinki over the loudspeaker. I buy a headlamp for the ¾ mile tunnel I'll be riding through on Friday... I'm quite excited for that. Lots of college students are hanging out on the steps of the capitol, and it makes for an interesting site. I make Macaroni and Cheese with Tuna and Green peppers put it in Tupperware and save it for tomorrow. Will tuna hold for a day? For two? let's hope so.

My roommates are British and I have a TERRIBLE habit of speaking in a British accent when I'm around British people it's very hard to control, and really very embarrassing. I think they sense it they ask me if I'm Canadian.

OK so I know that it reads as a rather boring day in Madison but I really enjoyed myself today I met some cool people, I got to walk around a cool city and most of all I got some time to plan the next leg of my trip I'm thinking a few more of these break days throughout the trip would do me good My past break days had been spent doing stuff . Sightseeing, hanging with friends, etc I think I need time where absolutely nothing NEEDS to get done. It was a very good day. Hopefully I'll wake up early tomorrow as according to plan. I am excited.