Birthday on the Road
After less than a week on the road, I was already biking through more rural areas. Because there was less civilization, there were fewer Warmshower hosts. That could only mean one thing: I needed to start camping. On my fifth day, I biked 86 miles to a public campground along the Erie Canal. I was hoping to find other cyclists or people there, but the camp ground looked so unofficial, I guessed most people must not have realized you could camp there. I found a picnic bench to sprawl all my gear over. After I set up camp, I began to prepare dinner. I made some lentils my parents gave me during our farewell. The lentils took longer to cook than I anticipated on my little camp stove. My hunger got the best of me, and I ate crunchy lentils with musty tasting rehydrated dehydrated beef, coated with a layer of nutritional yeast.
The loneliness was starting to get to me— not only because the campground was empty, but because the next day was my birthday. I had just been surrounded by friends and family whom I could have celebrated with less than a week earlier. But I couldn’t wait to start my journey, and besides, birthdays always make me anxious. I always felt the need to do something exciting with friends, otherwise I felt lame. Being alone gave me an out: the bar was set low.
I spent the day biking and having small conversations with friendly strangers I met along the Erie Canal bike path. I finally made it to my hosts, Gretchen and Mike, (and Molly, a dog they were sitting.) I decided to not tell them it was my birthday. I didn’t want to put any pressure on them. They made me wild rice, pork, and asparagus for dinner.
After filling my biker’s belly with a scrumptious meal and my mind with interesting conversation, I headed up to the room I was staying in to talk to family and friends. I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed and stared at a man one year older in the mirror. Below my unruly and tangled hair was a smile. I had a good day, a lowkey and simple day, but nonetheless a good day doing what I love doing.