Glad to hear you’re feeling better.

Sorry you’re losing so much work. Very frustrating. Are you frequently hitting the “Save and Edit More” green button at the bottom of the page?

Yes, I really would have punted on this tour if I'd been able to rent a car in Madison. I now hope that I'll be able to complete it. See yesterday's ride report which I just completed, or part of the reason why.

I've been away for a few days and just caught up with your reports. Glad that you're managing to carry on with your tour.

Having hat emergency shelter wasn't nearly as important as it was the night in a park just south of Minneapolis two {?) years ago when I had to sleep out because there was no place to put up my tent. Two super cell storms came through that night with torrential rain. With out my emergency shelter it would have been an extremely miserable night. With it, I actually got some sleep. It is definitely a must carry item for me.

What I said was that I could notice the difference. If i hadn't been very focused on the front wheel I would not have noticed it. That one sandal is a Keen sandal which, by sandal standards, is rather heavy. I'd guess around a pound. My point, which is important, is that the Fusion, and I guess most RANS CF bikes, are more sensitive to load balance than any of my other bikes. Part of this due to the seat which is flat and supports my weight on my butt. When the bike tilts, my upper body is shifted more than on a regular bike and, unlike on a recumbent, it doesn't have a seat back to support it. As a result it sags more to the side and this leads to a sore back, makes the unbalance greater, and hurts which reduces my ability to generate power.

That takes some fine tuning - moving one sandal but not two? How about when you stop and buy a few items at the store? Eeegads - I'm glad you have the knowledge and patience to make it all work.

You were probably a good story for the firemen. They were definitely a story for you!

It’s a good thing you had your emergency shelter!

Yes, having amblyopia has been a problem in my life, as it is for lots of children. My older sisters younger son also had it but was successfully treated early on and has normal vision now. My treatment started too late.

However, it was also a blessing in that it gave my a 1Y draft status which meant I could go to gradschool here rather than in Canada. In gradschool , further negelect let to becoming wall eyed as by bad eye drifted out. That turned out to be a problem when I was teaching and simple eye muscle surgery got it back in line with my good eye and I've been able to keep it locked in since then.

I fully emphatize with you Mark. I also have a lazy eye, I was born that way. Still my worst nightmare is losing my good eye.

Hurray for a pain free ride!

We stayed at a casino in New Mexico while touring. The room itself was cheap and very nice - the problem was that the casino allowed smoking and shared a ventilation system . . . hopefully the place you are aiming for is equally cheap.

As I try to recover from the quart of Dos Eques beer I just had with my Mexican-American supper, I getting ready to write about my ride today and my plans for riding tomorrow. I was very glad I only had to walk across a parking lot to get from supper to my room!

I've enjoyed your reports so far and very sad to hear that you have to abort, but your health and wellbeing is very important! So take care and good luck with finding a rental car or ride to get you home.
I hope that later you write a final report regarding your touring experiences the TSDZ2 and battery life etc.

I hadn't heard of it either, I just made it up describe the what I saw. My back is straight again this morning, but quite sore on the right side. This will probably end my tour, but I'll take a short day today and experiment with the seat position to see if that helps

I’d never heard of that before. It doesn’t look comfortable. Funny what we can do to our bodies. Hope you can unkink soon.