The sight of one peculiar pickup truck got my day off to an interesting start--disgusting--but interesting.  Mounted in the bed of the truck was a heavy wire cage, not unlike a huge dog kennel.  Inside the cage were about eight pigs.  Not baby pigs, but big, fat adult pigs and they were stacked up on one another like a pyramid.  They were live pigs squealing with distress.  From my angle, it was difficult to get an exact count on the mass of pigs, but I'll stand by my estimate of eight.  The pickup was at a stop light waiting for its chance to cross the busy highway.  It was old and rusty and the back end was almost bottomed-out.  I was curious to see what was about to happen, so I stopped pedaling. 

The truck took about half a minute to accelerate from 0 to 10 m.p.h., but, sure enough, it did get across the highway and continued to who knows where.  As it disappeared up the road I chastised myself for not calling the cops or the ASPCA.

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A little later I spotted a guy up ahead who was walking his bike along the highway.  I rode up to him and asked if he was alright.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," he said.

"Bike problems?"

"Just a flat tire."

"Need a tube?  Or help repairing it?"

"No thanks.  I've already got a ride coming."

I didn't know what else to say, other than "okay, good luck."  As I pedaled away, I thought about self-sufficiency.  That dude had a really nice Klein road bike and he was fully decked out in colorful lycra, but he did not have self-sufficiency.

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At White Bear Lake, the urban riding of the Twin Cities metro area began in earnest.  I raced through Vadnais Heights, Maplewood, St. Paul, temporarily got lost in South St. Paul, then came Inver Grove Heights, Rosemount and, finally, Hastings.  Almost the entire way my mind was on something else: A LONGER bike trip.  I am giving serious thought to retiring from my job next year.  I want to fly out to Seattle to visit my son for a few days and then ride my bike home.  THIS little ride has been a test to see if I am up to the task.  I think I have my answer.