Anchorage to Phoenix Bike Ride: Day 49

In the morning I put Eric’s front bag on my bike. He was done with his rip from New York to Seattle so he was letting me borrow his bag. It was awesome. I was able to keep food and supplies easily available in the bag.

I said goodbye to Eric and his friends and started riding down a hill. I went 0.2 miles and I crashed into a car. I was messing with the new front bag and I wasn’t paying attention. I ran a stop sign and there was a car moving in front of me. I could’ve been run over but I chose to steer into the rear quarter panel of the car at about 10 mph. I flew over my handlebars and the rear of the car. I landed on my feet. I was in shock a little but I was unhurt. Not even a scratch. The woman who was driving the car got out and she was terrified because she thought I had a baby in the trailer.

I told the lady I was sorry and I rode off. My speedometer was messed up but I was lucky to be unharmed and my bike was ok.

I followed a long list of directions I had made to get out of town. By chance I saw Mike on the way out of town and told him I had just hit a car.

I reached Tacoma when it was getting dark and I noticed a lot of homeless people in the streets. They were all heading the same direction and soon I passed a homeless shelter. There were hobos yelling at each other and fighting in the street. I was a little nervous about where I could find a place to set up my tent.

I got onto Warmshowers.org and looked for a last minute host. Luckily I found a host named Peter in Parkland and I headed to their house. I met Peter’s younger brother Bjorn at the house and he took me to a cafe where Peter’s friends were hanging out. I had a beer and a sandwich.

As it turned out the people I was with knew a girl I went to elementary school with. I loaded my bike into Peter’s friend’s propane-powered bus and went to Peter’s house. I met Peter and we chatted on the back porch. They gave me a bed to sleep in so the night was an overall success.