Terrence Foch decided at the last minute to take a bike trip. He had been scheduled to start a new job, but his assignment was delayed for a week and a half. “I’ll send my essentials ahead, and ride my bike.” He told everyone. * Get my $5 eBook | The political class in 15 minutes or less * Use this link for discounted tech items | Refurbished, open box, etc. * Read and share my GiveSendGo for a good description of The Arc of The Bard. It wasn’t his first long ride. He’s done a few. This one would take about 5 days. He would time his arrival with the arrival of his things, then get everything moved in to his new location, and have a couple of days to rest before starting his new job. Mapping out all the county and state roads was easy. There weren’t any hilly, or difficult terrain. All the roads were paved. He even felt like some night riding would be safe, especially since he was so familiar with some parts of the route. He liked doing that. Things went as planned. He got out of town early in the AM on day one and easily made his goal. He spent the afternoon resting, and stretching. Checking his body for issues. He got a good night sleep, and started out early again. Something he liked to do on trips like this was to pack most of the food he would eat, and shed his dirty clothes rather than carry them. This way the load gets slightly lighter each day. He’d pack oat groats as his main source of fuel, since they don’t have to be cooked, in case there’s no fire. Then he’d stop at little stores and get bananas and beef jerky. That sort of disciplined, Spartan behavior suited him. On his fourth night of camping, he awakened, under the open morning sky, to see that, except for his bike, everything he had with him, which wasn’t much, had been stolen while he slept. He had his sleeping bag, an inflatable pillow, a t-shirt, gym shorts and his wallet, which of course, he kept with him in his sleeping bag. Fortunately, his phone was in the campsite office, charging overnight. Now, here he is out in the campsite, barefoot. The tiny town is close by, right across the river bridge from the campsite. It’s early, just after sunrise. He reports his predicament to the campsite attendants. They offer him a complimentary pair of inexpensive, rubber soled, stretchy slippers. He grabs his phone, and rides across the bridge, into the little town, and wait for the local department store to open. People are starting to drive by, and mill about. He keeps his eyeballs open for any signs of his clothing to show up, walking around. He figured it had to be someone really bad off, because it was not much, just some groats, instant coffee, some dry milk, a couple of protein bars. A pair of jeans, and one long, and one short sleeve golf shirt. This is all stuff he can replace in 20 minutes for less than a hundred bucks. He’s pretty lucky, really. When the store opens, he gets a set of athletic underwear, some firm soled training shoes, some thin sport pants that are designed to look like blue jeans and a UV visor biking cap. Taking a walk around inside, to see if he should get anything else, he decides against it. He’ll stay in this sweet little town today, and make the last 50-mile ride into his new location, at night. Leaving the store, he sees a local sheriff’s deputy. He informs him of his camping experience. The deputy says that there are a number of people in town they have to keep an eye on. They tend to do that. They prowl the campers and also the motel parking lots, preying on trusting visitors. “Where’s a good place to have breakfast?” Terrance asks the deputy, who will surely know who has the good coffee. “Right this way.” The deputy says. “It’s the end of my shift, please join me.” During their meal, the deputy tells him about a shorter route to his new town. “It’s a back road” he says, “Along a ridge. It’s pretty nice.” Terrence asks him, “How safe is it at night, how much traffic?” “I’m not sure I’d advise anyone to travel on a bike in the dark on any road, but out there, I doubt you’ll even see a car. It’s private estates on one side, and on the other, down the ravine, that’s National Forest.” “I have my phone, too.” Terrence says. “So that will give me some peace of mind.” “It depends on your carrier. There’s only one that gets a signal out there.” The deputy tells him, as they finish up at their table. For the rest of the day, Terrence relaxes, goes for a walk, and realizes, he doesn’t have much of a signal on his phone. He gets a motel room, has a good long swim, takes a nap and picks up a few items from the delightful little grocery store in town. He’s ready to leave town, and ride overnight to his new destination. 837 Words. flash fiction february: four days remain easytopians! share. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe
