I am really not a morning person. I had everything done last night, including showering. It still took two hours to get on the road, and I didn’t even have to break up camp. I am so slow to get around in the mornings. Hopefully, I can reduce that time.

My route today took me through downtown Hartford.

Hartford must be the insurance capital of the world. Every large building downtown had the name one insurance company or another on it. I was in the process of getting myself lost trying to find my way across the river when a bicycle commuter named David pulled up beside me.* He also tours and asked about my plans. When he was about to leave, he asked if I needed anything. I asked if he could tell me how to get across the river. He ended up guiding me across the river and to the highway I was going to take for the rest of the day. Thanks, David. Without you, I may still be in downtown Hartford.

After I left Hartford, this song came on the radio. It seems appropriate.

After Hartford, navigation was easy because I stayed on the same highway. It was extremely busy. For most of the distance, however, there was a nice shoulder, so it wasn’t so bad. It was almost like I had a whole lane to myself.

At some point, I will probably try stealth camping [finding an isolated place to camp that is not in a campground]. I have not built up my nerve yet, but I’m trying to test my eye by looking for places that would make good stealth camping spots. Tonight, I found one that would have been absolutely perfect about 3 miles from the campsite where my day ended. The potential site was in a state forest. There was a little two track roadway that looked like it is used only a couple of times a year that went up a short hill into a wooded area. I could very easily have taken the bike up that road a couple hundred feet and found a clearing for camp. Not tonight, though.

Tomorrow, I should be in Rhode Island. I had no idea it would take me almost a week to get through Connecticut. Hopefully, I will start to make better progress. I try not to focus on the miles. I will reach my goal eventually. However, I thought it would only take two weeks to get through all of New England. At the rate I’m going, I may have to reconsider where I turn west.

The experiment with dinner I wrote about a few days ago seems to be going well. I have the ingredient portions for the rice down pretty well. The only problem I am having is finding meat to go with the rice. It is hard to  find less than a pound of meat. I’m not sure if I can eat a full pound of meat for dinner.

It got dark while I was writing this. I think it is time to crawl into the tent for the evening, relax a little and get some sleep.

*Incidentally, the name of the guy running the hostel I stayed in last night was also David, which leads me to believe that all the men in Hartford are named David.