Update #3 - April 16th, 2001
Easley, South Carolina - 360 miles

Well, the last couple of weeks haven't been the best. First, it's was the weather (with several days of off and on rain) and then it's the hills and the bike. I guess I should have gone on more training rides to really see if I could handle the recumbent and pulling the trailer. I've only had five days over 40 miles per day.

I've also had a lot of problems with the recumbent with most of it coming from the rear derailleur. I think that I've got it fixed right now. The one on-going problem that I'll be having is the idler pulley under the seat wanting to self-disintegrate. The chain wants to chew it up instead of rolling against it smoothly. I think I've come up with a temporary solution and that is to wrap it up with electrical tape which will have to be replaced every two or three days.

My health hasn't been the best also. I had to take several days off alongside the road because of flu-like symptoms. I was so sick one day that I didn't stayed in my tent in the woods someplace for almost a day and a half. Also, I've not been getting any real deep sleep along the way. Hopefully, this will work itself out soon.

I've made the hard decision of not pulling the trailer. I can't handle the extra weight of it. Every minor hill became a mountain. I have spent more time pushing the bike and trailer up the hills instead of trying to ride up them. Having the trailer in back, the length of the bike and it is almost 8 feet long and here I've been trying to move it by pedaling. I've got my gear minimized so I can still be able to carry what I need behind the seat on the rear rack. I think that I'll not be breaking any spokes since I've got the weight below 50 pounds I think.

I'm going to have my friend take the trailer back to Americus since he works for Habitat for Humanity. I already contacted a friend in Americus who's a pastor and I told him to see if he could sell the money and give it to a needy family. I wished that I had the $200 that the trailer had cost me right now.

I Will see what happens when I get back on the road possibly tomorrow.