There was a shoulder for most of Highway 19, up until Inglis.  After riding 18 miles to Inglis, I stopped at a convenience store where I was welcomed by frowns and stares.    As I made my way to the bathroom I smiled at a policeman, but he ignored my gesture and headed for the coffee machine.  While in the bathroom I noticed several redneck comments on the wall, like this one:  "We got plenty of rope."   Looking around the store I was unable to find a Granola Bar, which I was craving.   I got a PowerAde and then asked for a cinnamon roll from behind the glass at the counter.   Not feeling very comfortable here, I decided to try and talk to the cashier and see if I could get a positive response.  Well, she was actually a very nice lady and was a bit excited about my ride.   She exclaimed to a co-worker, "he's ridin' a two wheeler to Alaska!"  Initially she was requesting a post card from Alaska, but when she found out about the website, she said she'd try to find internet access to follow my trip. Leaving the store I was in much better spirits that when I entered.  I continued north on 19 and this is where the shoulder ended.  Now I'm becoming accustomed to riding the white line and immune to the traffic zipping by inches from me.  A car gets beside me and blasts their horn.  Ahhhh!!!...  That drives me crazy!  I feel a bit of rage building up each time a car does that.   Continuing my ride north, I was thinking about how quickly my emotions have changed.  Only a few miles back, I was in a good mood leaving that store.  It seems crazy that I could let another person control my emotions and make me so negative. The rest of the ride was difficult with headwinds and not feeling 100 percent today.  I stopped several times to stretch and take breaks along the way.   Arriving at Manatee Springs State Park at 3:45 PM, I paid $11.77 and set up camp.   I fixed black beans and rice, wrote in my journal, then went to sleep.

Today  -  63.52 miles    
Total  -  621 miles