Doxycycline Dreams
A handful of 100mg Doxycycline pills have become part of my daily routine because I like to shoot pictures while riding the Vespa. I’m just guessing, but it’s more than likely that a tick climbed on board while I was wandering in the tall grass along the road to compose a picture. And now, after Kim removed a deeply embedded tick from my back, I have a giant rash around the bite area. Hence the antibiotics. No dairy an hour before and after taking them. Take them with food. Stay out of the sun.
I don’t like ticks. Ticks and riding don’t mix.
Dazzling Light, Damn Ticks
This is where I think it happened. I thought about ticks when I stepped off the road. I think about them all the time whenever I venture off the well worn path. I’ve pretty much quit going in the woods around here because of ticks.
It was a fine sunny day. Temperature in the upper 40s. Idyllic really. Great time to be on the scooter even if I was just running errands. Being the goof-off I am, I always make choices to detour, lengthen or delay the end of a ride. Mileage efficiency has no place in my riding world.
Shouldn’t have wandered into the weeds.
Fuel Circus
Always feels like a circus when fueling the scooter underneath Sheetz’s bright colored awning. No elephants or lions. But they do have a wide variety of food.
Left the house in the morning to go for a longer ride but a few miles down the road something whispered that there were more important things to do. Didn’t know what exactly so I stopped at Cafe Lemont for a cup of tea and took some time to scribble thoughts in my journal.
After 45 minutes of eavesdropping and writing I decided there were a long of things to do that probably should take precedence. So I made a straight, meandering beeline home.
Detour Through the Woods
I’m always up for a little ride in the woods, especially this time of year when the leaves are changing. And the wanderings were largely free of tick concerns. Those would not arrive for a few days.
Vespa GTS scooter on a Rural Ribbon of Road
For me, the traveling down various little roads and paths, even if they don’t end up anywhere, is far more important than destinations or miles chewed. For all the miles I’ve ridden I’ve not really gotten anywhere.
And that’s ok.
Really.
But ticks and riding? That’s not ok.
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Would have thought you of people dwelling and scootering where you do, you would have sprayed both your legs and arms before venturing in to the woods.
Mind, this year ticks and their relations have been particularly virulent.
Damn drugs, mind they will forestall any future problems.
Sheetz, now there is a name from my past. Sheetz were just starting, founded in Altoona as I recall.
Mind that was in the late nineteenth seventies when there the area around Altoona and Horseshoe Curve taking photos of railways. That was almost fifty years ago, Have not ventured into the USA since 2001;
your international border denies me entrance due to my past anti-war activities against the USA during the Vietnam conflict. And it’s not worth the monetary cost of getting legal clearance, sadly. At age 72, that is in my past; few forget.
I’ve not sprayed anything on myself for a long time. Can’t remember when. Years and years. Mostly I try and stay out of tick places but the reality is they’re everywhere now. And pretty much year round. I’m fortunate that I tolerate Doxycycline well. At least I have up to now. Guess things could change.
Kim’s grandmother worked at the first Sheetz back when they were one store. They’ve come a long way from there.
Didn’t realize you were a revolutionary. I suspect there are a lot of old resisters around who would have trouble getting into the country if they weren’t already citizens. The government probably has a long memory.
hello Steve,
J’ai aussi été mordu par une tique et ai attrapé la maladie de Lyme. J’ai eu du mal à en guérir… Aujourd’hui j’ai encore des symptômes.
Les tiques ne servent à rien et sont nuisibles pour l’homme et l’animal.
Prends soin de toi et merci à Kim.
hello Steve,
I was also bitten by a tick and caught Lyme disease. I struggled to heal … Today I still have symptoms.
Ticks are useless and are harmful to humans and animals.
Take care of yourself and thank you Kim.
Laurent.
I agree. Ticks are useless. Maybe they play an important ecological role. I don’t care though. Sorry to hear of your ongoing struggle with Lyme Disease.
Je suis d’accord. Les tiques sont inutiles. Peut-être jouent-ils un rôle écologique important. Je m’en fiche cependant. Désolé d’entendre parler de votre lutte continue contre la maladie de Lyme.
Ticks were a problem for soldiers stationed at Ft Bragg, NC….I learned then to use “Skin so Soft” as it seemed to repel them. Of course, you smell a bit “unsoldierly” but after a while you become nose blind to it. It worked for me anyways. Damn ticks…very hard to get rid of.
I’ve heard others refer to Skin so Soft. And some Avon products. I don’t have to worry about being “unsoldierly” but it will add another level to planning on my part. As bad as ticks and mosquitos have been this year, I’m glad to report no encounters with chiggers!
You may or may not find this useful. A moto couple I traveled with, many days through rural areas, put flea & tick collars around their pants legs.
Lynne won’t put any chemicals on her skin, except a bit of sunscreen. I have found certain sun screens seem to repel mosquitoes.
That sounds like an interesting approach. Wouldn’t help though for ticks coming up sleeves or down through the neck. The best approach is to probably never leave the house.
Whenever I see a Sheetz stop my first thought is “ Hmm, time for a Snickers Ice Cream Bar” No, I don’t check for gas, no, I go directly to that not available at home Snickers Ice Cream Bar. Now, for the rest of the day, I will long for guess what?
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a Snickers Ice Cream bar. They are tasty. Since my heart attack my stops at Sheetz are for gas and if food is involved, usually a turkey sub, no cheese, no mayo and lots of veggies. It’s the most heart healthy thing I can get there. If I am going to go down the fat trail, ice cream isn’t my first choice. Pizza or a deep fried fish sandwich is my poison. Man, for so many years I took for granted that I could eat anything I wanted, and as much as I wanted.
So, I wonder if Sheetz would ship some Snickers Ice Cream bars in dry ice to you??
Hmmm! Dry Ice eh? Shirley and I met a Texan whilst on a ride in New Zealand a few years ago. We shared 3 weeks between the two Islands and the bunch of us got to know one another pretty well. Jim promised to send us some of his venison sausage and tamales and sure enough many weeks later voila a big box of these promised goodies arrived packed in dry ice. They were delicious and to this day I cannot think of dry ice without thinking of those venison tamales, perhaps Ice Cream Snicker Bars now too. Thanks for the prod.
Always nice to find unexpected treats in the post! Hope you have many more.
Does Sheetz feel like a circus only when riding the Vespa? The ticks discourage me from doing any exploring when in PA. BTW, we are headed there again at the end of the month.
Sheetz only feels like a circus in pictures. The reality is something different. Would have to think about it a bit more before commenting.
Do the Alaska locals feel the same way about Grizzly Bears as we do about ticks?
Are you going to be near State College when you come to Pennsylvania?
I don’t know. Bridget’s dad passed away a few months ago so this trip is to visit and thank the nurses and staff at the retirement home. Plus Williamsburg for the Christmas lights (or something like that).
Sorry to hear of the passing of Bridget’s father. That’s a hard time.
Williamsburg at Christmas would be nice. A side trip to Busch Gardens at night would provide the Harry Potter world experience.
Safe travels to the two of you!