TUE AUG 05—*Atlantic to Cumberland, IA* I wanted to take advantage of Larry's early departure and get to camp in time to eat breakfast and pack a lunch. It was sprinkling rain when we left the farm. He dropped me off with my gear and my bike, but it was too late for breakfast and packing a lunch. I located my backpack and re-installed it on the back of the seat frame under the veranda . I was still working on the installation when it was time to Circle-up. I went to the circle and when it was over I still had to finish the installation. I wore my raincoat but the sprinkle was so light and the coat so hot that I took it off. I’m hoping the difficulty I’m having with hills is a result of the extra weight from the back tire. It no longer has air; it’s filled with padding. The nice thing about that is that I don’t have to worry about a flat. The difficult thing is the extra weight it gives the bike. In Cumberland we had 2 pavilions at the city park campground. We used one as a dining/meeting room. We had a meeting to discuss the technical details for the plan to give financial contributions to people who have a history of advocating concern for the climate change, who want to join us, but don’t have ability to do it financially. The issue was not resolved before Cumberland residents/farmers came with a potluck dinner. They brought two grills and provided hamburgers and hotdogs. It was a marvelous meal and there were leftovers that they left with us. Izzy, JJ, and Luke planned to go to the local bar and play some music. After dinner we had an evening Circle-up. It was decided that we would have breakfast at 5 am so we could make tomorrow’s March and have some of the meetings that had been canceled today. It was 8:45 pm before we could get away to play music. And we had to walk to and from the bar. Since I had to carry my bass, it was so late, and we were getting up so early I declined. Many of us used the second pavilion as our ’bedroom’. Some even joined us in the middle of the night because we had a rainstorm. -- Peace, David