So I was finally at Burning Man. It was almost overwhelming. I had put myself through a lot of stress both physically and mentally to get myself to this point. Now that I was here I had to keep myself from collapsing and sleeping for the whole week. Thankfully I had prepared pretty well to make myself very comfy with the least amount of effort. I had a Tent-Cot which made it easy and comfy for me to sleep up off the ground. I had a fan to keep air circulating in the tent. I had said screw it to the usual crappy camp chair and invested in a nice reclining lounger that gave me a lovely place to nap/rest during the day in the shade structure. I had very well made and comfy Doc Marten boots for walking, though they are a bitch to lace up. And I had brought my cane just in case. The last thing I needed to complete my comfy BRC experience was the new beach cruiser I had bought and left strapped to my driver's car.
Tuesday morning dawned bright and clear. I woke with a mission. Retrieve the bike! I dressed for comfort in a long loose tank and bike shorts. Added SPF 100, my cowboy hat, and my utility pouch with water and sundries. I had an address and set off. I was camped at 215 and E, I needed to get to 630 and B. It was quite the hike. I went up and down and all over and just did not see his car or camp. 2 hours has passed at this point and I was running out of water. Time to make friends. I joined a lovely group of burners at the 630 and B corner who put me in the shade and offered me a cold apple soda. I entertained them with the story of my cross country journey and my current search for my bike. After I refreshed myself, I decided he wasn't in this location but maybe he had checked in at center camp. Off I went.
Upon reaching center camp I was informed that though professional photographers checked in and registered with them, they didn't organize the registrations in any way. It was literally a pile of papers. Though I was welcome to go through them, they recommended I check the intranet computers they had set up for camp listings instead. Brilliant! I knew the name of his camp and found a free computer to begin my search. It was at this moment that the intranet decided to crash and all the computers went down. Really? Come on Universe, don't I get a break at this point?!? I decided another rest in the shade was called for and patiently waited for the system to come back up. Thankfully it didn't take long and I was able to call up his camp listing which let me know he was at 745 and J. Nowhere near where he had told me to search. Of course. I set off yet again.
I approached his camp with trepidation. I wasn't sure what to expect and I hadn't let any of my friend's come with me for fear they would try and kill the dude. I hailed the camp and asked if he was here. His head popped out and with a smile he welcomed me and came over to get my bike down. He kept up a steady chatter while I just stared at him. He pretty much acted like the last 5 days had not happened. He even asked about stopping by my camp for a bike fix (my camp is full of gear heads and we do bike repair for those that come by) and I said sure, but proceeded to tell him the address of a different camp doing bike repair. No way was I letting him near my camp, he'd be crucified and used to decorate our bar. I grabbed my bike, wished him well, and took the fuck off. While it had taken me 4 hours to find my bike, with the luxury of having it, it only took me about 7 minutes to get back to my camp. However that little debacle pretty much wiped me out. I spent the rest of the day curled up in my recliner with a book. My mates would check in on me occasionally to see if I was okay and once evening hit we had a big party in our bar. I was able to obtain a stool right next to the bartender and let the entertainment come to me.
Coming next: Part Seven, where I wear more comfy clothes, bitch about how far away the jots are, and actually remember to take photos with my camera.
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