As the temperature climbs and more and more water is required to replenish ounces lost en route, I wonder how much weight I’m hauling every time I pass this sign at a moving and storage company on Old Jefferson River Road.

Making good time on the way to Amethyst and Elkview, I pedal onto the scale. When a man in a baseball cap and beige cargo shorts steps out to greet me, I ask how sensitive the scale is, and whether or not it would work for the Bibliobike. He says it’s accurate within twenty pounds, “So it should.” He walks back inside. When he returns, he says, “Including you, a total of four hundred pounds.” No wonder.

On the way back, I stop and forage.