[bluethongguy]

EXPLORERS

From that time on, never did we wear clothing with more coverage than our thongs when we were on the beach or beach-bound.

Now that we were on bicycles, we were no longer constrained to only the places that a van could park. We found ourselves exploring other parts of the beach and other beaches.

Naturally, we began adjacent to where we started. Those areas weren’t significantly different from our starting beach. In fact, we saw many of the same people, including many of the same early-morning walkers and runners. It was “fun” spreading our “wings,” but nothing exhilarating.

Some days, we would bike into neighborhoods that had parks with beach access. One of my favorite parks had a fishing pier. I loved to walk out the long ramp to that pier, sit down by the side rails and let my legs dangle. That sensation of “freedom” was different from sitting or walking on the sand, I assumed because there was no pressure on my feet and legs.

On a rare day that all four of us had the same day off, we spent about three hours biking along the highway to another city with a beach. The ride was sensational in the quantity of interactions with other people.

While riding, we found that if we were close together in a group formation, nearby persons had virtually no reaction when we approached them. They saw four guys without shirts, which was not unusual. Only when we got to them did they realize we were not wearing shorts. So, did their “double take.” I looked back a few times to see people staring, sometime open-mouthed, giggling, waiving and more.

We found we could split up with some interval between us. When we did that, the first rider would get little attention, but the second, third and especially fourth would get lots of attention from nearby persons. Once we realized that, we’d split up in populated areas along the road and group back together for the more rural areas.