Day 17 Rest Day #2

Today was our second and last rest day.  From here on out, it is ten straight days of biking to Savannah.

I was down at breakfast at 6am. It was the self-serve hotel variety. If you haven't been to one of these lately, the make-it-yourself waffle seems to be the new rage.  It's pretty cool, and I've gotten good at it.  The other riders started drifting in shortly after I arrived.  We can't get out of this habit of an early breakfast.  Sometimes we wake in the middle of the night hungry and count down the hours until we can eat again.  I spent a leisurely hour and a half just talking with everyone.  It is great to not be in a hurry.

My massage was at 10am and it was a great, deep-tissue one.  She noticed that my left thigh was very tight (I told you it was hurting) and worked it hard.  I can't tell you how relaxed I felt afterwards.  As soon as it was over, I ran into Jim and he was headed to the bike store in the van.  He invited Dick and myself along.  Dick was a little hesitant because apparently there was this long-legged beauty that had just set up at the pool in a black bikini (I didn't see her).  But he came anyway.  I'm wearing through biking shorts, so I picked up another pair and a biking jersey that says "Scott's Bicycles - Fort Smith Arkansas" on the front and "Thank You Jesus" on the back collar.  We got back to the hotel and saw that Dick's "long-legged beauty" was actually Wolfgang in a Speedo.  Dick was pained.

I had left my suitcase on my bed and had a nice, hand-written note from housekeeping that said, "I wasn't able to make your bed today due to we ain't allowed to touch your stuff".  The funny thing is... I could have sworn the entire housekeeping staff was Filipino.  Good to see that they are assimilating nicely.

It was just a perfect day off the bike.  Weather was perfect.  The city is super clean.  Got a chance to chat with just about everyone.  This ride is extremely difficult.  But when you talk to the other riders, you learn that it is extremely difficult for everyone.  Even the best struggle.  It is a challenge.  No one ever gets off the bike at the end of the day and says "that was easy".  We may say "that was great" (the "but I'm glad it is over" is always implied if not explicitly stated).  Jay may be the exception - but he's in a different league (perhaps in a different world).

Looks like we're going to dodge the bad weather for another day.  Trouble may be brewing ahead in Mississippi where some of the low-lying roads we take may be underwater.  But that's a few days off.

Thanks for the e-mails.  I love hearing from everybody.  The computer is just about the first thing I pull out in the afternoons and the last thing I put away in the mornings.  Always hoping for that one last message.  It's great staying in touch with the real world.