Day Eight: rest day

I slept on and off until 9:30, then dragged myself out of bed and pulled out the phone book. After some breakfast Dave had to go to work. So did we.

I started by pulling out the phone book. I counted sixty bike shops in the area. We picked some with the same area code and made a few calls. Klaus has a method of finding the biggest shops in town. He just picks a random one and says, "My friend was telling me about a huge bike shop in town. Is that you?" It works well.

We stopped at three of the bike shops. I bought a jersey to see if it helps with the heat, new toeclips (the cages over the pedals) since my right one broke yesterday, and a new cyclometer. I'd really like to keep accurate records of my mileage so I don't end up in Detroit or someplace, and my wireless one seems to be getting worse.

Klaus needed some things, too. When he was asking the bike shop employees questions it was interesting to see the change in their attitude when I mentioned that he's traveling around the world on his bike and has already done 8,000 miles. He went from being a guy with a foreign accent taking up their time by asking questions to someone with instant credibility. (It's easier if I drop the information. Otherwise, it sounds like he's bragging)

We had lunch at Oregano's then drove to the internet café so I could upload some pictures and post some blogs. It's been difficult keeping up with the postings, not only because at the end of my riding day I sometimes feel like locking myself in a closet, but also because internet access has been so spotty.

After two hours at the internet cafe it was time to get going. We stopped briefly at the grocery store, then drove to the airport to drop off the car. We had planned to meet Dave near the airport where I could gas up the car but Sky Harbor sucked me in to it again, and by the time it regurgitated me fifteen minutes later I was lost. Dave waited about an hour for me to drop off the car.

We ate at the Olive Garden and didn't get back to Dave's until 9:00. I washed clothes and put my new cyclometer and toe clips onto my bike. I also raised the handlebars (in an attempt to help with the numb finger) and did some packing. By the time I went to bed it was 12:30. I set the alarm for 4:30.

My rest day today was productive, but not restful. Reading back over it, it was also a pretty boring day to read about. After Day Three, an occasional boring day is okay with me if it's okay with you.

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