Today we are at White Pines Forest State Park and since it is a rest day I decided to rest rather than ride. Sue and Anne decided to do the 38-mile loop but I had a good breakfast since I felt as if I could eat for a change (and there was oatmeal) and have worked on more prosaic things.
I have been getting my laundry dry, which has taken far longer than I would have expected. I started laundry on the first day and my Pearl Izumi Sugar Knickers are still drying! I have been writing and taking a few pictures, and I started reading The Apprentice Warrior on my iPhone. This book was on the recommendation of Diane and I am enjoying it so far. I haven’t read any fantasy or science fiction, not counting Harry Potter, for years.
The bad thing is that I have misplaced my watch and it hasn’t turned up yet. I am still hoping it is somewhere in my tent and I will find it by the time I pack up for tomorrow’s 70-mile ride. Even though the watch isn’t that valuable, it is one of those link charm watches and all the links are cats. I have had it for quite some time now and I would hate to lose it.
I am seeing a lot of spiders and other creatures that normally make me scream. So far I have been able, with difficulty, to restrain myself. I don’t want to totally freak out the rest of the people on the ride. Creepy crawlies have always upset me; even pictures make me shudder so having them all around is not a fun experience. Rich gave me good advice when he told me to keep my tent flap zipped up when I wasn’t going in and out of it. It is common sense, but somehow I didn’t think of it.
The good thing today was being able to pump up my tires without pulling the valve stems out of either tube. This may not sound like much of an achievement but I have ruined many tubes this way. I did bring four spares but I would rather not use them. I was happy to succeed, especially using a pump just like the one I have at home. The bike seems to be doing well so far without much attention from me. I really should wash it when I get home since I won’t ride it much until we get back from Europe in late July.
Rich, Bob, and I had lunch at the lodge, then walked around and I took some nice pictures but didn’t see any hawks. I was hoping some would be around so I could take pictures for Diane. Unfortunately there was a lot of burning of dead trees going on so we had smoke and ash drifting around during the day, especially later in the afternoon. We had a lot of people with watering eyes and coughing, including me. There was also a lot of ash on people’s tents.
After dinner there was an entertainer, not very good, who did mediocre impressions and some music. It appealed to an older audience. Not that I was unfamiliar with the material, just not nostalgic for Bob Hope, Red Skelton, etc.—especially if it wasn’t done really well. He was a better musician than comedian and the one impressive thing he did was to play two saxophones at the same time. I should have gone to the Velosophie discussion instead.
We have an early day tomorrow since we ride 70 miles to Johnson-Sauk State Park. I also need to buy a watch since mine hasn’t turned up and I totally repacked this afternoon. We go through Sterling where my Uncle Al and Aunt Rose lived. We used to stay with them when I was small. My first bike was a blue Schwinn that belonged to their daughter Karen. It was the only bike I had until I bought my Trek hybrid 7100 in 2006.
This is kind of what my bike looked like.
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