Yes another rest day blah blah blah

Well, here we are again, spending yet another day not on the bikes. Now don't get me wrong, it is not that I am really looking forward to torturing my body and rigorous exercise for 10 hours a day. On the contrary, I am looking forward to not biking for a while or at least just doing it for fun. The problem is every extra day we spend resting is one more day we are further from finishing this trek.

I liked the rest days that were just one day then back on the saddle again. Those were just enoigh to rejuvenate but not enough to drag us down. Seems like we are stuck in a black hole here and are unable to escape this place.

On the upside, I think my uncle and cousin will SAG for us for a few days. The agreement was 5 days but the jury is still out on what will actually happen. Perhaps I should get it in writing. Well, it will be nice to have someone carry our gear for a bit. It should be fun (but as we all know, nothing compares to a parent taking care of you) but different from Larry and Mary as well I assume.

My Dad is here also and he is really taking care of us. He will be on the SAG trip for Sunday and Monday morning. Heather and I are really looking forward to sharing our journey with him even if for a day or two we both think it will be special. As for being taken care of my dad is really easygoing, and willing to do whatever we need to get us on the road again. Today, we started off the morning with a massage. This one was a sports massage (a bit different from our last one) and they really know how to find the tight spots and stretch them out. I was poked, pulled, prodded, and rubbed on muscles I did not even know I had in my shoulders. Apperently, they were sore too. I must say I really kneaded (or is that needed) that. We replaced the tires on Heather's bike with thinner, faster tires since she really did not need the bulky touring tires any more, I just hope I can still keep up. We also have been having some electrical problems on the bike (broken chargers and shorted wires) that we remedied today. Radio Shack and Staples (odd, I know, but they carry a great charger for our GPS units that uses a AA battery) are awsome stores.

I also spent some time fixing my cousin's bike (nothing major wrong just neglected) for her. As I am sure you are aware, Heather and I take every chance we get to carb load and fill up when we stop. We were really looking forward to a simple meal of pasta at the Olive Garden, but my aunt and cousin insisted on going to a local favorite called "The Great Impasta". The name implies a fun relaxing environmnent, right? Well, if you ever have the chance to go there, run away. The service is bland and unattentive, the menu is limited to heavy sauce with pasta or heavy sauce with something else, the atmosphere is stuffy, and the prices are ridiculous. Good thing they had bread to eat so we did not leave starving. Both Heather and I did not eat much of our food at all ( I'm talking about 5 bites each) if you can call that stuff food. Oh well, we took it back here and as my mom told me the secret to a good chef is to make the person hungry enough and anything will taste good. We will test that one for sure.

I think tomorrow we may just cook our own food because my gastrointestinal tract cannot handle all these fancy (by fancy, I mean overpriced and horrible tasting) restaurants.

Now that I think about it, maybe I am looking forward to getting back on that bike. Life is so much more simple while you are pedaling. Now that I have that new seat (tested with weight and passed with flying colors), riding is really comfortable.

Next time I post I will be riding again and not so bummed out. I hope this was not too much of a drag for you to read. If you are feeling kinda blah right now it is because misery loves company (so thanks for joining me).

later-dana