Since when is 70 miles short? Well, since it was a rather short day, it seemed like everyone was just taking their own sweet time. Breakfast was provided by Parks and Rec again, but they only had one griddle making pancakes. Struggle. Needless to say, I didn't get enough to eat. I really cant believe how much i eat these days. Once this ride is over, i'm going to have a hard time refraining from eating everything and and anything in sight.
We crossed into Ohio, but there wasn't a sign. :(. I was able to get some more food and refill on water. Chacko and I rode together to the next check point for lunch. I entertained him by singing 'Miss Suzy had a steamboat' and 'Down by the Bay.'. On the way to lunch, I stopped at a regional airport to try and get a wings pin. There wasn't anyone there. So I went next door to Airstream, but it turns out that it was a doctor's office. Whoops.
After lunch, I finished the last 20 miles on my own. Sue, George, and Brad caught up to me just before town, so I joined them for burgers and drinks. I got a cheeseburger at Spenglers, and it was just what needed after an inadequate breakfast.
After lunch number two, Brad and I set out to go find postcards and pins. First we went to Wal-Mart, then Rite Aid, then the grocery, and then the post office. Fail. I went off on my own, and I found a butterfly pin at a Christian bookstore. I bought it just because I was so happy to find pin. The lady told me that the Apothecary would have Ohio postcards. Well, poop...that was all the way back towards Wal-Mart. I was determined to get a postcard, and Brad sends them to his 3 year old granddaughter, so I decided it was worth the trip.
Not only did I find a postcard for $1.50, but i also got an Ohio State pin and a pin of a Wildcat, which is the town high school's mascot. Success. I decided to make one last stop at the courthouse downtown before heading to camp. On the way, I bumped into a radio broadcaster who interviewed me about the ride. What a struggle. I probably sounded retarded.
Anyway, he told me that the Chamber of Commerce a few doors down had postcards. So, I went in a low and behold, they have a nice selection! They even had antique ones of the town for $1. That totally beats the $1.50 I paid for the lame one at the Apothecary. Oh, well.
On the way to camp, I ran into Isang, Kristin, and Timmy. I told Isang about the Ohio State pin, so she and Timmy went to the Apothecary for that. Kristin and I went to camp. Less than half a mile from camp, Kristin got a flat. Bummer! She just filled it with a CO2 cartridge and changed it once we got to the fairgrounds for camp.
I finally got to shower. I rode in tri shorts today, and they were surprisingly comfortable.
Tomorrow we're head to Sandusky, and it's supposed to be the flattest ride of the trip.
Love from Ohio,
Suzanne
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Cue sheets are optional.
I was struggling at reading my cue sheet today, but it wasn't too bad. I turned my 109 mile day into 112 miles.
Today was a 5:30am breakfast, but it was at the school's cafeteria, which made it easier for us. The cue sheet looked really scary since it was 3 pages, but the last page only had like 2 lines of text. What a waste.
The beginning of the ride consisted of cracked road and narrow shoulders. Struggle. But it was actually kind of nice because we ended up riding more or less as a big group to the first check point. We were riding through a cloud and into the sun in the beginning, so it made it rather hard to see. It's now safe to say that I survived. I started singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall, but it got a little annoying after a while. Well, maybe really annoying. Clearly I'm good at making new friends.
The first check point had snacks provided by a Big Ride alum- donuts, coffee, watermelon, banana muffins, grapes, all the good stuff. The bond that the Big Ride creates among all the riders is awesome.
I headed out with Chacko and missed a turn. We passed some construction workers, and we yelled to them to see if other riders had come this way. They waved in the direction we were going, so we thought we might still be on route. But then we his a busy street that was not anywhere on the cue sheet. We turned around and saw Amy, Deidre, and Sam turn onto the correct street that we missed. Just FYI- Chacko doesn't addy a cue sheet, so he was relying on me. Poor life choice.
I ended up just riding by myself in my drops because the winds were not in my favor. They were not as bad as yesterday, but they still were not great. The lunch stop was around mile 47, and we still had cold cuts left. :).
The next check point was at mile 62 because there is supposed to be an awesome bakery. Unfortunately it has closed down, but Isang, Chacko, and I found a pizza place with ice cream. Isang and I got root beer floats, and Chacko got a chocolate milkshake. These are becoming typical orders. The pizza place was pretty neat because it was basically the town's hang out. We found the coolest place in town!
The next stretch was pretty long and a lot of the same...corn. We are in Amish country, so it was cool to see the horse and buggies going down the road. They also all have their laundry out to dry. I stopped in a health foods store to use their bathroom and to look for a pin. I knew it was a long shot, but it couldn't hurt. They didn't have a pin, but they gave me a pen. My collection has become pins, a patch, and a pen!
I don't know what my deal was today, but I always had to go to the bathroom. The check point around mile 85 was very open, so I opted to not pee there. There was a town less than 10 miles away according to the cue sheet, so I figured I could wait until then. I didn't want to pee in a front yard or in corn. On the way, a girl yelled out to ask if I knew when the bike tour was. I stopped to hear her question, and I told that I didn't know and that I was with a ride across America. Stopping made me realize how badly I had to pee, so I asked how much farther up the next town was. My odometer was off due to my little detour in the morning. It was only a couple miles, but a few miles can be a lot of time on the bike. She didn't know, but she offered to let me use the bathroom in the house.
To be continued...
(We crossed into EST, so we've lost an hour. Struggle.)
Today was a 5:30am breakfast, but it was at the school's cafeteria, which made it easier for us. The cue sheet looked really scary since it was 3 pages, but the last page only had like 2 lines of text. What a waste.
The beginning of the ride consisted of cracked road and narrow shoulders. Struggle. But it was actually kind of nice because we ended up riding more or less as a big group to the first check point. We were riding through a cloud and into the sun in the beginning, so it made it rather hard to see. It's now safe to say that I survived. I started singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall, but it got a little annoying after a while. Well, maybe really annoying. Clearly I'm good at making new friends.
The first check point had snacks provided by a Big Ride alum- donuts, coffee, watermelon, banana muffins, grapes, all the good stuff. The bond that the Big Ride creates among all the riders is awesome.
I headed out with Chacko and missed a turn. We passed some construction workers, and we yelled to them to see if other riders had come this way. They waved in the direction we were going, so we thought we might still be on route. But then we his a busy street that was not anywhere on the cue sheet. We turned around and saw Amy, Deidre, and Sam turn onto the correct street that we missed. Just FYI- Chacko doesn't addy a cue sheet, so he was relying on me. Poor life choice.
I ended up just riding by myself in my drops because the winds were not in my favor. They were not as bad as yesterday, but they still were not great. The lunch stop was around mile 47, and we still had cold cuts left. :).
The next check point was at mile 62 because there is supposed to be an awesome bakery. Unfortunately it has closed down, but Isang, Chacko, and I found a pizza place with ice cream. Isang and I got root beer floats, and Chacko got a chocolate milkshake. These are becoming typical orders. The pizza place was pretty neat because it was basically the town's hang out. We found the coolest place in town!
The next stretch was pretty long and a lot of the same...corn. We are in Amish country, so it was cool to see the horse and buggies going down the road. They also all have their laundry out to dry. I stopped in a health foods store to use their bathroom and to look for a pin. I knew it was a long shot, but it couldn't hurt. They didn't have a pin, but they gave me a pen. My collection has become pins, a patch, and a pen!
I don't know what my deal was today, but I always had to go to the bathroom. The check point around mile 85 was very open, so I opted to not pee there. There was a town less than 10 miles away according to the cue sheet, so I figured I could wait until then. I didn't want to pee in a front yard or in corn. On the way, a girl yelled out to ask if I knew when the bike tour was. I stopped to hear her question, and I told that I didn't know and that I was with a ride across America. Stopping made me realize how badly I had to pee, so I asked how much farther up the next town was. My odometer was off due to my little detour in the morning. It was only a couple miles, but a few miles can be a lot of time on the bike. She didn't know, but she offered to let me use the bathroom in the house.
To be continued...
(We crossed into EST, so we've lost an hour. Struggle.)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Dear Indiana
Dear Indiana,
Please repave your roads.
Love,
Suzanne
So, today we left Illinois and entered Indiana. There was no sign since we enter on country roads, but we were welcomed with potholes and insane amounts of tar trying to compensate. The tar is not any better on bike as it still makes for a bumpy ride.
This morning I started out with Sam, Tim, Chacko, and Todd. Sam was on a mission to get to...wherever we are now. We're staying at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Sam and Tim left the first check point very quickly, so Chacko and I left a little later. I had a hard time clipping into my pedals since I had walked through a muddy cornfield to go to the bathroom. Eventually I got all the mud and gravel out of my cleats, and I was good to go. The headwinds and crosswinds were relentless, but we pushed our way through. Sam and Tim were already at the lunch stop, and they didn't hang around long. We were near a Walgreens, so I went in to try and find a pin or at least postcard. Epic fail. I didn't find either.
After an hour or so, Chacko and I finally left lunch to complete the last 30 miles. Still unforgiving winds. We almost missed a turn because the street was not marked, but luckily Chacko saw the Dan Henry. At the last check point, we asked Dave if he put it there. He said he did, and I finally had to ask what the heck a Dan Henry is. Apparently it's just a circle with an arrow in the direction you need to go, and they're put on the road when turns are tricky. I actually have seen them before, but I've always just thought they were for underground pipes or waterlines or just random markings for the city. Anyway, I told Dave that when Bridgette mentioned the Dan Henry that I had missed yesterday, I thought that I was looking for a sign with a president's face on it. He got a kick out of the fact that I thought Dan Henry was a president. There was Eisenhower highway in Illinois, and there was a picture of his face on the sign. So, I thought that Dan Henry might be a famous historical figure with a recognizable face like those of the presidents. Apparently Dan Henry is just some rider who came up with the symbol. Struggle. Everyone is quite entertained by my little remark.
Chacko and I made it in good time and beat the gear truck. We met Kristin and Sue and decided to find an air conditioned place to sit and get something to drink. In the process of riding in circles to decide where to go, we saw Bridgette drive up with the gear truck. So, we followed her to the dorm and unloaded the truck. By this point, many more people were here so unloading went pretty quickly. We took out out tents to let them dry, and then I took a shower. I really should start running, but after biking all day, all I ever want to do is shower. It's one of those 'tomorrow' things. So, maybe tomorrow I'll run.
We had dinner at the cafeteria, and they made root beer floats for us! I'm waiting for my laundry to dry right now. It's our last night in a dorm, so it's all camping and the occasional school stay for the rest of the trip!
Tomorrow we ride 109 miles and go almost all the way through Indiana! It's a much much shorter state than the seemingly never-ending
Love from somewhere in Indiana!
Suzanne
P.S.- I've finally caught on my blog. Whew!
Please repave your roads.
Love,
Suzanne
So, today we left Illinois and entered Indiana. There was no sign since we enter on country roads, but we were welcomed with potholes and insane amounts of tar trying to compensate. The tar is not any better on bike as it still makes for a bumpy ride.
This morning I started out with Sam, Tim, Chacko, and Todd. Sam was on a mission to get to...wherever we are now. We're staying at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Sam and Tim left the first check point very quickly, so Chacko and I left a little later. I had a hard time clipping into my pedals since I had walked through a muddy cornfield to go to the bathroom. Eventually I got all the mud and gravel out of my cleats, and I was good to go. The headwinds and crosswinds were relentless, but we pushed our way through. Sam and Tim were already at the lunch stop, and they didn't hang around long. We were near a Walgreens, so I went in to try and find a pin or at least postcard. Epic fail. I didn't find either.
After an hour or so, Chacko and I finally left lunch to complete the last 30 miles. Still unforgiving winds. We almost missed a turn because the street was not marked, but luckily Chacko saw the Dan Henry. At the last check point, we asked Dave if he put it there. He said he did, and I finally had to ask what the heck a Dan Henry is. Apparently it's just a circle with an arrow in the direction you need to go, and they're put on the road when turns are tricky. I actually have seen them before, but I've always just thought they were for underground pipes or waterlines or just random markings for the city. Anyway, I told Dave that when Bridgette mentioned the Dan Henry that I had missed yesterday, I thought that I was looking for a sign with a president's face on it. He got a kick out of the fact that I thought Dan Henry was a president. There was Eisenhower highway in Illinois, and there was a picture of his face on the sign. So, I thought that Dan Henry might be a famous historical figure with a recognizable face like those of the presidents. Apparently Dan Henry is just some rider who came up with the symbol. Struggle. Everyone is quite entertained by my little remark.
Chacko and I made it in good time and beat the gear truck. We met Kristin and Sue and decided to find an air conditioned place to sit and get something to drink. In the process of riding in circles to decide where to go, we saw Bridgette drive up with the gear truck. So, we followed her to the dorm and unloaded the truck. By this point, many more people were here so unloading went pretty quickly. We took out out tents to let them dry, and then I took a shower. I really should start running, but after biking all day, all I ever want to do is shower. It's one of those 'tomorrow' things. So, maybe tomorrow I'll run.
We had dinner at the cafeteria, and they made root beer floats for us! I'm waiting for my laundry to dry right now. It's our last night in a dorm, so it's all camping and the occasional school stay for the rest of the trip!
Tomorrow we ride 109 miles and go almost all the way through Indiana! It's a much much shorter state than the seemingly never-ending
Love from somewhere in Indiana!
Suzanne
P.S.- I've finally caught on my blog. Whew!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The real longest day...
Update 7/25
So, I took an intentional detour to look for a pin, and then I missed a turn. As a result, I rode an extra 7 miles, totaling 113 miles for the day. Whoops.
The morning started off nasty. I was so glad that I was able to spend the night with my parents at a hotel! Flooding campsites and lots of rain and lightening do not make for a good night's sleep.
My parents bid me farewell, which was kind of sad. But I get to see my dad in September in Scotland, and my mom might come out and visit next semester and bring a picnic! (Since Stephen is going to UT next year, my mom says that she can bring him picnics.). It was pouring out and thundering and lightening. We had the option of waiting it out, but the 106 miles was not going to change. So, we all headed out...slowly...into the rain and headwinds. It was quite the struggle. I stayed with a pretty big group since we weren't going very fast, and I felt more comfortable riding closer to others. By the time we got to lunch, the rain had let up for the most part. But then it started to rain, again! I guess our 4 week stroke of incredible weather just had to be too good to be true.
After lunch, I spent most of the time riding by myself. It actually ended up getting hot and humid with sort of a tailwind. It made the last 50 miles go by really fast. I was feeling pretty good 3 miles from camp, and I saw a sign for a visitor's center at a nature area. I thought, pin! I should know by now that a sign doesn't mean that it's pointing right at the place. It ended up being 2 miles down the road and completely deserted. The visitor's center didn't have a pin, but they had a patch. I decided that it was good enough, and the cute old man working there gave me the patch out of the display case. When he was giving me my change out of a ziploc baggie, he found a whole bag of patches. Clearly they're a big seller since he knew there were more in the drawer and the money was in a ziploc.
I proceeded to get back on route, but I missed the turn onto Whitebowtie. I kept going and realized that I must have gone too far. I called Bridgette to ask if the street was not marked. She confirmed it was not marked and that she had put a Dan Henry. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I knew what turn she was talking about. I turned around, and I made it to camp. Total miles for the day : 113.
I went swimming in the lake, which was very refreshing. We had the cold cuts my parents got for dinner, and it started raining again. It was quite buggy and humid. I felt gross...I hope it's not as humid and muggy in the mountains...and buggy.
Since I'm updating this late, I can say that it took me a while to fall asleep because it was so hot in my tent. There was absolutely no breeze, which was ridiculous given the wind earlier today. It started raining and thundering at midnight, and my tent kept me nice and dry. Annnd, it cooled off. :).
So, I took an intentional detour to look for a pin, and then I missed a turn. As a result, I rode an extra 7 miles, totaling 113 miles for the day. Whoops.
The morning started off nasty. I was so glad that I was able to spend the night with my parents at a hotel! Flooding campsites and lots of rain and lightening do not make for a good night's sleep.
My parents bid me farewell, which was kind of sad. But I get to see my dad in September in Scotland, and my mom might come out and visit next semester and bring a picnic! (Since Stephen is going to UT next year, my mom says that she can bring him picnics.). It was pouring out and thundering and lightening. We had the option of waiting it out, but the 106 miles was not going to change. So, we all headed out...slowly...into the rain and headwinds. It was quite the struggle. I stayed with a pretty big group since we weren't going very fast, and I felt more comfortable riding closer to others. By the time we got to lunch, the rain had let up for the most part. But then it started to rain, again! I guess our 4 week stroke of incredible weather just had to be too good to be true.
After lunch, I spent most of the time riding by myself. It actually ended up getting hot and humid with sort of a tailwind. It made the last 50 miles go by really fast. I was feeling pretty good 3 miles from camp, and I saw a sign for a visitor's center at a nature area. I thought, pin! I should know by now that a sign doesn't mean that it's pointing right at the place. It ended up being 2 miles down the road and completely deserted. The visitor's center didn't have a pin, but they had a patch. I decided that it was good enough, and the cute old man working there gave me the patch out of the display case. When he was giving me my change out of a ziploc baggie, he found a whole bag of patches. Clearly they're a big seller since he knew there were more in the drawer and the money was in a ziploc.
I proceeded to get back on route, but I missed the turn onto Whitebowtie. I kept going and realized that I must have gone too far. I called Bridgette to ask if the street was not marked. She confirmed it was not marked and that she had put a Dan Henry. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I knew what turn she was talking about. I turned around, and I made it to camp. Total miles for the day : 113.
I went swimming in the lake, which was very refreshing. We had the cold cuts my parents got for dinner, and it started raining again. It was quite buggy and humid. I felt gross...I hope it's not as humid and muggy in the mountains...and buggy.
Since I'm updating this late, I can say that it took me a while to fall asleep because it was so hot in my tent. There was absolutely no breeze, which was ridiculous given the wind earlier today. It started raining and thundering at midnight, and my tent kept me nice and dry. Annnd, it cooled off. :).
Friday, July 23, 2010
Papa Bear is a rockstar.
Update 7/25
We woke up at 5:30 to make it back to the dorms to get Frank's bike ready for my dad and breakfast at 6:30. The weather started out looking a little sketchy, but it wasn't raining.
The ride began with poor directions and a big mass of us were riding on the bike path on various directions. Eventually we got on route, and it was full of cracked roads and small shoulders not to mention it was also raining. I stuck back with my dad and we passed three flats! What a great introduction to the big ride! At the first check point, we were both soaked since we ditched our jackets at breakfast. I took my jersey off and just wore my jacket. Frank let my dad borrow his jersey, and my dad put his new rain jacket on top.
We started out with Isang, Chacko, Jeremy, Toby, and Chad, but around mile 35 my dad started to fade. There were lots of rolling hills, and Southlake is just not the best place to train for that. He was also on a borrowed bike and an uncomfortable seat. To add to it all, his quads were cramping. We slowed down the pace, and my mom and Cilla drove by just in time to meet us at the lunch stop. After a struggle, we made it to lunch at mile 50. My dad had had enough, so he got in the car with my mom and Cilla, and i continued off on my own. I was in the back at this point except for Todd who had gotten extremely lost.
At mile 75ish, there was a nice surprise from a past big riderless. He had brought DQ blizzards and watermelon and cookies and lemonade. The weather had cleared up, and it was hot, humid, and headwinds. 3 of the 4 Hs in Illinois. The last H is hills.
I left the rest stop after about 15 minutes. I didn't want to hang around too long because I wanted to see my parents. I called my parents when I was just under 10 miles from camp, and we ended up arriving at almost exactly the same time. Perfect!
I went back to the hotel with them to shower and run some last minute errands. We first went to the bank since I was finally able to find a Bank of America. ATM fees can get a little obnoxious. Then we went to Macys to get a wedding give for Ron's daughter, who jut got married. We searched for her in the gift registry, but the Stephanie that showed up wasn't going to get married until October in CA. Ron's daughter already got married, and it wasn't in CA. Not the right person. Struggle. My parents just picked out something else. Afterwards, we went to Wal-Mart to get more Cliff bars, wrapping paper, random treasures, and lunch for the big riders (cold cuts, sandwich toppings, hummus, avocados, pita chips, granola, watermelon, and lot a of other yummy food....I still like pb&j, but lots of others don't.) I unfortunately was not able to find an Illinois pin. After our little shopping adventure, we went to a Texas steakhouse for dinner.
Once again, after dinner I packed up and crashed. Alarm- 4:30 am
We woke up at 5:30 to make it back to the dorms to get Frank's bike ready for my dad and breakfast at 6:30. The weather started out looking a little sketchy, but it wasn't raining.
The ride began with poor directions and a big mass of us were riding on the bike path on various directions. Eventually we got on route, and it was full of cracked roads and small shoulders not to mention it was also raining. I stuck back with my dad and we passed three flats! What a great introduction to the big ride! At the first check point, we were both soaked since we ditched our jackets at breakfast. I took my jersey off and just wore my jacket. Frank let my dad borrow his jersey, and my dad put his new rain jacket on top.
We started out with Isang, Chacko, Jeremy, Toby, and Chad, but around mile 35 my dad started to fade. There were lots of rolling hills, and Southlake is just not the best place to train for that. He was also on a borrowed bike and an uncomfortable seat. To add to it all, his quads were cramping. We slowed down the pace, and my mom and Cilla drove by just in time to meet us at the lunch stop. After a struggle, we made it to lunch at mile 50. My dad had had enough, so he got in the car with my mom and Cilla, and i continued off on my own. I was in the back at this point except for Todd who had gotten extremely lost.
At mile 75ish, there was a nice surprise from a past big riderless. He had brought DQ blizzards and watermelon and cookies and lemonade. The weather had cleared up, and it was hot, humid, and headwinds. 3 of the 4 Hs in Illinois. The last H is hills.
I left the rest stop after about 15 minutes. I didn't want to hang around too long because I wanted to see my parents. I called my parents when I was just under 10 miles from camp, and we ended up arriving at almost exactly the same time. Perfect!
I went back to the hotel with them to shower and run some last minute errands. We first went to the bank since I was finally able to find a Bank of America. ATM fees can get a little obnoxious. Then we went to Macys to get a wedding give for Ron's daughter, who jut got married. We searched for her in the gift registry, but the Stephanie that showed up wasn't going to get married until October in CA. Ron's daughter already got married, and it wasn't in CA. Not the right person. Struggle. My parents just picked out something else. Afterwards, we went to Wal-Mart to get more Cliff bars, wrapping paper, random treasures, and lunch for the big riders (cold cuts, sandwich toppings, hummus, avocados, pita chips, granola, watermelon, and lot a of other yummy food....I still like pb&j, but lots of others don't.) I unfortunately was not able to find an Illinois pin. After our little shopping adventure, we went to a Texas steakhouse for dinner.
Once again, after dinner I packed up and crashed. Alarm- 4:30 am
I'm alive. :)
No worries. I'm alive.
I'm hanging with the family and haven't made time to update. I figure I'll have plenty of time later, and they're only here for a few days. They actually leave tomorrow. :(.
Stay tuned for a great update...soon!
Mucho Love-o,
Suzanne
P.S.-I'm in Illinois!
I'm hanging with the family and haven't made time to update. I figure I'll have plenty of time later, and they're only here for a few days. They actually leave tomorrow. :(.
Stay tuned for a great update...soon!
Mucho Love-o,
Suzanne
P.S.-I'm in Illinois!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Madison!
Update 7/24
I woke up at 6:45 and decided to take a shower just because i could. When i got out, my mom was up, and my dad got up soon after. I was starving, so we woke Cilla up and set out to find a Perkins for breakfast. Perkins has become a rest day necessity.
After breakfast, it was around 9. I needed/wanted to go to REI, and my mom was convinced that it would be open. We drove over, and it turns out that it doesn't open until 10. Whoops. We had 30 minutes to kill, so we decided to drive around and find a nail salon. There was one just a few shopping centers over, and it was open! Perfect. Unfortunately there was only pen guy working, but someone else was supposed to come in soon. We learned from last time, and I wanted to use my own nail polish on my fingers so that i can touch them up when I have to change flats. They didn't sell any 'good' colors there, so we decided to go to Walgreens. We all piled back in the car, and it didn't start! Struggle. Apparently Walgreens was just down the street, so Cilla and I decided to walk over...in the rain. Poor life choice. It was not 'just down the street' but 'quite far down the street.' Double struggle. We made it soaking wet. Luckily I had my rain jacket, but Cilla was only wearing a sweatshirt. Well, I guess the important part os that we made it and picked out some fantastic colors- teal blue and lime green. I eve. Bought a Walgreens pin! We called dad, and the rental car company had sent someone to jump the car. He came pick us up. :).
My mom was already having her pedicure started when we got there. Here begins the epicly long amount of time spent at Natural Nails. An elderly lady with disastrous toenails had arrived just before Cilla and I got back to the nail salon. Since there were only two guys working, we had to wait a long time until we were started. I have a hard time just relaxing, so i took advantage of the time to make some calls and get my prescription situation sorted out. We were finally done around noon with lovely matching teal blue finger nails, and I had watermelons painted on my toenails. Yes, I am 21...
REI was definitely open by this point, but we didn't really find what we were looking for. But then again, we wee rent really looking for anything on particular. My dad kind of needed rain gear if he could borrow Frank's bike the next day, but it wasn't for sure yet. Also, Madison is a huge biking town, and there were plenty of other bike shops to go to.
Then began the adventure of sorting out my medicine. Amazingly I was able to locate 5 bottles on town, but they were between two different Walgreens. Usually you wait to have it all transferred to one store, but I didn't have time since I was only in Madison for a day. We went to the first Walgreens to get the first half of the prescription.
.
Then we went to the mall so that i could go to J. Crew. Yes, absolutely necessary. Haha. It was a quick trip, but it was nice to get some real clothes. Spandex gets old very quickly.
Thennnnnnnnn we set out to find the other Walgreens on Banch or Branch. I still don't know the actual street name but regardless, we passed it. Fortunately, there are a million and one Walgreens on Madison, so we stopped in one leas than 3 miles away from the one we were supposed to go to. We backtracked and got to the right Walgreens. It turns out that someone in town needs the same medicine as me, so they keep it on stock! It's my lucky day! :)
We were getting hungry, so we set out to find Ella's by recommendation of the internet. It was supposedly a unique deli and ice cream parlor with lots of toys and a carousel. It was quite interesting, and the ice cream was much much better than the deli.
I still had to clean my bike and do laundry. Since they didn't have self laundry at the hotel, I was dropped off at the dorm where everyone else was staying to clean my bike and do my laundry. Alan left, so I wasn't able to get to the bike cleaning supplies. But, I did get to do my laundry, which was much needed!
My mom and Cilla came to pick me up, and I had found out that my dad could use Frank's bike. Since there was a good chance of rain and I still needed to get more chamois cream, we went to two bike shops to get the stuff. I'm picky about my chamois cream, so I had to go to a second one to find the right stuff. Yes, high maintenance...I know.
By the time we were done shopping, it was pouring. We went back to the hotel and decided to just eat there since the weather was so nasty. My dad was excited to wear the Duke jersey that I got him a few years ago, but it turns out that he had brought mine! Apparently mine was in his closet which explains why I couldn't find it before I left. Struggle. He had another quick dry shirt that he could wear, and I took the jersey to add to my bag.
After dinner, I packed up my stuff and crashed.
I woke up at 6:45 and decided to take a shower just because i could. When i got out, my mom was up, and my dad got up soon after. I was starving, so we woke Cilla up and set out to find a Perkins for breakfast. Perkins has become a rest day necessity.
After breakfast, it was around 9. I needed/wanted to go to REI, and my mom was convinced that it would be open. We drove over, and it turns out that it doesn't open until 10. Whoops. We had 30 minutes to kill, so we decided to drive around and find a nail salon. There was one just a few shopping centers over, and it was open! Perfect. Unfortunately there was only pen guy working, but someone else was supposed to come in soon. We learned from last time, and I wanted to use my own nail polish on my fingers so that i can touch them up when I have to change flats. They didn't sell any 'good' colors there, so we decided to go to Walgreens. We all piled back in the car, and it didn't start! Struggle. Apparently Walgreens was just down the street, so Cilla and I decided to walk over...in the rain. Poor life choice. It was not 'just down the street' but 'quite far down the street.' Double struggle. We made it soaking wet. Luckily I had my rain jacket, but Cilla was only wearing a sweatshirt. Well, I guess the important part os that we made it and picked out some fantastic colors- teal blue and lime green. I eve. Bought a Walgreens pin! We called dad, and the rental car company had sent someone to jump the car. He came pick us up. :).
My mom was already having her pedicure started when we got there. Here begins the epicly long amount of time spent at Natural Nails. An elderly lady with disastrous toenails had arrived just before Cilla and I got back to the nail salon. Since there were only two guys working, we had to wait a long time until we were started. I have a hard time just relaxing, so i took advantage of the time to make some calls and get my prescription situation sorted out. We were finally done around noon with lovely matching teal blue finger nails, and I had watermelons painted on my toenails. Yes, I am 21...
REI was definitely open by this point, but we didn't really find what we were looking for. But then again, we wee rent really looking for anything on particular. My dad kind of needed rain gear if he could borrow Frank's bike the next day, but it wasn't for sure yet. Also, Madison is a huge biking town, and there were plenty of other bike shops to go to.
Then began the adventure of sorting out my medicine. Amazingly I was able to locate 5 bottles on town, but they were between two different Walgreens. Usually you wait to have it all transferred to one store, but I didn't have time since I was only in Madison for a day. We went to the first Walgreens to get the first half of the prescription.
.
Then we went to the mall so that i could go to J. Crew. Yes, absolutely necessary. Haha. It was a quick trip, but it was nice to get some real clothes. Spandex gets old very quickly.
Thennnnnnnnn we set out to find the other Walgreens on Banch or Branch. I still don't know the actual street name but regardless, we passed it. Fortunately, there are a million and one Walgreens on Madison, so we stopped in one leas than 3 miles away from the one we were supposed to go to. We backtracked and got to the right Walgreens. It turns out that someone in town needs the same medicine as me, so they keep it on stock! It's my lucky day! :)
We were getting hungry, so we set out to find Ella's by recommendation of the internet. It was supposedly a unique deli and ice cream parlor with lots of toys and a carousel. It was quite interesting, and the ice cream was much much better than the deli.
I still had to clean my bike and do laundry. Since they didn't have self laundry at the hotel, I was dropped off at the dorm where everyone else was staying to clean my bike and do my laundry. Alan left, so I wasn't able to get to the bike cleaning supplies. But, I did get to do my laundry, which was much needed!
My mom and Cilla came to pick me up, and I had found out that my dad could use Frank's bike. Since there was a good chance of rain and I still needed to get more chamois cream, we went to two bike shops to get the stuff. I'm picky about my chamois cream, so I had to go to a second one to find the right stuff. Yes, high maintenance...I know.
By the time we were done shopping, it was pouring. We went back to the hotel and decided to just eat there since the weather was so nasty. My dad was excited to wear the Duke jersey that I got him a few years ago, but it turns out that he had brought mine! Apparently mine was in his closet which explains why I couldn't find it before I left. Struggle. He had another quick dry shirt that he could wear, and I took the jersey to add to my bag.
After dinner, I packed up my stuff and crashed.
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