Day 41 - Rest Day in Erie, PA

Tour Stats to Date - 2,856 miles - 77,387 feet climbing - 179 hours in the saddle

Laundry….Shave….Hula Hoops….Recollections

Today was spent doing the Mundane - Laundry; Administrative - Arranging for my Cervélo to be shipped home at the end;  Creative - Shaved down to a handlebar mustache and a soul patch (completely ridiculous, I know);  Entertaining - Watched a Hula Hoop dance recital in the city square;  Necessary - Relaxing!

And here are some recollections from the last couple of weeks.

One of my favorite things about this trip is riding through small towns.  Throughout the Midwest, the towns have American flags flying and banners of veterans that have served our country.  I especially like riding through early on Sunday morning, when the lawns are freshly mowed from Saturday and it is so quiet.

Most of the small towns have “Welcome to” signs, on which many towns make bold claims.  Some are hard to prove, some are funny and some, well I guess FFA (Future Farmers of America) blue corduroy jackets had to originate somewhere!

Sometimes my Wahoo acts up with the directions or maybe I am just not paying attention because I am preparing my mustache for a photo op.  Here is me, with a damn good looking handlebar moustache, making a wrong turn right in front of our support truck and going off course for about 5 miles. I took the road less traveled, but it came back together with the sanctioned route!

The several of the 7:00 riders, led by Barbara, have a tradition of singing a song every morning.  They call themselves the Route Route Rappers.  Familiar tunes, but with bike tour appropriate lyrics.  I go down early every morning to watch and have been dubbed their groupie!  Rarely in tune or on beat, but love their enthusiasm and creativity.  Here is a sample from the day we rode to Champaign for a Rest Day.

                                                Linda, Christine,Barbara, Lisa, Jean (l-r)

Tomorrow we hop back on the bike and ride along Lake Erie to Buffalo.  Only 7 more days of real riding and a ceremonial ride to Revere Beach in Boston on Friday, June 23.  It is amazing how far we have come with just pedal power!  600 more miles to Savor the Journey // Achieve the Goal