June 9 (REST DAY ... Bike Maintenance – and Tibet!)

Bill PSA:

I apologize to you all for getting a week behind here, it can be really hard to work up the energy to write one of these after a long day - I will often just fall asleep. So let me make you a deal. Though I can't respond directly in the comments (my phone gets buggy there) I will always read and reply to them in my posts. So, if you read this and want me to continue writing these, please every once in a while post a comment. It goes a long way to making this whole process feel rewarding. In return, I won't let myself get more than three days behind schedule.

 

Another morning, another wonderful meal. Apparently the Hugens family is going rafting today. Patrick said if they had had room I could go, but I had to get some bike parts so I declined.

 

Oh, and Rachel and Patrick irrigate their lawn instead of watering; apparently the land used to be farmland and they still have the old water systems.

 

 

To afford these new parts, I needed more money. Mom and Dad had wired me the funds, but I had to find a Western Union location to get them.  And it seemed like everyone I asked pointed me to some other shop two miles away. I think, in the end, I made a 5-6 mile loop around Boise until I reached Wells Fargo and was able to get the funds.

 

At the bike shop I got my handlebars rewrapped (and the mechanic showed me how to do it next time) and a spare pair of brake pads (I think I'm burning through those extremely fast). I also ... got a Brooks saddle, against the advice of literally everyone I asked about it.

 

A short explanation:  Brooks saddles are essentially leather bolted to a frame, and they are EXTREMELY uncomfortable for the first few hundred miles or so, after which they become unbelievably comfortable. Usually you break them in over short rides but I feel young and invincible, so I will be breaking them in over the trip.

 

After this I headed back to the house just in time for dinner. Everyone was back from rafting, and I think a few neighbors just dropped in! I'm getting the sense that Rachel and Patrick really like having company.

 

 

 

  

Here is a picture of Patrick's sister and her friend, planning their trip to Las Vegas at dinner.

 

 

After that I sat down with the Hugens and they showed me their pictures from Tibet. They are ... simply breathtaking, and make my trek here seem small and insignificant. The color commentary made it even better. They also have a Picasa of all their trips. Check. Them. Out.

 

All I can say leaving here tomorrow is that I very much want to emulate these remarkable people, as a host (both in WarmShowers and in general) and as a cyclist. They haven't ever stopped having adventures, and I would like to be able to say the same for myself in 20 years.

 



 

Comment Responses

 

Rich: I haven't been able to find one of those camping candles as of yet, do you know where I can pick one up? Also, I forgot to mention but my foot stopped hurting a week ago, loosening my cleats did the trick for me. :D