a continuation.

Life was great at Super 8. I took a long shower and put on one layer of clothes. One layer of clothes! Out here I’ve been wearing long underwear, three pairs of pants, a t-shirt, a long sleeved t-shirt three jackets, a hat, gloves, and two pairs of socks. What a blessing to fall asleep in comfy clothes in a comfy bed!

We were awakened at 7:30 so that we could start working on breakfast and laundry before checkout at 11. Some people did their laundry at the laundry mat. Derek, Josh and I combined ours and did it at the hotel next door, a motel actually, and the Super 8’s sister. Between the two hotels was a vacant lot of dirt, dry and dusty. Each step we took sent clouds around our ankles. The dryer took two cycles to actually dry, so we didn’t have time to go to Waffle House.

When we got back we had sandwiches and parted ways for road biking and mountain biking. I road biked. I was the slowest biker, which was okay. It would not have been okay if I were in one of my more competitive and stubborn moods. but I was just trying to get there and as far back as possible, and I did.

It was a good stop at Walgreens, but after turning around I felt like I was going to puke. A protein bar was stuck at the top of my stomach and the wind was in my face. Every time a car passed me, I could smell the exhaust. Sometimes four or five cars would pass me in a row. That was just too much. Sensory overload and an exhausted body.

I turned from Yuma to Citrus and hit the wind at a different direction. The protein bar began to settle. The traffic lightened up. So I kept going and going until I got sagged. Yeah sag wagon! I had biked about 30 miles.

We all got sagged that trip, except for Aaron. Even Michelle was forced into the back of the van. When we got back a taco supper was waiting. So delicious. Food becomes something entirely amazing when you are camping. Maybe that’s how the pioneers dealt with eating cornmeal and dried goods all the way across the country.

During the cold evening hours we sat in Starbucks to stay warm. We chatted and I worked on my journal and dipped my chocolate biscotti in my orange tea. We stayed until the minute it closed, then came back and went to bed. I slept well.

Since Dr. Hensley tore up his leg mountain biking yesterday, I got to mountain bike today while he sagged. That worked out well for me. I love tearing up and down those heard packed trails on a bike with a suspension fork and big fat tires.

Renae and I went around a big loop of the competitive track and then came back for chili dogs. We’ve been basking in the sun, nestled between the mountains and the tent and the clear blue sky, ever since. And so I have caught up in my writing, for now.

. . .

Here I am on a boulder. My back is to the sun and my butt is sitting in the cold rock. There are pebbles in my shoe. It is too late to climb the mountain, so I will just write about why I wish I could climb the mountain.

I wish I could climb a mountain because it would prove that I can. I wish I could climb the mountain because it looks pretty. I wish I could climb the mountain because last time I climbed a mountain was 1.5 years ago and it was a good experience. But at the same time, it was not a perfect experience, so I would like to move on in my mountain climbing career. I would like to climb that mountain because when I’d get to the top, I could look around and it would be beautiful. But actually, it would be
dark, so never mind.