It is a wonderful thing to sleep in, I must say. Absolutely wonderful. It is nice to get up out of bed and know that the first thing you have to do is get some free coffee and donuts, and eventually do laundry, eat, and fund-raise... No climbing for today (although admittedly, I am looking forward to riding tomorrow and being back on my bike) Today was wonderful.
We got on our dresses, decked out with bed head, and then stuffed our laundry into garbage bags and walked up the street to the laundromat. While we were waiting, we decided to fill our stomachs at the All-American Diner, decorated with Eagles, eagles with American flags, and varying sizes of American flags. We both had a 4 egg omelette, toast and potatoes/had browns. It was delicious, and luckily for Lindsay, I turned up the delicious-meter on her omelette before she could take a bite by dumping plenty of ketchup on it (they switched then by mistake). She loved it. ;)(photo 1) We enjoyed plenty of coffee and sauntered back to the laundromat, and then the to the hotel. I showered, tried to dress like a lady (life on the road doesn't allow much time for that), and went to the bike shop that was conveniently across the street. I bought some new gloves that would protect my ulnar nerves more. The guy said that he would help me adjust the handle bars if i brought my bike in later to adjust how much weight i was putting on my hands. (there is a bit of a science behind proper bike fitting, and the more you ride the more you are aware of how much the correct ones make a big difference... It is nice to continue learn more about the anatomy of bikes, especially since I knew nothing when I first decided to do this adventure). This is very exciting. While I may not regain full sensation in my left hand until I get back, at least I am not causing any further damage!!!.The guy was very helpful and welcomed me to the Rockies. With a smirk on his face, he told me to enjoy tomorrow, on our climb up to 10,500 ft. He gave me some confidence, but it is always nerve wracking when you don't really know what you have in store for you, except when you know it will not be easy..
Lindsay and I hit the road to the local newspaper, "the Spectrum" and radio stations. We tried to contact the TV station that delivers Cedar City their news but they were about an hour away. Our schedule makes it difficult for us to make an appointments ahead of time these stations that are so far away from our route. So, we take advantage what is available and just as effective, and totally appreciate what they do to help. We had an interview with a lovely lady at the newspaper, and she told us that the people of Cedar City really like to help out with things like this. She told us that there was s lot going on but she would get something out in the next week. We were very excited about this. It nice to sit down and hear about the town we were in, fun places to see/do, to see her pride about being a part of the town. Usually we pass through and are looking for shelter of some sort or somewhere where we can refuel our exhausted bodies, and don't get to do much exploring (not that there is much exploring to be done in the middle of a desert town). It is also nice to know that she was going to help us get the word out about our cause. The more people we can reach, the better. Brain cancer is one of those things that you can't 100% comprehend until it slaps you in the face and you meet it for the first time. (hopefully, fewer and fewer people have to "meet" it) We are not only trying to raise funds, but increase awareness as to how awful this disease. We are excited that we got the chance to do that today.
We went into the wrong office when we were originally trying to find the radio stations, and luckily we did because one of the girls in the office gave us phone numbers and addresses of places to check out. One of which was on the Southern Utah University, as they apparently have a great communications program there. Of course i hit an old cut on my leg as we were walking and it started bleeding down my foot (which has a horrendous sock tan). Nothing screams "please interview us" when you have blood on your translucent foot. We left our information and then did the same thing at the main radio station in town. (photo 2) By that time, we had worked up quite an appetite, (it takes nothing these days... In fact, I'm hungry now). Food was heavy on our minds.
In search of a grocery store where we could stock up on food for the next couple days and maybe find something easy that we could make for dinner, we found another subway.....which is pretty much like Gold. Here Lindsay found out that they don't ignore people who try to go through the driveway on a bicycle, but it is not heavy enough to set off the signal... She felt better for knowing that after she had sat at a window once in Rochester for some time. On our way back from the grocery store, we stumbled upon a wonderful frozen yogurt shop... (photo 3)It was delicious, and walking home with it in our hands to save it for dessert was a cruel joke. I ended up just eating it right when we got back. It might be my new favorite thing. Too bad i can't put it in panniers.
The rest of the night has consisted of packing and rearranging our panniers, cleaning our chains, washing water bottles, stretching, and sending of last minute emails while we still have internet (you never know in the mountains). (photo
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Rockies. They will be a new obstacle for us, as we face high elevations for the next 400 miles of this map. They are the mountains that everyone has told us to be worried about, and naturally, we were already. But looking at what we have accomplished, the obstacles we have overcome, and knowing how much stronger we are now than we were 14 days ago, we will find a way to get though it (Lindsay was giving her iPod a pep talk earlier this evening)... It is one of those things, like everything else so far, that we just have to do. So, we do it.
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