Taos, NM: Day off

July 16, 2011

Today was the ultimate day off. I announced early on that my day off meant a day off - I would do nothing more strenuous than go for a massage. Genny agreed with me, saying that last summer they had cycled 25 miles around Missoula on their first day off and she hadn't felt rested at all. Her plan for the day was to stroll around casually, shopping.

Jacinto was part of the sore butt brigade. He spent time at the bike shop right around the corner from the B & B, Gearing Up Bikes. The owner graciously offered to clean and lube all of our chains for free. He also took a shifter off of his own bike to fix Jim's when he didn't have the part on hand.

Jacinto rode 10 miles around town trying out saddles before settling on one. A longer try out made him decide to go back for the other option. The bike shop had a seat that measures your sit bones, then you know which width of seat to buy. Please forgive me if I didn't describe that correctly - I ride a recumbent.

Jacinto and I agreed to go to a movie in the afternoon. I tried mightily not to whine about walking several blocks to the bus stop. It was hot and we walked on the sunny side of the street. Jacinto was very happy in the heat - he had taken a 5 mile walk in the morning (before the saddle shopping expedition) in flip flops. He was trying to find tamales. He did go to the described cart, but they had sold out of tamales by 10:30 AM.

We waited at the bus stop. Then Jacinto noticed that there was no service on the weekends. He tried half heartedly to get me to walk the 4 mile round trip to the theatre. No go. We stopped by the grocery on our way back to the B & B and ran into Ken. He had purchased a rattlesnake skin from a man outside of the store.

We gathered for high tea, then went to dinner at a brew pub.

For me, it was a satisfying day off. I had a massage in the morning and did nothing the rest of the day. I was just bored enough to be ready to ride again. Taos is a good place for a day off - there are many stores, restaurants, and activities within walking distance. A bit warm for me, though. What else did I expect in July? :)

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast together on our day off. Typically I ate oatmeal in the room and started riding before the rest of the group. It was nice to be part of the morning chatter.

One of the large gathering areas of the Casa Benavides B & B. It is quite a fancy place. They hosted a wedding while we were there.

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