July 29, 2010
Day 55: Shake and Bake
Whaoooo. What a difference a day makes.
I'm not sure it would be normal for a person to be on a bike trip this long without one or two bad days? Days when you lose track of reality and have, what psychiatrists might refer to as, a complete mental, emotional and physical breakdown?
But today was much better. I started early and rode through some beautiful countryside. It was hot but I downed enough fluid that did NOT contain any form of Gatorade. And, I eat like my old self...
...It helped that, when I got to the town of Buchanan, I saw a building with a combination of signs that said Pharmacy, Grill and Fountain. Fountain? To me that meant only one thing-milkshakes!
"Do you use real ice cream or a mix," I asked them at the counter.
"Real ice cream is the only way to make a real shake," said the man. I was in heaven.
I ordered a peach shake and a BLT, in that order. This place was a blast from the past. A beautifully restored restaurant/pharmacy from the 1930's complete with counter and jukebox.
"Does this thing work?" I asked.
"Not yet but we've got someone who can get it going," the man replied. This thing was cool. It played 45's! And if you don't know what a 45 is, maybe you should not be reading this journal, it is for mature audiences only. Or, ask your parents...
My point is, this place was cool!
And my shake, it appeared at my table like a mirage, complete with the extra shake in the metal container it was made in. Aaaaaaaaaaah! Now THAT is how a milkshake should taste. In fact, for the first time in a week I left the table stuffed to the gills! WOOO-HOOOO!
After that the riding was hot, real hot, but luckily I did not have much climbing and a decent amount of shade.
And then, the next surprise! I arrived in Lexington and punched in "shopping" into my Garmin to find someplace to buy food and, to my utter shock and delight, a store called the "Something, Something, Organic Grocer" came up! I pressed the go button and followed the arrow and when I walked in the store I felt like I was home. Healthy food as far as the eye could see. I started with a vegetable wrap (with carrots, broccoli, peppers, cucumber...) and a solid helping of waldorf salad, and again I was stuffed to the gills. It was only then that I realized that this past week I was not sick of EATing, I was simply sick of EATing CRAP! I bought another sandwich, a small loaf of homemade walnut bread and some other goodies. This store would have fit nicely in Napa Valley or any other place in northern California.
After that I rolled through Lexington in fine spirits and after a small amount of sightseeing (to Stonewall Jackson's grave for one) I found a hotel. I must say, Lexington is a nice little town.
So, tomorrow is another day. I'm excited to be close to the Atlantic Ocean but after my one (ok two) day of being a basket case I'm back to having fun. We'll see what tomorrow holds, hopefully it won't be 100 degrees again!
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Today's ride: 67 miles (108 km)
Total: 4,310 miles (6,936 km)
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