Friday, April 22, 2011
Kingwood,TX
Rest day

Four big things on this rest day:

1. Today is Candy and Bill Bowman’s 44th anniversary! Congratulations! I’m so glad I got to spend this time with them, and I’m pretty lucky they spent their anniversary driving me around to run errands! Their son Bill, my cousin, and his wife Nancy brought over an ice cream cake, (from their house two doors down) but we haven’t eaten it yet, unfortunately, due to tired children. Ally and Lexi are wonderful, but sometimes it’s just time to go to bed. We’re all going to dinner the next day to celebrate.

2. Yay! I went to a yoga class at the Y! I am doing some yoga on my own during this trip, but it is just not the same as going to a class. I love to learn from different teachers, as well, and to see how they do things differently. Ginger, my teacher today, is a former ballerina. She asks students to really articulate different parts of the foot as they move through poses. She uses hand mudras together with movement in a way I have not experienced before, and she also does rotating arm positions. These were great for opening up around my shoulders, where I get a little hunched over from biking, and also for core strength. After class, I also flew her a bit, which was fun!

3. I got rid of the malfunctioning odometer and replaced it with a simpler one that works! (As far as I can tell so far.) Since I had purchased the flaky odometer at Performance Bikes, a national chain, the La Mesa store told me I could return it at any of their stores after I complained to them. Candy and Bill drove me to the store in Houston, about 40 minutes from their house. (Thank you!!!) At first, the manager said he was also surprised that I had trouble with this one, but then he realized it was the double odometer with cadence. That one is the one he has had the most returns and complaints for after all!

The mechanic helped me pick out a basic, non-wireless model and he installed it right away. This mechanic was not nearly as friendly, helpful or informative as the mechanics I’ve met in other bike shops on this trip, but he took care of the installation and they refunded the old one with no receipt and no hesitation. Now I have my new receipt in a safe place, and I am satisfied, so far. Getting back on the road will be the real test.

4. Candy and Bill had two carpets to return and wanted to pick out one new one for under a table, so we went to the Palace of Persia Rug shop. That was a fascinating experience. The owner was a character and a salesman! He told a steady stream of jokes and ordered around four men who peeled back rug after rug in piles to pull out ones stacked underneath. He insisted I take a small rug sample for my trip. I can put my water bottle on it, he says!

We brought home a rug to test out. It is pure wool and all natural dyes.

The other rugs, the owner said, were “splendid decorative floor coverings.” But this one was a work of art. And it was dramatically more beautiful and interesting than almost anything else in the store to my eye. It has variation in the detail work, rather than repetitive symmetry, but it is still exquisitely balanced.

Also today, I did decide to take the train to New Orleans. I think continued talk of beignets might have tipped the balance. And that camping was a little slim between here and central Louisiana, and I would rather have more time to explore the Gulf Coast beaches and the rivers and springs in Florida. This means I will mostly not be be following the Adventure Cycling route maps anymore, which I think will be fine. Onward!

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