Gainsville, FL. (Pop. 145,212)

We woke this morning with no horror stories to tell; no crazed men wielding axes nor shot guns. The day had a great beginning.

We were heading to Gainsville for the day, and after our morning coffee and breakfast, I prepped for the ride, and off I headed on the day's ride. We were still right off the trail, so it was an easy start. The trail ended after about 5 miles, and I found myself on a rather busy road for several miles. I had no shoulder, and the traffic was a bit heavy. I was riding along when I heard an obnoxious horn to my rear, and sure enough, Dana passed me honking her horn. Since she is a nice driver, she was way over on the other side of the road, like all drivers should do. After the busy highway, I turned onto a country road with little traffic. The road was smooth, with no shoulder, but it was still a very pleasant ride. About 22 miles into the day's ride, I was on another bike trail, and it was again very pleasant. I stopped for lunch and some rest. At one point, I stopped and lay on a bench for a while just to give my legs a break. I wasn't sore today, but I could tell my legs just didn't have the umph they had yesterday. I took more breaks and was able to finish the ride, which spells success in my book

I finished the day with a pleasant ride through downtown Gainsville. It seemed to have some character and some interesting shops. We landed at Walmart hoping for a "sure you can park overnight" welcome, but the signs said otherwise. We left and drove to Sam's Club, and at one place there were signs indicating there was no overnight parking. I called the manager, and he said sure we can stay, "Just park out of the way, and be careful." I mean, that sounds like everything should be ok, right? We parked, and after dinner we are hunkering in for the night.

Tomorrow looks like a zero day. There are rains on the way, with 20+ mph winds. Yeah, I am not that crazy, at least not on most days. We will just hang out and maybe hit a coffee shop or two and then hope to head out on Thursday. I mean, we are retired, and this still beats shuttleboard in Pine Craft, Fl. Just saying.

Word of wisdom for the day: Words of wisdom are overrated. I would like to hear some wisdom from some of you. It's your turn.Baca lagi