Written by Ah… the much needed and looked forward to rest-day in Madison. I love being on the bike and this entire experience, but I also like a break on the legs and a break on the butt every now and then. There is something to be said for not having to wake up in the morning and get on a bike for the entire day. Today was no exception.
I slept reasonably well last night, but my body has long been accustomed to waking at 5 am and it did so again today. I had decided last night that since the hotel restaurant wasn’t open until 7 am, I wasn’t getting out of bed before 7 am. Even if I laid in bed with a coffee and watched a movie, I would be resting. I did pull myself out of bed just before 7 am to shower and get dressed for the day. I was down in the restaurant just after 7, and my fellow rider – Bob – was already there and had ordered. He was one of the early-risers and the two of us shared a table together in the empty restaurant. We had a wonderful visit about the lessons we have learned on this trip or are pulling from our day-to-day lives to help us with our journey. It was a fairly introspective day on that front. Breakfast was wonderful with yummy cappuccino, poached eggs, bacon and whole wheat toast. I was going to tell them to hold the hashbrowns, but I didn’t get a chance to. That turned out to be a fortunate mistake because I ate nearly all of them. They were delicious. Waiting to eat until 7 am is also a challenge as we’re used to being at breakfast by 6 am.
I had a massage and manicure/pedicure planned for the afternoon but first needed to do my chores – laundry. I was fortunate to get a ride to the laundromat with one of the other riders, Bill, and his wife, Linda. Bob was going to drive over but opted for walking as the rain had moved out of the area. For some time, it was just the three of us in the laundromat but then several other riders arrived, and the laundromat became a Trek Travel rider party location.
The day had changed from thunderstorms during breakfast to a lovely sunny day by the time the laundry was finished. I opted for walking back to the hotel with my laundry and stopping for coffee rather than getting a ride.
After dropping my laundry in my room at the hotel, I walked to a restaurant near where my massage was scheduled. Upon arriving the restaurant, I looked at the menu and realized it was 100% vegan. Not feeling the urge for vegan protein substitutes, I found another restaurant nearby and even closer to my massage appointment. It was called ‘Sardine’ and was a beautiful spot. I had a wonderful omelet with brie cheese, arugula and mushrooms with a side salad and French fries. It was a lovely French restaurant and seemed to call for a glass of rose. There was a friendly couple at the table next to me and we struck up a conversation. They had server questions about the ride and the entire experience. In exchange for me sharing about the ride, they shared restaurant recommendations for me to try for dinner.
I made my way across the street to Barefoot Hands Massage Therapy for what would be my first ever massage with someone using their feet. My therapist, Adam, explained the process and experience to me. The energy in the space was wonderful, and I enjoyed a tremendous deep tissue massage. Normally, I would be quiet during the massage but at one point he asked about the pressure and experience, and we struck up a fascinating conversation about pain during massage. He was a former physics student, and he talked about the physics of pressure during massage. It was highly informative and interesting. We spent the rest of the session talking about this and related ideas. I thoroughly enjoyed the massage itself, and the conversation made it even better!
Continuing on in my self-care Saturday, I took an uber to a nail salon where I had an appointment for a manicure/pedicure. I rushed inside from the uber because I was running late but had briefly caught that the location was smack dab in the middle of the University of Wisconsin area of town. When I finished round two of my pampering for the day, I decided to walk to dinner to a restaurant recommended by Joe and Theresa, the couple I had met at lunch earlier in the day. As I made my way towards the restaurant, I walked through the streets making up the college portion of town and felt a million years old. Additionally, it was a home game day, and I was the only person not wearing red. I was, however, sporting my new Trek Travel blue t-shirt provided to me in my gift bag when I arrived at the hotel yesterday, so at least I was supporting the local commerce.
I thought about the experience of stepping away from your life for 48 days and what that has been like thus far. Being here in Madison, in the middle of this college town, somehow solidified how odd it can be to break the routine of your day-to-day life and be away from family for this long.
I arrived at Tornado Room which had been described as the best steakhouse in town and a restaurant that was stuck in a time-warp. This was an entirely accurate description. I ate at the bar where the only thing that had likely changed since the restaurant’s opening, I have no idea how many years ago the modern order entry system behind the bar was. Everything else seemed timeless. I did manage to see the rest of the restaurant when I visited the ladies’ room, it too appeared to likely not have changed since opening. The bartender set my place for me along the counter and placed an inverted plate where my meal would be placed. I was curious but didn’t ask questions. There were two bartenders behind the bar, and they seemed too busy to answer. My salad arrived and they placed it with roughly 50% of the salad plate on top of the inverted plate and the remainder on the slightly higher edge where my elbows had been resting. A-ha! Now I knew what it was for. A rather clever solution. Occam’s Razor, the simplest answer is usually the best answer. The salad was a field greens salad with vinaigrette and was a modern-day version of a very simple house salad. I ordered the smallest steak on the menu – an 8-ounce filet with asparagus. The steak was cooked to perfection as was the asparagus. I enjoyed my second glass of rose for the day as well as a large sparkling water. I ate every bite of my steak and asparagus. The bar had filled up since I arrived and I’m sure the other patrons were surprised at my ability to consume the large steak on my plate, but I didn’t care. I had just had a spectacular steak and knew that I’d be getting up for an 86-mile ride to Milwaukee tomorrow. I settled my tab and ordered an Uber to take me the just over a mile-ride back to my hotel. The Uber driver commented on how short it was, but I didn’t bother feeling the need to explain why I wasn’t going to walk further than necessary.
I arrived back at my hotel to find my bike in my room as expected. Maggie, one of our guides, had texted me while I was at Tornado to let me know she had my bike for me. Our bikes had undergone maintenance in the last 24 hours by the team at Trek. I needed mine back before we ride tomorrow to ensure that I can charge my power-pedal. Rather than leave my bike with the front desk, I suggested that perhaps they could place it in my room to avoid taking up unnecessary space around the front desk. I texted Maggie to thank her for arranging it for me and she asked if I liked the bling on my name tag on my bike. I hadn’t noticed, but they had taken off my old name tag which had peeled away slightly and was catching my leg. We eventually taped it down with duct tape, but they ripped it off during the cleaning of our bikes in the last 24-hours and I got a NEW name tag with star stickers affixed to it. Sometimes, it really is the little things.
I’ll make my way to bed shortly to get rest before we head out tomorrow morning. Once again, breakfast will be at 7, so I’ll need to ensure that I can sleep through the night and not wake up too early. My bags are packed and ready to go for tomorrow.
It’s been a wonderful and welcome rest-day, but I’m keen to keep on moving forward with the days ahead. Only 15 days of riding left between now and October 6. It’s hard to believe we’ve come this far. Roughly 2500 miles down, 1300 miles to go.