day 15

late in the day yesterday, i gave mac (amazing massage therapist & friend of mine) a call... he really helped calm me down. he said that the pain as i described it to him was very likely to be caused by overtight muscles (and not the much more serious injury i had assumed it was). so, armed with this knowledge, i spent practically the entire day stretching in front of the tv at this really cool b&b. the decor was a little wacky though... lots of pink. i guess all b&b's look kinda frilly and stuff but just as an example, there was this huge framed portrait of a pink rose and underneath it said, "all you need is love." aw, how sweeeet...

whatever, maybe i just can't appreciate "art" when i see it, but check this out. this morning when i was in the process of checking out of the comfort inn (overpriced, early checkout, no frills hotel), i got off my bike and my cleat wouldn't come out of my pedal! what had happened was two of the screws on the cleat had fallen out and so with only one screw left it wouldn't turn its way out of the pedal. in order for me to get the thing off, i had to loosen a screw on the pedal. (relax... there's a point to all this so just chill) now me being brilliant awesome smart guy forgets to tighten that pedal screw and so of course it too falls off never to be seen again. how lame, i know. and for those who don't jive with the whole bike-mechanic lingo, just know that i'm out three very hard to find screws.

so back at this b&b i've checked into, i mention this problem to the husband of the couple who own the place. this guy's eyes just light up. i hand over the bike shoe and in no time he (very proudly) has the problem solved. very cool.

the next day (after politely lying to my hosts at breakfast - "no, no... nine crepes is more than enough. i'm stuffed.") i went & found a bike shop. over there i showed the pedal problem to the mechanic. i suppose he could've just sold me new pedals but after half an hour of working on it (i could overhear him using a hacksaw on one of the screws) he too had the problem licked. just plain sweet.