Rest Day - June 22nd, 2019

I spent the morning and early afternoon with Richard, one of my hosts. He showed me his office, in a building he had renovated, and also a home on a lake he has been preparing for use as a nearby place to get away and to rent out. I hadn’t known how handy Richard is.

Richard drove me to Piney Mountain Bike Lounge, where Johnathan Bain tightened the cones of my rear hub to eliminate the play, and adjusted my front derailleur in order to decrease the likelihood of my chain jamming when I shift from the large to the small chainring. He told me the spring of the front derailleur is worn, so a full solution is to replace the derailleur, which I will eventually do. I recommend Johnathan for his thorough work.

With Johnathan Bain

We also went to REI to pick up a repair kit for my air mattress. While there I saw and purchased a utensil bag perfect for holding my cutlery. I told Naomi, one of REI’s employees, that I needed a stuff sack for my windbreaker. Naomi and I looked at all the stuff sacks on the shelf but none were the right size and shape. Naomi suggested using a sock and Olivia, another REI employee, found one in the back which she gave me for free.

The orange stuff sock in my handlebar bag holding my windbreaker

In the afternoon we met Beth, Richard’s wife, in downtown Greenville. Richard took their kids Aaron and Amelia home while Beth and I had rolled ice cream, the most labor-intensive ice cream I have ever seen.

I had hoped to spend tomorrow night with Bob Pittman, a classmate from graduate school, and his wife Anita, in their home in Lakemont, GA, but their son is getting married tomorrow so that’s not going to work. After dinner I made a reservation for a motel in Toccoa, GA, where I will stay Sunday night before going on to Don Carter State Park and then Marietta, GA.