Monday morning and work week picks up. Ah, to sleep in.

Searched for foam to put under bed w/ no luck. Bought book, That Distant Land by Wendell Berry on a recommendation from I don’t remember her name from Snake Gap. Historical fiction of Kentucky.

Put effort into getting road bike back working. The chain was so rusted it would not roll over the jockey pulleys. W/ exceptional due diligence and penetrating oil the links freed up. I installed a new tube & tire on new wheel. All came from swapping: the tire from N Division in Spokane for a rockshox, the wheel from The Hub in Brevard for my rear wheel, and the tube from The Trailhead here in Huntsville for my front wheel. The air was free.

Did laundry @ 5 points. Talked w/ a guy who remembered Ritzville on his drive west. He grew up in NY and said not to believe the horror stories of high temps & humidity. He still does not have AC in his house. But then he was using a laundromat. I know I will not be here to experience first sweat drop.

Talked w/ Zysk for home cooking.

Gracie made the arrangements for our ride up @ Sewamee which per my dad, Jack Daniels is nearby. After ride libations?

Low effort day here in Alabama. You’d think it was hot & humid.

Friday night dinner w/ parking space hosts Jamie & Morgan and biker Gracie. Jamie & Morgan are very active & leaders in bicycle advocacy here. Both are engineers, Jamie works for NASA putting things in space.

It rained all night and most all day Sat & night. Sun AM Morgan said his rain gauge collected 2.5″ of rain.

Trail work project was cancelled Fri eve.

Met Tim Barnack @ his house for what I envisioned a quick R & R of hinges for bed. Like most things w/ the van it turned into something more. Tim, fortunately for me has some creative building experiences. We used the beefier hinges and used toggle bolts to connect hinges to van body. The hinge would not lay flat against van wall so we shimmed them w/ a combination of a nut & several washers. 2 1/2 hour later the bed stays where it needs to be. Might still buy blocks of wood to wedge up the bed to take strain off hinges.

Huntsville paper printed article about Gracie and her MS and her success as an athelete. She is a focused racer w/ a trainer, sponsorship, and a large community that everybody knows Gracie.

Trails are too wet to ride here. Plan now is to ride Sewannee in TN on Tues as a day trip and on Wed leave for Oak Mtn and continue my odyssey. Gracie continues to be my guide for these 2 planned rides.

Forecast is for drizzle & fog today. Might ride mtn bike on streets for exercise.

Today the invitations and locations are sent out for the Big Dance. This week I find TVs to watch the Zags in play.

Fog cleared later in AM. Rode bike up Monte Sano toll road trail because it is almost all rock & rain would not affect and to learn how slippery the rocks get when wet. Rocks are slippery but kept my angles upright & slid over. Backed away from perceived potentail spills. Played @ park riding skinnies painted lines & curbs and even rode down stairs.

Fixed dinner @ Gracie’s for us. Several people asked if I was cooking in my van. No, I used her kitchen but all my stuff and I could have fixed dinner in my van but I lacked a guest chair. Break thru w/ her dog, Tsali, who finally allowed me to pet her.

Morgan & Jamie shared a Mountain Biking mag article about southern riding. The article introduction photo was of Tim Barnack. Articles included Monte Sano, Raccoon mtn, slatyfork: places I previously rode. i missed the issue.

Darn weather still wants to rain and I have a new wheel I am wanting to ride so Tommy can correct spoke tensions before I head out.

Tim called and said rain and wet slippery rocks left him saying no ride. Called Gracie w/ that info. I went off to get propane, shampoo, magazine, & propane. Success all way round.

Drove to Trailhead to hang. Decidede to ride roads to park Land Trust land and ride the slippery rocks up aways to stress ride the wheel. Rocks get very slippery when wet but no rain but no sunshine to dreally dry rocks. Took a ride gamble & rode rocks climbing up. Rocks were not wet but not baked dry from previous rain. Freaked by slippery potential  but didn’t slip. Started raining and decided tht being off possible slippey rocks was to head back down to shop.

Beth Thames from Huntsville newspaper called me this AM and asked for an interview. She is the MOL of Lee whom I  met @ racer meeting. We agreed on a time & place.

Dropped bike off @ shop and took a shower. Wheel remained true and Matt cleaned my bike up, & then drove to coffee shop for interview w/ Beth. She bought for me & I drank a medium latte and no stomach acid reflux. Wow.

Beth is a stringer for paper and teaches English in real life. She let me talk w/ few guiding questions. She toured my van and said it harkened her back to the hippy days she remembered living. An interview w/ print media, how about that?

Dinner tonight @ Morgan & Jamie’s.

Rain might cancell work project.

Van casualty: 2 of 4 hinges attaching bed to van body broke dropping the bed transferring strain to 2 remaining hinges. The hinge metal snapped. All the noise I heard when the frame racked stress was coming from the hinges. I purchased stouter hinges & screws & Home depot where Don & I should have gone instead of poorer choice of convient ACE hardware. I need to find a neighbor Bill to install hardware. Wedged bed up w/ foam roll & van is quiet. Replace hinges & wedge bed upright will solve noise.

Raining pretty good.

Off to dinner.