Time to snooze...zzzzzz

Sunday is the traditional day of rest and thank God we finally got one. After dinner last night Tom fell asleep almost immediately and I followed not too long afterwards. And, instead of a 5:30 wake-up call we slept until almost 8:30. We wandered down to the hotel breakfast, took our time over coffee and war stories with our fellow riders and basically just rejoiced over the fact that we were not going to suit up and go for a ride. They put out cleaning stuff this morning so most of us did a little housecleaning on the bikes...the bike shop cleaned and re-oiled my chain yesterday so I was spared that part of the process. Tom came up and took another nap after that bit of exercise - I envy his ability to launch into a power nap at a moment's notice. We wandered into a nearby cafe for a late brunch - omlet with chorizo, green chilis and salsa sauce - delightful way to get back some of those spent calories. Tom's garmin estimates caloric consumption and it has indicated daily amounts of anywhere from 4000 to 7000 per day. So therefore we eat a lot with a clear conscience. And today we finally got the sound working on Skype app (video) for Susan so we had a great conversation and she didn't have to write notes. And, I should also add my thanks to Matt (our new son-in-law) for coming down to mow the lawn-I have about three different kinds of beer in the fridge so I assume he was rewarded appropriately. I also talked with daughter Beth whom we will be visiting on Thursday when we stop in Albuquerque-looking forward to a home cooked meal and a get re-acquainted visit with g-daughter Sabine. Also visited with daughter Katherine and Jake and kids-this Skype thing is really great... I got thinking today how great the Anchor House rides were to prepare us for this little adventure. It is hard to compare the two but I learned so much on the Anchor House rides: training first and foremost, how to ride in a group, the experience of the long distances. All those experiences taught me to take the training seriously for this ride, developed a lot of confidence, etc, etc...I could go on. If only the Anchor House ride could incorporate a desert day or two (just kidding Brian in case you are reading this). So now it's off to dinner...get some sleep and back on the bikes again tomorrow. Monday calls for a 96 mile ride to Holbrook AZ (for you nitpickers out there that is officially recorded a century by cycling's governing body). Looking forward to both the bike and body working as they are supposed to. Good night for now