July 4
Henry asked us all to get decked out for Independence Day. I wore a stars and strip bandanna, but I don’t like to wear love of country on my sleeve much more than I want to wear my faith on my sleeve. I guess I wonder what assumptions people will make and would rather have these things come out in conversation than in choice of clothing. A couple of people got special stars and stripes socks and Meredith bought temporary tattoos that everyone could apply. We got up at 4:30 am to celebrate the 4th by riding 107 miles to Tucumcari, NM. Steve, though, topped everyone with his patriotic gear. He had gone down to the local festival in Las Vegas and seen a wind sock at a booth. He asked how much they wanted for it. I don’t think it was really for sale, but they sold it to him. When he told them what it was for, they sold it for $5, and decided he needed a flag on top of that. So he wore a flag across his shoulders and tied the twirling wind sock to his helmet!
I was pretty worn out. I got dressed in my riding clothes in case I changed my mind, but I decided to take the day off. This turned out to be an excellent decision, which you will hear about tomorrow! So I got to ride with the support team and help set up the snacks for the riders when they came through.
At the third rest stop (there were four for the day) we were at the top of a very steep hill, so we got to cheer the riders on as they came up the hill. Judy was one of the last to arrive and I had heard someone talking about the Tour de France and people running alongside the riders flying the flag. So I decided to go halfway down the mountain and run up with Judy! One of the other riders was really moved by it. I wasn’t sure if Judy was until she said so a few days later.
I also saw some cactus and even a blooming cactus by the side of the road. This is actually one advantage to not having rest rooms! You notice things by the side of the road that you wouldn’t otherwise notice!
