This would have seemed to be a day with not much to do. But here I am having dinner and I never even managed a nap today!
I was packed up for the last time and left camp this morning about 8:30am. It was a slow, easy 2 miles into town to the Friendly Toast for breakfast. I had time to kill until the bike shop opened at 10am. I chatted with the gal sitting next to me at the counter and she made a recommendation for a place for dinner and margaritas tonight. It's a college town (UVM) and so there are lots of restaurants and bars here in the downtown area.
After a good breakfast I walked back to the bike shop, Skirack, through the city park. It was a pretty morning and not hot yet. I got to Skirack right after opening knowing I had a lot to do. The first order of business was to unload all my gear and take off the racks. Here is a picture of my bike sitting naked before packing. They let me put all my bags and racks back in a little room out of the way since it would take me time to get everything else together. The entire day as I was running errands and re-packing, they let me come and go from the back area. They also did a great job of packing my bike for shipping. If you ever need anything bike-related in Burlington, VT, go to Skirack.
Here is all the stuff that had to come off the bike!
The next order of business was to get to Wal-Mart and buy a couple suitcases to put everything in to get it all home on the plane tomorrow. The Wal-Mart is about 6 miles out of town. So I signed up on the Uber app and had my first experience with Uber today. It didn't take long for me to get a ride out to Wal-Mart. I spent more time in Wal-Mart trying to find the suitcases! After asking 3 different people I was finally sent to the right aisle. There wasn't a lot of choices to be had, but I got a 3-piece set for $35. It doesn't have to last but this one trip!
Getting an Uber back was a little more of a wait. The driver basically came from downtown Burlington out to the Wal-Mart and then took me back to the bike shop. It was still the same price as the first ride so that was good. Both drivers were very courteous and I had no issues.
Once back at the bike shop, i went through all my bags and pulled out all the dirty clothes for a trip to the laundromat. No way was I packing up those stinky clothes in a suitcase, even for a day! Luckily the laundromat was only a block down from the bike shop. By the time the laundry was done, it was 1:30pm. Now I needed to figure out how to pack everything in the suitcases I had.
With several tries and lots of rearranging, I managed to get most everything in the suitcases. The remaining items were able to be packed in the box with my bike.
I am staying in a B&B tonight, but it was still too early to check in. It was warm here today - 92 with heat index of 97 - so I waited in the cool of the bike shop for a little longer. I called for another Uber to take me and my luggage to the B&B. I just wasn't up to lugging all the bags uphill for 10 blocks! It kind of sounds silly writing that after all the hard hills I rode during the trip - but that was just how I felt today!
This is the move-in weekend for UVM students so the town is packed with parents dropping kids off at college. It was almost impossible to find a room for tonight, and I lucked into this room at the B&B for an exorbitant price. At least it is a really nice place in an old historic house!
My flight home is 7am tomorrow morning so it will be an early night tonight. I took the recommendation I got at breakfast for dinner tonight. It is a small Mexican place downtown and the bartender makes a great margarita! It is a fitting end to this trip.
I'll do one more post in a couple days about what worked and what didn't for this tour. It was an amazing experience and I am fortunate I was able to make it work with my husband and job. Many thanks to my boss for allowing me this time to escape. And even more thanks to my husband for understanding and supporting me taking this trip. I am indeed lucky!
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