murphy's law day

some days you're the bird; some days you're the statue--that day i was the statue. that was the day i was the sag driver, we had 98 miles to ride, we had two ferry crossings, and 25 miles of long hills to conquer. this was a recipe for disaster.

to start out with, by the time we had crossed the illinois river, then the mississippi river on the ferries, six people wanted to sag. i had a carful, so asked three of them to get out and wait for the van, which we could see getting on the ferry.

at mile 30, nine more people wanted a ride. by this time, the 15-passanger van was full and the top of it looked like a riding bike shop. in a few more miles, we found a cute town with a quaint cafe for lunch. after lunch, three more people wanted to sag, so i put all their bikes on top of the subaru and started to get in the car.

somehow, i know not how or why, i slammed my left fore-finger in the car door. i winced and felt queasy as i looked down at the blood. linda, in the front seat with me, yelled, "i'm going to get help!"

soon, three fellow bikers surrounded me, one with ice in a styrofoam cup, one with paper towels and ice, and another with the first-aid kit. luckily, the one medical doctor in the group was with us, so i felt well-cared-for.

after our queasiness subsided, we continued down the road. it was decided i would take my car-load to the motel in hannibal, then come back and see if anyone else wanted a ride. there were only six riders hanging in there.

at the motel, i switched vehicles. i was now driving the van, in case all six wanted a ride. on the way out of town, linda and i heard what sounded like a shot. we soon discovered, however, that it was a rock hitting the windshield and shattering it.

by this time, we were in hysterics, wondering what else could happen. finally, we got all 28 riders into the motel. i was ready to call it a day, when vicki came out the door and said, "we're taking your bike to quincy, illinois."

i climbed into the vehicle to go because i wanted to be there for my bike's surgery. i broke a spoke a few days before, and the day before, i broke another one.
an hour and a half later, i had all new spokes on the right side of my back tire. i felt confident the spoke surgery had been a success.

we were now back in hannibal, and i was looking forward to my motel room. i needed a shower badly. my clothes were a shambles. like a true genius, i had chosen to wear white capris on the day i knew i would be handling lots of greasy bikes. the pants were covered with grease and blood.

i walked out to the van to get my luggage, only to discover it had rained in hannibal while we were in quincy. my luggage was soaked. about this time, i felt like bawling, but i didn't.

at long last, i went to my room, took a shower, happy that my day as a statue was almost finished. a good dinner, complete with homemade chocolate chip cookies, turned me into a bird.