USNA 1973 Ride-2-Remember

Day 38, 10 September: Clive, IA

Today is a “rest” day, but lots to do.  I got up early out of habit, did a short run and workout. A bit stiff when I got up, but once I loosened up nothing bothered me.  Since it’s Sunday I went to a church nearby and tried to run a few errands.  My return Uber was a disaster – the driver hardly spoke English, couldn’t follow instructions, kept demanding tips and finally left me at a pharmacy when he was supposed to wait.

At 1215 two friends of Dale Puhrmann’s with the local USNA Parents’ Club brought us a huge lunch, which was most appreciated. 

We held quarters immediately afterward and honored Ed Pons and John Hudspeth.  Ed was a high achiever in everything he did as a lawyer and law enforcement officer after his Marine service.  Huds served in USS Robt. E. Lee and Flying Fish – I wasn’t able to determine what he did after getting out of the Navy and attending Darden. Tomorrow I ride for Mike Norman, which is special to me since we went to high school together.

Ron, Tom and I needed haircuts and Sally took us to a nice establishment called Lady Jane’s – I got the full treatment. 

It’s amazing how much still needs to get done on our days off.  For one, we always need to preflight the route for the next day.  Our navigation tool, Ride With GPS, does a good job of directing us in real time but has some shortcomings as a planning tool.  The only way to be sure it’s accurate with respect to the cues and listed road surface is to compare it almost mile-by-mile with satellite views from Google Maps. Very time-consuming, but helps keep us from getting surprised when a supposedly paved road or trail turns to gravel with no ready detours available.

Of course, we also need to do our Facebook and blog posts, find whatever info is available for our tributes – and the usual, charge everything, finish laundry, and repack. Oh, yes, and rest!

It looks like rain tomorrow morning – only our second bad weather day, but after that the next 10 days look great. 

Bill Montgomery