Day 47: Extra Special

So today starts out like any normal day; wake up, get raedy, eat breakfast, and get on the bike. We’re excited because it’s a short day and we get to stay in a hotel tonight.

Fast forward to noon, we are less than a mile from the hotel, and we stop to have breakfast for lunch at The Waffle House, deciding to splurge on the extra calories since we are so close to the end. We get to the hotel with our bloated stomachs ready to hit the pool and lounge around all afternoon…

Then we see the faces of the 3 riders who arrived before us–and then they tell us why they look so glum…we have been routed to the wrong hotel; the one we are registered at is across Tallahassee, or approx 20 more miles by bike…and did I mention Tallahassee is very hilly? It is.

We are given the route sheets for the next day, which will lead us right past the hotel we want (the hotel where all are luggage is) and start out as a group of 5 determined cyclists. Jeff and I are still carrying the extra weight of the large gooey waffle we consumed but we make it in about an hour plus some. The staff hurriedly raced before us and put down arrow markers for each turn. The final turn had a personal message to me:

Thanks Ed, but I think I’ll pass!

And then a message for all of us:

Today’s short 56 miles turned into 76; but the bright side is tomorrow’s 74 miles will now be 55!
It was not the staff’s fault for the error. When Bubba visited last year as he was mapping out the route, he visited both Best Western hotels making note of the surrounding landmarks; however, when he called to make the reservation later,he asked the person on the phone if they were the BW on Hwy 90, answer: yes; Is there a Waffle House just down the street, answer again was yes; and is there a Wal Mart very close by, all yeses; only problem was if you ask the front desk clerk at this hotel those same questions, you will also get a yes because they have the exact landmarks! We all made it here in good time and we have 20 miles of our route done for tomorrow already.

P.S. Check out Lisa’s Facebook page to learn about the other little surprise the staff dealt with at the start of the day. Sounds like we almost had another tour mascot besides Dusty!