Day 25: Third Rest Day in Abilene

We're officially on the second (and final!) page of the itinerary! (And I've finally learned to spell "itinerary" correctly on the first try!)

Gil's Cliff Notes [written 6 am Wed; added 1 pm Wed]
Great day off. Hiked into town. Mailed stuff home. Visited Eisenhower Museum. Nice. Toured his small house. Amazing he and 6 brothers could live in it. Went to antique stores. Bought a nice glass bottle for $7.00. Then ran into other cyclist and we took car over to a country restaurant. Good. Real good. Dropped off at hotel after eating and got a hair cut. [Jean: IT'S NOT A HAIRCUT.] Roommate videotaped it. Local reporter for newspaper arrived as I was finishing hair cut. A group of us filled her in on what the tour was about. Then off to dinner at Kerby House, an old Victorian place with high ceilings. Pretty neat. Dinner excellent.

News of the day: Dad shipped his gun "and some other stuff" home via UPS. We got a package (via FedEx) today of some spare clothes he's done lugging around. Now expect to see Gil in even MORE repetitive outfits in photos!

Visited the Eisenhower Museum and took pictures (one is at the bottom of this post) . Wandered out and about in Abilene and did some antiquing, then ran into a CrossRoads group with a rented car and headed out to a farm-house restaurant with them for lunch. (Where the picture to the left was taken.) Then he went back to the hotel and "goofed off" and did some email. He sent home some pictures. So I opened my email, all unsuspecting, and there's a thumbnail picture of Gil. With no hair.

He also visited the "Kerby house," circa 1883. A banker (named Kirby?) used to own the house, and it's now being used as a restaurant. They had "a very nice supper there." Then I talked to him around 8 (local time), at which point he thought he would probably go to bed early since tomorrow's a long day.

Oh, what? You want to hear more about why Gil has no hair? Yeah, he evidently shaved his head. He claims that he didn't shave it; "I got a haircut!" Meanwhile there's about a millimeter of fuzz left; closest setting on the razor. He shaved his head. One of the program coordinators was trying to convince riders to shave their heads to write "CrossRoads" in their hair (either shaved or with dye, it sounds like), and Gil decided to "be supportive" and at least get the haircut. Meanwhile I think that he should include some warning or explanation with such photos, rather than having me all innocently go to download the day's pictures to upload here and seeing my dad, bald. He's never been bald before. At least not in the last 24.5 years. Or ever, Mom says. It's been long before, but not nonexistent. Other riders are telling him that "he looks 30 years younger!" He said they may be humoring him. He thinks he'll ride with the little hat (used on desert days to keep the water they squirted through their helmets close to the head) on under his helmet rather than slathering his head with sunscreen to protect the parts exposed by the helmet's slits. Anyway, the point is that he's kind of off being a frat boy, but without the women and booze (which we appreciate!). He is, in his words, "having fun!" Which we're also happy to hear. (Though I think he was having plenty of fun while still having hair, which shouldn't be underestimated.) Hey, his kitten has shaved "arms" for all his IVs over the weekend - maybe it was a show of solidarity with Bailey! Thinking he'll maaaaaaybe have half an inch of hair when we see him in Boston? How fast does hair grow?

Tomorrow will be a hard day. It's a 105 mile ride to Topeka, and it's forecasted to be very windy. Like, 20-40 mph winds windy, with gusts up to 50 mph. They're hoping the winds will be in the right direction (heading east, giving them an incredibly strong tailwind); it looks like they may be. (Otherwise it's going to be a really crappy day.) Strong winds sound inevitable tomorrow, so cross your fingers for a favorable direction!

Pictures: Gil in Abilene just above (or to the left, depending on your screen size), Eisenhower museum below.

More From Gil (written Sat, June 9; added same day)
In Abilene, KS I visited an antique shop and spotted this old car rear view mirror. Just what I needed. Only $4.50! I take it to the counter where the owner and his wife are. They say and a surprised manner, "You're buying the rear view mirror!" I say, "Yes Indeed, I'm getting the REAR VIEW mirror. They say, "Are you going to put it on your handle bar?" I say, "No, I'm getting it as a REAR VIEW mirror - literally." They don't quite get it so I say, "After sitting on the bike seat for seven hours a day things happen to your butt but you don't know quite what. You need additional information about what has happened to make good decisions - so I got a REAR VIEW mirror." They laughed.