R17 15 RideOut Day 2: Sac it to Me

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After we left the farmers, we had just a short stint on the county road west--and then we turned onto Highway 71 and it was amazing.

There was a huge, wide, protected shoulder. The wind was coming out of the south and blasted us up and over each hill. We were flying along. I was even in the front! Imagine. 

Then we had to turn west again and head into Sac City, less shoulder and more cross wind and so the fun ended there, but we all pulled up next to the liquor store (all our ice served cold!) for a breather and a decider. 

We stumbled around in the liquor store, trying to decide what we wanted to drink. Bob (was that his name?) wasn't there and they would be closing soon (really?), so there was some pressure to get something and get a move on. We got some beverages and met up with the RM who were hanging out on the patio of the hotel. 

It was kind of miserable, just patio chairs in the sun, but it was nice to be seated. And then our friend Mary showed up and joined us for a beverage, but the choice of where to stay tonight was simmering. Would we get back on our bikes and go down the hill to the campground and camp? Or would we see if there were any rooms available and stay here, where we already were? 

Steven went into the hotel lobby and discovered that there was a room available--a three bed suite for $70. Perfect, I thought. But Steven came out with a serious face, "B. won't let me get the room." 

[[Pause for explanation]]

Way back in the planning stages of the Ride Out, the Mayor had proposed that we do "Warm Showers" for the Ride Out. Warm Showers is a website that connects mostly cyclists traveling cross country with friendly people who don't mind letting cyclists crash on the sofa or in the yard. There were Warm Shower stops along a similar route and we could have stayed there and skipped the camping gear. The Mayor's other idea was that we have Smitty be our support vehicle so we wouldn't have to carry our gear. 

It really seems like the Mayor doesn't want to bag. 

My argument is that I didn't want to do Warm Showers. Doing Warm Showers, much like doing Ragbrai would mean that we would be beholden to people along the route. They would be expecting us and we would have to be polite, not show up at a ridiculous hour, make small talk, etc. And we wouldn't be able to deviate from our route. We would have to ride one route no matter what, because these places were already set up. 

Of course, we had booked in advance a room in Cherokee for the next night, which meant that we had to go to Cherokee (unless we cancelled the room the day of). 

For me, the Ride Out is about freedom and adventure. It is about having everything you need on your bike so that you can make whatever choices you want. If you have a tent, and you chose to stay in a hotel, that is a choice. If you don't have a tent, you don't have a choice. And I don't mind bagging. I'm fat and slow, but I really appreciate my freedom. 

And so here is the rub. The Mayor was still resenting the fact that we had not done Warm Showers. "I carried this tent all the way here. I don't want to spend the money on a hotel" was his argument. 

[[Back to Narrative]]

When Steven said, "B won't let me get a room," my eyes went crossed and my head started to spin. "Won't let you?" I asked. I have been screwed and sued and tattooed, but there is no way, no way in this world that a man, any man, decides what I do or don't do. (Perhaps knowing the feminist backlash that would come from this, the Mayor planned this all along.)

So, I marched into the lobby, booked the room, patted the very cute puppy that was in the lobby, and got my key. The Mayor could ride his damn bike down the damn hill and camp! Enjoy. I'll be here. In the air conditioning. At the Sac Hotel. 

Of course, we all know that this is not how things panned out.