The first order of business was to get my eye checked. I had an 8:30 appointment so it was up early and off to get checked. The infection was a stye, and a reasonably aggressive one at that. The problem though is that all I could really do is let it run its course. No preemptive draining or the like; I have to wait it out.
A few days beforehand, a lightning storm blew through town. Apparently, it hit the fiber cable as there was no internet service in the house. Being the tech guy, I spend a chunk of last night and this morning working with Bell South to get the internet running again. While I’m waiting for them, I get breakfast at Panera Bread as they have free internet and are close to the eye doctor (I could walk).
The problem (or the opportunity for success) was that Rich at Cycle Imports put on a V-rated tire. I’m not fast enough to use a V-rated tire so I usually go H-rated. V tires wear faster than H’s. By the time I got to Atlanta it was clear that the tires I had were not going to make the rest of the trip. I started calling shops with no luck. Someone pointed me over to BMW. Yay! They had the tire but would not mount it as I’m not riding a BMW. Boo! Cycle Gear would mount the tire, but not on the bike. Argh! I check into AdvRider and they point me to Tire Technicians near Dahlonega, GA. They have the tire, will mount it, and can see me on Saturday. YAY!
With my eye healing, my tire problems solved, it’s time to clean the bike. I feel better when it’s clean as I know I’ve gone over it looking for problems. After 4000 miles of riding with no cleaning other than chain maintenance, it’s pretty scuzzy. A bit of car soap, a touch of WD40, and 1 hour of elbow grease the bike is now clean.
With all the main chores done, it’s time to head out on the town to dinner with some of the folks I know from Georgia Tech. It’s always great to connect with my fraternity brothers. Even though I live so far away, we pick up right where we left off (which was many moons ago).
Dinner was at Six Feet Under on 11th St. Service was painfully slow. 2 hours to get seated! Once seated, the low country boil was quite good. I probably should have gotten that in Savannah as that is their specialty, but what the hell I’m in Georgia.
Good food & good company: traveling at its best.
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