To Dallas

Finally, a day when I didn't have to push myself... I woke at a leisurely hour and had a long conversation with Leela while packing, then rode at a comfortable pace into Plano and met Sara and her son Jordan for lunch.  Jordan is a few days short of 3 years old, and Sara plans to continue staying home full time.  Her degree is in biochemistry.  Her husband Jerry does classified work for a government contractor.

While we were in the restaurant, my rear tire went flat, but I couldn't find the hole, so I just kept pumping it every few miles as I rode to a huge bike store Jimmy had recommended.  There I bought a new Hookworm tire and suitable tube, and I asked about knee doctors.  They referred me to one of their employees, who's just finishing up chiropractic school.  I'll give him a call tomorrow.

I arrived at Chris and Courtney's home at sunset, and we caught up as we waited for Mediterranean food to be delivered.  Chris is working as a prosecuting attorney in environmental law.  He says he loves 20% of the job -- going after evil corporations -- but gets really tired of the other 80%, so he's thinking of changing careers!  In his spare time he builds furniture and paints.  His high-school sweetheart Courtney is working on a masters of social work.  I was relieved to learn that Chris's Republicanism turned out to be just a short-lived phase; he and Courtney are now quite liberal and have nearly as green a home as Bill and Jenny in Cincinnati.  They have an enormous shaggy one-eyed dog named Ollie and a medium-sized, overweight dog named Jack.

After dinner we watched an episode of a British sitcom called "The Office" and a very long stand-up comedy tape.

29.7 mi