Spring Break 2022 Bike Tour Day 4 - Cross City to Perry

 

The story for today is rain and how to have it not fall on you. The forecast accurately said it would start storming in the early afternoon, and then rain the rest of the day. That's what it's doing.

So Max and I decided we will knock out our short day of only 42 miles and be in to a nice dry motel room before lunch. 

Since Debra has left us to our own devices regarding lodging, I decided amenities were not as important as being cheap and near places to eat, especially since it would be raining.

So I start searching for cheap motels on Google Maps, and come upon the Regency Inn, for only $70, and it has "Mama's Italian Family Restaurant" actually in the parking lot, and the "Fusion Buffet" with both Chinese and Southern food on the other side. 

The Regency Inn does not allow you to book a room online, and I want to check in early due to rain, so I called them up.

I was totally delighted when the guy who picked up the phone has an Indian accent. Because mom-and-pop Indian owned motels are absolutely the best cheap motels. The Red Dot of Quality.

"Can I make a reservation for my son and I tomorrow night? We are on bikes."
"We have lots of rooms, you can just show up."
"What time is check-in?"
"3:00. What time do you expect to get here?"
"Around noon, we are planning on getting in before the rain starts."
"No problem, just show up."

I was so happy!

So we were on the road by 8:30, with light rain and a nice tailwind. Here is the only picture I took during the ride:

There was no need to take any more pictures because it looked exactly like this for the entire 40 mile ride. Except there was an occasional egret and we saw a wood stork one time.

We had a snack at the gas station, which was after 16 miles. We were zipping right along, looking good, and then Max had a flat tire. I fixed it, and then six miles later, Max had another flat tire. This is not good when the rain is coming. On the second one, I pulled two different bits of wire (from the steel belts in a shredded tire) out of the tire, fixed it again, and we kept going. 

The wind was picking up, which meant the rain was coming, but which also meant we were able to maintain a 17 mph cruising speed, and so we made up a lot of the time spent fixing tires. We were in at 12:30, before the rain.

The Regency Inn looks really cool, but... There was no Indian guy there. There was no pervasive aroma of delicious yellow rice. Instead, there was a fat southern white lady. 

And sure enough, the motel is a dump. 

The door to our room barely closes. It smells funny. The lights don't work. The bathroom is in its original unrenovated form from the mid-60s because the shower tiles are the same as the house I grew up in. There are bugs.

I went out to the desk to see if maybe I just couldn't figure out how to turn the light on. (This happens.)
"What room are you in?"
"111"
"The light in that room doesn't work."
"I guess I'll stop trying to figure out how to turn it on then."
"Let me make a ticket for our maintenance man."

So while the motel was a disappointment, the restaurants on either side were the best of the trip. OK, that's a low bar, but the Fusion Buffet was decent, and the Italian place was really good!

Look at all the choices. Max was really happy, because he likes choices. 

So today was a good day all in all. Assuming we do not get eaten alive by bugs tonight. I have sprayed the sheets with Deep Woods Off.

Here is the Strava track.