Hmm...so much to write about. The riding on the day before yesterday was fun but not especially interesting. We finally got a taste of this rain, wet and cold we'd be hearing so much about it, but it wasn't bad. We chose a nice sloooow pace and still got there in plenty of time. I have often been elected unofficial leader because of the Garmin that I have, which, by the way, has turned out to be worth its weight in gold. James - the route director - did a great job putting together his own maps but there is no substitute for having the device guide you around, it lets you really relax and take in the sights. We stopped at one point at got warm at another nice pub with some more delicious food, this time a cheese and onion pie. I might be full up on pubs for the moment. :)
Kendal is beautiful and amazing. It's not a huge town, but it's everything you'd want from a small British town - cobblestone streets, gorgeous yards. I didn't get to explore as much as I might like, and anyway it's been cloudy, but the town is beautiful. We went out to this really cool Activity Center; I've never seen anything like it, it was set up for people with disabilities to do activities like rock climbing and riding bicycles and we all rode bikes with the folks with MS. I spent a good bit of time talking to a younger couple Judith and Craig and their two kids; Judith has MS and still is in great spirits but you can tell she is desperate to be rid of the disease. I have hope that the same treatment that worked for my brother will work for them someday, so we spent some time talking about the Stem Cell treatments. They talked a lot, wistfully, about visiting San Francisco, and you can tell they would have if not for MS. :(
And last night the local MS director took us out for drinks and tapas appetizers. The food here is, really, so good. And now I know that I really like British bitters.
One of my friends sent me a text saying "Are you ready for your second half of your journey?" And the thing is, I really, really am, in many more ways than one.
