Rick in Lexington

I'm taking a rest day today, but while doing it, I thought I'd take a moment to begin sharing some other stories.  The "Day x" posts will give a brief day-by-day synopsis of my trip, but I will occasionally post more stuff about things I see or people I meet on the trip, not necessarily in order.

The first story will be about Rick in Lexington, VA.  I rolled into Lexington on Sunday with a group of five.  As we waited for the sixth, a local cyclist named Rick rode up on his bike and started chatting with us.  Rick was incredibly excited about our trip, probably moreso than any of us were (given we were exhausted).  He had ridden the Bikecentennial in 1976, a large organized cross-country bike ride which inspired the TransAmerica trail or Bike Route 76, the route I'll be following for most of the way into Pueblo, CO.  Rick gave us advice, helped us with basic bike maintenance, and took us to a place with a water fountain to fill up our bottles (that place was Sweet Thing, the ice cream shop which I mentioned on Day 7).  Rick wanted us to keep moving, and had a catchphrase "let's roll," which he'd repeat while hopping on his bike over and over even while some in the group weren't yet ready.  Rick rode about 5 miles out of town with three of us and showed us a shortcut to Route 76.  He seemed to know many people in town, saying hi to just about everyone.  He also seemed to be picking up litter off the street.  Rick was a cool guy.