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I woke up at 4:00 this morning and was riding before 5:00. The riding very soon turned into walking. The road surface wasn’t horrible, but I was still all over the place, partially because my headlamp didn’t give me good depth perception and partially because I was exhausted and mostly asleep—imagine a zombie riding a unicycle.

I arrived in Pie Town around 9:00 am in search of Nita’s ‘Toaster House.’ I was happy to spot four familiar wheels out front. Queen Bee and ‘It’s All Downhill’ hadn’t arrived until after dark last night due to all the flat tires. We headed to the cafe late in the morning for food and pie. I planted the seeds for staying in town and waited for them to grow. I was still planning to ride out of town, but entertaining thoughts of staying for the night. In the end, we all stayed.

Tre arrived in the afternoon during a downpour. He had ‘tacoed’ (folded in half) a wheel out of Cuba and had to hitch off route to get a new wheel. Queen Bee returned a little later from a trip to the general store (and Internet access). She brought bad news: rain was coming—lots of rain.

The rain that arrived with Tre never really went away. I’m very happy to be here rather than out in it. Had I moved on as planned, I’d be cold and trying to trudge through the adhesive mud. Instead, we’re warm and dry, cooking on a wood-fired stove.

Many thanks to Nita for offering this sanctuary at just the right time. Nita raised five kids here but now lives a few miles down the road. She leaves the house open to hikers and bikers to use and enjoy.