Dave & Sandy -- life in the bicycle lane: May 8 -- Topeka KS -- updates & pictures

We went out to dinner last night at a local Italian place recommended by the hotel. Somehow I ended up doing the organizing (I'm not complaining, I get twitchy when someone else is organizing, you all know what I'm like ...).

There are some funny stories from the dinner --

First, I called the local cab company and they said that a cab would be here momentarily and that he would make two trips because the restaurant was not too far away -- fair enough. I then got to a house phone and started chasing people down because the cab was going to be here sooner than expected and there were 8 of us going to dinner ... I tracked down 4, loaded them up and the cab was off ... as we waited for the cab 2 more people showed up who wanted to go ... and somehow 6 of us got into the cab for the second trip.

Monday at the restaurant was all you can eat pasta day -- I don't think that this place knew what that meant for hungry bike riders. For most that ended up meaning three full plate-fulls. Salad and bread was served family-style and we went through four huge bowls of salad as well.

When it came to my turn to order I asked the waiter if any of the seafood pastas (I'm really hungry for fish) came with red sauce. Most, it was clear, were white sauce, but a couple could have gone either way. Next came the funniest moment of the evening ... he suggested a veal dish ... I said "but that's veal" ... he responded "it's the same thing" ... the entire table of 10 heard this exchange because I was in the middle of the table -- I was dumbfounded -- there was no appropriate response ... I had intended to ask, if he had simply said no, if they could make one with red sauce. I did not think that the waiter could absorb and relay such an order so ... I ordered one of the questionable items, and the waiter left. We all cracked up. That became the joke of the evening and I'm sure will be remembered by all.

Perhaps with all the flooding due to the weather veal is the same as fish ? Perhaps the waiter focussed on the pasta and the sauce, not the content ? Who knows what he really meant. In any event, this was not an "all you can eat" item, but it was a large platefull and with about 4+ helpings of salad and lots of garlic bread (I can still taste it) I had a great meal. The sauce was not a sauce per se, it was oil and spices, shrimp, scallops, salmon, pasta etc. -- very good.

I got up at my usual time and waited until around 6am to do my laundry and who did I find hogging the machines but Jerry -- one of my usual riding companians. We sat around the washing machines like two old men, reading the paper and chatting. It's amazing how you can adapt to any routine.

I just got a copy of all of Geoff's pictures on my USB disk so I have some sorting to do before I post. I want to go out in a bit and pick up some more citrus cleaner -- I have gone through almost an entire bottle doing mine, Geoff's, Jerry's and Jeff's bikes. We'll all be sparkling tomorrow.

Some pictures -- as I promised -- from my camera as well as some pictures taken by Geoff ...