I had some time to kill this morning while waiting for a package to show up at the UPS store. The day before had been a full rest day, and I was lucky enough to meet up with a great veteran group in Salida. I’ll have more to share about that in a future post, really exciting stuff is happening. Most of the morning was spent hanging out with the crew at Subculture Cyclery. I did a bit of maintenance on the bike and picked up a new stem to raise the bars a little and add some comfort for the next stretch. The folks there were friendly, helpful, and knew their stuff. If you're ever riding through Salida, I can’t recommend them enough. My package finally showed up, but not until later in the afternoon, so I got a pretty late start. As I pedaled out of town, I realized it was Friday and weekend traffic was already in full swing. The steady stream of cars and trucks started wearing on me after only a few miles. I could feel my mood slipping and decided it wasn’t worth pushing through just to stack more miles. I pulled off after about 10 miles and rolled down into a quiet campground along the Arkansas River. It was the right call. I set up the tent, soaked my feet in the cold river water, and spent the rest of the evening playing music and letting the road noise fade away. Tomorrow’s a new day. I’m rested, recharged, and ready to keep on pedaling.