A very nice day

I've been following several other bicycle tourists for several weeks now. Each time I get to a campground or little roadside eatery, they tell me they just had a nice couple from France, or 3 folks - 2 from S. Africa and one from Canada. The day before yesterday I met the couple from France and chatted a bit (I was in a bad mood that day and even forgot to take a picture) and then they went on ahead and I camped in a different campground.

When I arrived in Waverly TN, all 5 of them were there too! They offered me an ice cream cone because they just bought a pack of 6 and had an extra. Then they invited me to camp with them but I needed to do laundry badly (story to be revealed in my weekly update) so I stayed at a (terrible) motel while they camped behind a local church. I got up early and was ready to roll by 9:30 or so but then got a flat tire. I fixed it but decided I needed to go to Walmart to get a patch kit in case I had another flat as I had used all my extra tubes. Now it was almost noon and when I came out of the store - there they all were! I had figured they would be long gone by then but apparently they are late sleepers (like I used to be). So we decided to ride together for a while. I had a fantastic time chatting with them for several hours on the road before we decided to take a break for lunch - picnic style in a lovely spot by the road. After that I moved on by myself because I had a goal I wanted to reach and they needed to stay in a town to receive a letter. But it was a truly fantastic day. This time I took a few pictures.

Francis and Helen (France) Hanlie and Wim (S. Africa) and Derek (Vancouver, Canada)