Southern Hospitality

Tour de Georgia — Stage 2
Thomaston to Rome

Today we finished in Rome, GA. I believe we have been to Rome every
edition of the ToGA. Not 100% sure but pretty sure. And we are at the
same hotel as last year so that makes it easy and not very stressful.
Because I knew the hotel, I had no need to rush there. Parking was
plentiful and I knew where to get both water and power.

When I arrived they had an area set aside for me to park the truck. They
had hoses laid out for the teams parked in that area. And a simple (and
a bit cheeky) sign that said “Bike wash area here” so we knew where to
wash bikes. Cheeky but the hotel is trying hard to make it easy for
teams to work and enjoy our time here.

The weather has been very kind so far and today was no exception. Sun
shine and warm. I had a few tasks to do in the afternoon so I got some
sunshine/tan while I worked. Can’t ask for more.

Lunch in the hotel was for me a typical day here in the south. Our
waitress was super kind and always helpful. Pure southern hospitality as
you would often see in this area and the south for that matter.
For the second day in a row, it was a burger for lunch. How can you beat
that? Two days and two burgers! Too cool

Dinner was a small adventure. Margie Wargo (Nike Sponsor) was in town. I
mentioned to her in passing that BBQ sounded good and she immediately
asked if I wanted to go get some instead of the usual team fair (pasta).
Twist my arm! So her and I and a few other staff went searching for BBQ.
She found a place that she said was open. But when we got there it
seemed a bit shady. So we opted for downtown Rome and some good wings
and burgers. What a treat. And what a (short) adventure getting there. I
passed on the burger since I had one for lunch (and the lunch the day
before) and went straight for the Philly cheese steak sandwich. I know
you wanted to hear me say I had three burgers in a 5 meal span but I
chickened out on that high ratio.