Layover Day is a special time during BRAG – a one-day respite where each rider chooses whether and how far to ride. Some use the day to catch up on sleep. Others visit our host town and/or do short rides, and some brave souls “rest” by riding a century (a 100-mile ride in a single day, for those not yet familiar with cycling lingo). My riding buddy and I did “just” a 28 mile loop ride. We agreed that we felt like slackers, after our two previous long days. But it was enough to stretch our legs and get our lungs working again.

One of my favorite parts of long rides, and especially BRAG, is road conversation — those long, rambling discussions that chew up the miles. Sometimes it’s about nothing at all, and sometimes we solve the world’s (or our own) problems as we roll along mile after mile. Sure beats sitting in the saddle and worrying about problems at work!

Layover day is also catch-up-on-laundry day. There’s a standard of clean after several days of riding that we call BRAG Clean — meaning washed in the bathroom sink and dried in the “solar dryer” outside. BRAG Clean clothes would not be acceptable to wear anywhere else, but they’re a little better than totally unwashed. And laundry gives us lots to worry about all day — what’s dry and what’s not, when to bring things in, and whether any expected rain might get the drying clothes wet. It’s amazing what absorbs your attention on BRAG.

One more good note from today before I take my BRAG Layover Nap: we stopped at the local bakery after lunch and experienced the most incredibly yummy brownie. Chocolate. Road conversation. A nap. Good friends around me. The Beatles on a nearby radio. What could be better on Layover Day?