A New Do

I’m not sure why, but my long hair has bothered me much more this trip than it did for our cross country trip. After mixing with sweat, bug spray, sunscreen, and dirt, it is nearly impossible to get a brush through it. After only a day or two of riding, it quickly begins to resemble a giant dreadlock.

Accordingly, I have been dreaming about chopping it off. Usually when I get a haircut, which is only once or twice a year, my conversation with Chris beforehand goes something like this:

R: I’m thinking about getting a pixie cut.

Long pause

C: I’m not good at dealing with change.

Thus, he has never known me when I’ve had short hair. Fortunately, a point that usually works to convince Chris is the weight it will save me from carrying on the bicycle. On our last trip, he calculated the extra work (force x distance) I did to carry a birthday card from Maine to Denver just to prove to me that even small things matter on these trips.

When we had our first rest day in Eureka, I was ready to have my rat’s nest lobbed off. The first salon that we found walking through town was closed on Saturdays. The next place didn’t have any hours listed, so I kept checking back throughout the day. They never opened. We couldn’t find any other places that cut hair. Our friend, Markus from Germany, offered to cut it with the scissors he carries with him, but said, “No guarantees!” 😉

Finally, when I had nearly given up hope, I spotted a small sign in front of a store that listed three businesses, one of which read, Glow, and in smaller letters below, “Beauty Products”. I wasn’t sure that it was even a salon, but I decided to check it out.

Behind the counter was a cute gal who confirmed that it is a salon. I learned that her name is Casey and that she didn’t have any other appointments until 4PM, 2 hours later. I was ecstatic!

She did a phenomenal job; she is very meticulous, and she made sure that I could fit it in a low ponytail under my helmet while still styling it to look great – shorter in the back and longer in the front. I couldn’t stop smiling after we left! Thanks, Casey!

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