Day 13 (Stage 9): Nothing Day

Rested, happy, full of rice, and off the antibiotics, I started the last 5 stages a new man. After some 900 miles of racing in the first 8 days, the last 5 seemed kind of like an easy week. I made an early break but Astana decided that the beak wasnt dangerous enough for them, so they chased it back and let a move go with a guy only a minute down on GC in it (and with Taylor, who is absolutely flying at this point of the race). The thing is, if you didn't succumb to China in the first week, you were probably going super good the last 5 days, which contributed to some of the speeds we achieved each stage. So with the break doomed with a GC guy in it, we settled in and made sure Chad was safe and Sam was protected for the sprint. Thats pretty much how every circuit went, so how about some fun stuff instead?!

Gavin: "Hey guys, do you think I can have granola and milk out of this plastic bag?"
Taylor: "I dont see why not"

Thankfully Taylor had a bowl, which he failed to mention before Gavin poured a whole box of warm apple milk into a bag with a hole.

This immaculate, unnecessary, and shockingly clean hotel lobby acts as a nice metaphor for many of the buildings in China: Big, Vacant, and Lacking Purpose.

Cleanest floor in the world?

The floor was so clean I am surprised we were not asked to wear cotton booties while on it. But then I realized that would not be necessary because this lady was ON IT:

Then there was this boutique, which...

Pretty un-Boutique-y

Relic-ery? Stone-greens? Im pretty sure there wasn't a door to get in there, much to the chagrin of many a hotel patron who forgot their dusty strange rocks at home.

Taylor is the Zen master. Ive said this before, and I continue to believe it to be true. He brought with him on this trip a large plastic clear teddy bear filled with frosted animal cookies and on the top had written in sharpie "do not open until stage 10!" Half of those cookies were gone by stage 10, but I believe it is because we were all stealing them one at a time (and one counts as "as many cookies stuck together as possible")

Ball of frosting and cookies

 We were driving and saw this, and then played the game "what the hell could that possibly be?!"

Believe it or not, nobody got it right. Its a 60-foot tall metal flower. Because YOLO?

 Finally, at dinner, we were treated to some of the chairs that the Olympians sat in!!

We need 38,000 custom chair covers STAT

Ill admit, this was kind of a nothing day. But stay tuned for pee breaks IN THE BREAK, a director getting stabbed with a screwdriver, a man that tweezers his eyebrows into the "surprised" expression, trumpeters cheek-syncing, totally fake musical instruments, and a dancing group of middle aged women with the one song they know on repeat!