DAY 30: JUNE 30: REST DAY

Great to have a rest day after 4 weeks of cycling. Not that I’m weary or fatigued, but it gives you a chance to catch up on things and to transform the In-Basket into an Out-Basket. Laundry, bike cleaning, e-mails, account for the Nationalist and local papers and radio, a few postcards to write and a phone call or two while it’s still a respectable time at home. It’s a rest day but not an idle day. A chance to get things done without extreme fuss or stress. None of the group sleeps late into the morning but all stir about an hour after the usual time.

At 9 am this morning, as already organised by phone during the week, I met with Bishop Ray Boland O’Brien of Kansas City and St Joseph who attended the Abbey in 1945/46. He heard through the grapevine that I was passing close so he drove up from Kansas City (1 hour) to meet me on the rest day and add support to the cause. I was thrilled to meet him and we spoke for a long period about the school then and now and about the town and his relations still in Tipp. With him came Jack Smith the editor of The Catholic Way and he interviewed me concerning the cycle, the Abbey India Project and Providence School. It will appear in an early July issue and a copy will be on its way to the Abbey
Just as they finished I got a tap on the shoulder and was asked by a TV journalist if I was Richard Walsh and that she, Ariane Aramburo, was here from KQTV, the local television station to conduct an interview. Again I spoke to her about the cycle and the Abbey India Project in front of the motel and it so happened other cyclists were out cleaning the bikes just then. The item may appear on their news this evening at 6. I hope all this extra exposure will ensure that Providence will benefit and the kids there will get a better opportunity.


In the afternoon I went for a stroll down Frederick Boulevard for a break and I spotted a Mexican restaurant called Carlos O’Kelly ….. not a name you’d expect down Mexico way. A spell in the swimming pool followed to ease out any tension that may remain in the muscles.

All is now ready for The Heartlands Tour as far as Indianapolis starting tomorrow and continuing for the next 7 days.

PS: In fact the TV item did appear on the 6 pm News and a number of the group viewed it in the lobby. I'll try to get a copy from the station.