So there I was, in Lausanne but a day earlier than i should have been. I figured i'd go to the hotel and let them know i would be expecting my missing luggage to be delivered sometime, and also see if they happened to have a room available for the night. They didn't. Some people behind me at the desk heard me explaining my problem to the receptionist and it turned out they were USAG Organizers there to help all the USA teams. They were nice enough to let me use their room for a while to take a shower. I also tried to wash my socks and underwear in the sink, but i only had a hair dryer to dry them with so i had damp clothes for a while (but at least they were sort of clean). The USAG folks also hooked me up with one of the other USA teams that had arrived a couple days before and they said it wouldn't be a problem for me to stay with them for the night.
All of the kids and some of the parents from this other team were staying in a school a couple towns east of Lausanne. It wasn't a problem to stay with them, but it WAS a problem that the kids in the school had air mattresses, pillows, and blankets but they had no spares. That was one of the worst nights in my life even worse than the night outside Munich in the rain. Not only was i sleeping on a concrete floor with just an airplane blanket under me (folded lengthwise to get double the padding), a jacket for a blanket, and a bookbag as a pillow, but those same older men from 4 years earlier were there, sleeping down the hall producing wall-shaking snores that echoed through the building. I'm sure i never actually fell asleep.
The next day i hung out with the other group for a while, then made my way back to the hotel to check in. I walked around the city looking to buy some clothes but everything was insanely expensive. I remember buying socks and 2 pairs of underwear. My family and the rest of the team arrived on time and it was fun explaining my bad luck to them. My brother-in-law, Cash, let me wear some of his clothes for the two or three days before my bike and luggage arrived.
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