Flat Does Not Equal Easy

Greetings from Harrisburg, Illinois. I will attempt to be concise, as this is the first library I have seen in five days and, accordingly, the past five days have been eventful.

Sunday and Monday were relatively low-key days apart from the company of friends riding along for a while. I weathered Monday night at White Mills Christian Camp in White Mills, Ky. There was a shower and a beautiful view of the Nolin River.

Tuesday was a heck of a day; despite heat and moderate terrain, I managed to cover 95 miles. With the aid of an iPod and word of a great fire station in which to stay in Utica, Ky., I was duly motivated to reach my destination. I had originally estimated the distance at 75 miles, but had royally misjudged: the real distance was 87 miles, but I managed to get lost and so rode an extra 8 miles.

I was able to shower and do laundry at the station in Utica. I had the place entirely to myself, except for hoardes of immense spiders. And, if there is one thing I am afraid of in all the world, that thing is a spider. So, I helped myself to a Dr. Pepper from their refrigerator and I slept on their kitchen table.

The next morning I ducked into a local grocery to have some breakfast. Several farmers and local men were inside shooting the breeze. One, a farmer by the name of David Hayden seemed particularly friendly and asked lots of questions about my trip. I noticed he was wearing a Lance Armstrong bracelet and I asked if he rode. Well, he most certainly did! The woman at the counter told me to ask him about his new bike. "What kind of a bike did you get?" I asked.

"A Trek SSL Madone 6.9," he answered. "With the bottle cages, pedals and everything, it only weighs 15 and a half pounds!" He was beaming. Turns out he had sold a parcel of his land for the construction of a new elementary school and so he bought himself a present after handily wearing out his 5500. He updated me on the Tour de France and we chatted for a while.

I rode to the next town 20 miles down the road. I ducked into a service station to get some Gatorade and more water and as I was filling up my bottle outside, I saw a pickup truck pull up behind me in the reflection on the Service Station window. I heard a lady say, in a German accent no less, "Need a ride?"

I turned around and to my surprise, saw Irv and Barb sitting there in a pickup truck. They had mechanical problems outside of Sebree, Kentucky and a church minister loaned them his truck to go to Ownensboro to wait on a replacement rear wheel. After a joyful reunion, we regaled one another with stories of the road and I accepted their ride to Sebree, eight miles down the road. (That's the first time I've cheated without intending to make up for it in the end, by the way).

On the drive back to Sebree, they briefed me on a shortcut to Carbondale, Illinois that shaves off a few miles. In town, I decided to pop in to a dairy bar for lunch and a milkshake; we made plans to meet up down the road that evening in Shawneetown, Il. I wound up falling asleep for an hour and a half right there at my table after downing my lunch - I just dozed off and no one really bothered me. I finally got rolling out of Sebree, Kentucky around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, but no sooner had I pedaled 300 yards out of town than a massive lightning bolt seemed to strike right next to me, out of a blue sky! Well, the sky wasn't blue for long, as a huge storm front rolled in. I high-tailed it back to town and rode out the storm at the church where Irv and Barb had stayed.

Rolled into a little town around dinner where I had a plate of spaghetti and a cold beer and split a hotel room with Irv and Barb. I wound up sleeping for 11 hours and got a late start on the road today. I've covered about 40 miles so far, but it's over 100 degrees and very windy, so the going is tough.

Regards,
John