Miles Ridden Today - 81.01 Average Miles Per Hour - 12.58
I will admit I have been dreading today's ride for days. It has been haunting me for days. You see, normally I don't take much credence anymore in the horizontal profile printed on the back of the Adventure Cycling Association maps. When I first started the Ride Across America I believed in them religiously and they did seem fairly accurate at first. And then I came to that stretch where they either didn't really reveal all the big climbs that were really there, or they seemed to show climbs to be much steeper than they actually turned out to be.
However, the climb that would hit me from Vesuvius, VA to the Blue Ridge Parkway seemed to be a monster. Not since Wolf Creek Pass, CO has there been a profile like this. Everywhere I researched the agreement seemed to be this climb would be a monster. I heard stories of Eastbound cyclists giving away their possessions to Westbound cyclists just to lighten the load they would have to carry up this mountain. The profile seemed to indicate a rise of 1700 feet in the space of 3 miles and lots of switchbacks. And it didn't help when I heard from a few local cyclists in Lexington that it would be a killer. I got an early bed time and I made sure to eat a good breakfast to give me some energy. Because of the climbs, Sarah would not be joining me today for the beginning. We were hoping she could join me after the descent from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
But I also had some serious motivation to ride today. Since we have a rest day tomorrow in Charlottesville, VA and we're going to visit Monticello, today would be the last day I would be riding for the campers of Sunrise Day Camp. Don't get me wrong, I will still be riding for the campers and hoping to raise more money for the camp, but today is the last day that I will be riding for a specific group - or rather groups. Today I would be riding for the Boys and Girls of Leadership, the CIT's, and the staff! So with images of the faces of so many of these campers and counselors running through my head, I mounted up and headed out.
After an initial flat that lulled me into false complacency the hills began - a steady 2% that went on for ten miles leading into Vesuvius. I turned right to head up the hill and immediately tackled a 15% rise! Ugghhhh! I stopped at the parking lot of a local church to collect my wits when a woman stopped and asked me if I needed help. I had really been hoping for a gas station to refill with water but she told me that was five miles away. However, there was a place just down the road called Gerties Country Store that was open and they served hot food! There was the ticket. Turns out it is a place where cyclists usually stop and even camp out in the back! I had an egg and bacon sandwich (with mayonnaise, yum!), some coffee and refilled my water bottles - NOW I was ready to tackle the beast.
I won't go into the mundane details of the next hour and a half here except to say I am Irish and as my wife can attest, I have a stubborn streak as wide as the Irish Sea! I was determined not to do two things - 1) stop until I reached the top and 2) walk my bike at all up the hill. That only meant one thing - I was going to have to keep pedaling!!!! And I did. I kept pedaling and I kept thinking of the kids of Sunrise and every time I came around another switchback to see the mountain still climbing before me I just dug down deeper and I thought of another face of someone for whom I was riding.
Eventually I reached the top, totally covered in sweat, totally wiped and with half empty water - but I had reached the top without stopping. Being such a big musiacl theatre geek, all I could see in my head was Julie Andrews dancing in the Alps as the song "Climb Every Mountain" spun through my head. So, since no one was around excecpt the wildlife, I starting singing at the top of my lungs. Sorry, the video was destroyed on the grounds I looked totally stupid! But I did manage this one instead;
Eventually it was time to push on. I knew there would be more climbs today but the big one that I had been dreading for days was done done. I headed out onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'd been hearing and reading about this magical route for years and how amazing the ride was, despite the constant up and downs. Since I had the advantage over my fully laden bretheren and sisteren I decided to have a go at it. Its amazing to find yourself pedaling and look out to the side and see that you're cycling above the clouds like this;
I guess that's why they feel the need to put up signs like this one;
(Wheeeeeeeeeeee - splat!)
But eventually the family caught up with me, replenished my supplies and since it looked like rain decided Sarah would not ride today. They went on ahead to prepare the way of the room in Charlottesville and I put the pedal back to the metal and cranked onward.
Eventually, I arrived not too worse for wear and extremely happy with the prospect that I have now finished the last of the major climbs I'll be doing in the Ride Across America. It's heartening but also sad at the saem time. I'm so excited to see everyone at Sunrise Day Camp on Friday, August 24th but I'm starting to feel sad that I won't be seeing much more from my three foot high perch. Its been a journey, I've met some incredible folks and if it will help the kids of Sunrise (or others like Elijah Dalton) then I have indeed done what God intended.
And one last note, as I was doing a little mechanical work on the bikes outside in the parking lot of the English Inn this evening a couple starting talking to me about the Ride Across America and what we were doing. It turns out that they are retired High School teachers and they felt so touched by what Sarah and I are doing that tthey made a donation on the spot to Sunrise. So my thanks to George and Dorothy Lilly of Grosse Pointe, MI and to all the others we have met along the way who have made spontaneous donations - we will forever be in your debt! Thank you for helping us inch just a little higher up the mountain!
And today's report;
Flattened Fauna Record - 2 deer, 6 raccoons,46 possums, 2 turtles, 10 birds of indeterminate species, 1 fox, 1 cat, 6 UFO's
Random Refuse Log - 3 half full bags of dog food (I'm starting to see a pattern here!)
In Lexington, VA there is a cemetery that contains the tomb of one of the most brilliant generals of the Civil War. Whether his cause was "right" or "just" is immaterial - the bottom line is that General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was one of the most intelligent and gifted military strategists of his or any other age. I only know this because it is contained in what my wife likes to call my "font of useless knowledge". As I rolled into Lexington, KY today imagine my delight at riding right past his tomb and the cemetery that bears his name. I also rode right through the middle of the Virginia Military Institute campus only moments later. For a former Civil War "enthusiast" it was a moment of heaven.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not one of those that likes to display the "Stars and Bars" (read my earlier blog posts about the "Bubbas" of Eastern Missouri) and I don't think we should go back to the tumultuous times that caused more American bloodshed than any other conflict our nation has endured. However, as a young man growing up in Georgia and later Texas, I was fascinated by what driving forces would cause a nation to rend itself apart pitting father against son and brother against brother. I read the book The Killer Angels a few years back and while it gave brilliant insight into the most famous of all the battles that horrible conflict, it didn't really shed much light on the rest of the story. But what constantly stands out is the brilliance, gallantry, honor and commitment of men such as Stonewall Jackson. Whether he agreed with the politicians or not, he was a consummate professional and brilliant at what he did.
Another person who I feel is utterly brilliant is my wife Amy. While she might not see it in herself, she is one of the most intelligent, witty and insightful people I know. I constantly find myself reflecting on what moment of sheer insanity must have gone through her head when she agreed to become my wife. How could someone so magnificently intelligent have made such a tactical blunder? But I'm glad she did for without her this Ride Across America could never have happened. Like a brilliant general she organized this trip, planned the logistics and made sure Connor's Army has continued to be provisioned throughout this campaign. Today she made one of her many brilliantly insightful comments that was so natural and made so much sense because it was so obvious. But it took Amy's perspective to see it clearly and her voicing of this simple truism made it all coalesce and brought me to tears - but more on that later.
Yesterday found us relaxing in Floyd, VA at the home of Jack and Ginny Russel. Two transplanted New Yorkers who are very close and dear friends of Amy's parents and whom Amy has known almost her entire life. They opened their home(s) to us as well as their pool and the children were in heaven. They also have two adorable dogs that gave William quite the fix and perhaps we won't hear "can we get a dog" for a while. They took care of us, fed us, allowed us to do laundry and made us feel as if we were part of their family for a brief 40 hour span. It was heaven and just what we have needed after so many days on the road. Of course, to get there I had to endure 114 miles of grueling climbing to get there. 'But the amazing dinner of clam fritters, corn on the cob and cucumber salad more than made up for it!
My day off saw me driving up to Blacksburg to replace my cycling shoes that were damaged as a result of my accident and also doing some much needed maintenance on Pearl. The folks at East Coasters Bike Shop were incredibly helpful and made sure I got a great deal on a pair of Shimano M087 mountain bike shoes. If you're ever riding the TransAm and find yourself in the Christiansburgh area needing bike work or supplies, go there!
Today dawned earlier than I had wanted it to. It has been getting more and more difficult to get myself out of bed and on the road in the mornings. All I really want to do is sleep for about twenty hours as my body is slowly breaking down from all of these 100+ mile rides. Today was to be another one of those rides.
But today I had two things motivating me to get going - the first was I was riding for the Sea Boys and Girls of Sunrise Day Camp. These are the eighth graders of the camp and they are the same age as my daughter Sarah. Usually Sarah joins me for the first 20 or so miles of my ride (well, she has since eastern Colorado) but today was going to be a brutal start as the ride started with over three hundred feet of elevation in the first 3/4 mile. She's still recovering from the mountain she climbed out of Damascus so we agreed she would join me after I got the major climbing done for the day. It was a shame she didn't start with me because only thirty minutes into the ride I hit the 3,000 mile mark for this cross country journey!!!! I would have loved to have shared this with her as she has been with me for so many momentous events on this ride (including my only crash to date).
But I was riding for my beloved Sunrisers so I told myself to suck it up and get going! But there was another reason for me to push harder today. At 2:00 I was to meet an eight-year-old boy who is battling cancer. He has neuroblastoma and we had set up a meeting through a member of the local press to meet with him at the Troutville Town Park today. I had to really try to push hard as it was 64 miles away from Floyd and I wanted to make sure I was there on time.
However, when the family joined me in Catawba (which is where Sarah would be riding with me) I had already had to stop twice for mechanical problems and I was beat - emotionally, physically, mentally, mechanically, ecumenically. I sat down on the ground and told my wife that I wasn't sure I could go on - today, tomorrow, at all. I was really that beat. It has been getting harder and harder to push up these hills and to get out of bed in the morning. But I looked up at Sarah who was decked out in her cycling clothes and in the process of making me a peanut butter and honey sandwich and I knew I had to go on. There were kids her age depending on me - and a little boy only twenty miles away who wanted to meet me. So I did the mechanical repair, prepped Sarah's bike and off we went. And it was a joy! Riding behind my daughter reminded me to enjoy the ride and to experience every moment of it for what it was.
Before I knew it we were in Troutville, we had found the park, and we met the lady who had set up the meeting for us. After answering some questions and giving her some of our story Amy and the boys showed up and as we all chatted Elijah and his family arrived. We really didn't know what to expect with Elijah or what he was interested in but last night Amy and I created what William called a "goody box". I took the boxy my new shoes had come in and we placed inside a Sunrise Day Camp water bottle, t-shirt, wrist band and one of my (new and unused) cycling jerseys which I had signed. William added to that one of the Home Depot wood kits that Jack had given him as he left this morning. As I gave the box to Elijah I asked him if he liked to ride his bike. He opened up the box and looked at the jersey and I leaned down and told him, "I know this doesn't fit you now, but you WILL get better and you'll get bigger and you can wear it when you ride your bike." And I know he will.
Elijah and his young brother Mason are two amazing little boys, much like my own two children. There parents are two young people in their late twenties who are struggling to meet the costs of the expenses for Elijah's treatment and they are doing there best in an economy that is less than perfect. For them, a camp like Sunrise would be the perfect way for them to make sure their little boys can have a summer like other children. And that's where our talk turned to as the afternoon wore on - how this little corner of Virginia, which has had its own rash of children suddenly fighting this heinous disease, could use a place like Sunrise, a place where children could go and just be kids. A place where they could play with others like themselves and so they could network and create a supportive community. I told them I would help them get in touch with Michele Vernon, the Executive Director of the Sunrise Camps and from there who knows.
And this is when Amy leaned over to me and said, "even if you don't raise another dollar from your ride, if your being here and talking about Sunrise can help get them motivated to start a camp like that here, then you will have done something very special for these kids." And the waterworks came! Don't get me wrong, I would still love to raise the funds to send more children to Sunrise. I think unless you have experienced the indefatigable joy those children exude you can't know what it means to get there. I hope I can reach at least half of my goal. And yet, across the country I have talked to folks about how incredible Sunrise is and I've handed out brochures and I've talked to papers. And maybe, just maybe, if another place can be created where kids fighting this deadly disease can go to feel safe and where the parents can send them without worrying about one more thing to pay for, then maybe I have found the reason for all of this. The reason for the 115+ heat, the 110+ mile days, the long climbs, the crashes, the mechanicals, the exhaustion, being chased by dogs and forced off of the road by land yachts pulling SUV's. All that will become worth it.
In the play Our Town, Emily asks the Stage Manager, "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?" To which he replies, "No. Poets and saints maybe...they do some." Well, I'm not a poet and I'm not a saint but one thing I do vow to do is to live every moment of the next 600 miles. I owe it to the kids of Sunrise and to the Elijahs of the world.
And today's report;
FFR - 2 deer, 4 raccoons, 6 possums, 2 turtles, 8 birds of indeterminate species, 8 UFO's
RRL - 1 bag of dog food (really? feed those animals!), 1 small Swiss Army knife - the kind that goes on a key ring (I appropriated it and added it to the other tools from the journey).
Miles Ridden Today - 114.00 Average Miles Per Hour - 12.71
So we didn't really sneak out of Damascus in a basket, however Sarah and I did head out bright and early this morning with a rather inauspicious start. We knew we had some climbing to do and we were hoping she would be able to keep up with the climbs. But before we did that we had to check out the offerings of cycling glasses at the local bike shops. Due to a mental lapse on my part (I seem to be having more and more of those lately) I inadvertantly left my sunglasses on the bike rack on the way to Breaks (those are the breaks?) when Amy and the kids met me on the side of the road and I've been wearing some cheap dollar store sunglasses that I bought during one of my fueling up stops. But they are just not cutting it so I knew I needed some new ones.
Now one of the things you have to understand about Damascus, VA (not the biblical town of much reknown or the current city in Syria) is that it has become incredibly popular with mountain bikers in the last few years. Its a long story but apparently a developer and other local organizations have worked extremely hard to make it a mountain bike friendly place - so much so that they like to bill themselves as "Trail Town, USA". I can't tell you anything about that from personal experience but I CAN tell you that their attitude towards road cyclists is not as generous.
However, they do have a lot of bike shops - seven to be exact. Considering the fact that the 2010 census listed the population at 814, that's basically one bike shop for every 116.2 people. But of course, the shops are for all those folks who are riding the trails.
So Sarah and I stopped by a few of the shops that were actually open on our way out and I tried on glasses then phoned Amy and told her which shop and which glasses to pick up as I didn't have enough money with me. She would meet me later on the route and I would switch out my cheap sunglasses with her.
However, we had a long way to go and many mountains to climb. I would be diverting from the Adventure Cycling Association maps today as I would be relying on the advice of my mother-in-laws friend Ginny Russel who had relocated to Floyd from Long Island with her husband Jack (yes, Jack Russel like the terrier - and they have one!). She had given us directions that she said would be a shorter route than the one I had been given. I only wish I had looked at the topography first - but more on that later.
So we would be heading out on the same route as the ACA maps, namely US-58E, otherwise known as the Jeb Stuart Highway, which apparently is the longest numbered route in Virginia. I didn' t know that at the time but I was able to enjoy this view with Sarah as we started our journey outside of Damascus.
Ahh, sweet tranquility.
And then I found out something else about my darling daugher - she is competitive. My in-laws have a little saying they like to use when they are out sailing with others. Even though its supposed to be a leisurely "cruise" there is always crowing rights for those who get to the destination first but you don't want to appear to be trying to get there first so they always say, "not racing".
Well, on our way outside of Damascus we saw there was a bike trail that ran parallel to US-58 and it was on the other side of the stream. As we were leaving town a family of five was also wending their way in the same direction but they were on the bike path (The Virginia Creeper Recreational Trail). Sarah, as usual, was in the lead (I always do that so traffic behind us will see me first and go around - I'm her buffer) and I could see her see them. She began subltely at first, just picking up the pace a little from 13mph to 15mph. Although the had originally had a bit of a lead on us (about 1/4 of a mile) from Sarah driving the pace we started slowly but surely reeling them in. Sarah could smell blood. She began ducking her head and slowly but surely we began to catch them. However, the incline was also slowly but surely increasing - that never deterred my beautiful girl who just cranked away steadily. Before long we had pulled even with them and they noticed us! For a while they kept the pace up with us and it was a bit evident that they were "not racing" also. However, we had a bit of an advantage - I had already ridden about 2300 miles and Sarah has but in 200 miles, much of it in "rolling" terrain like this. Soooooo, we continued "not racing" and before you know it we were leaving them behind. We weren't sprinting, my competitive daughter just set a steady blistering pace that left them behind. It was at that moment I realized that if she ever wanted to start seriously training for it, she would be a hell of a bike racer!
However, all that "not racing" did have a price. Unbeknownst to either of us, there is a large mountain outside of Damascus that we needed to climb. A mountain that had 16 percent inclines and had one section that was about two miles at 8 percent! I followed behind Sarah and kept telling her that we didn't have to do this, that we could stop, or that we could rest but she would have none of that. She wanted to conquer the mountain. She reminded me that I never stopped and I never walk up the hills, that I was doing this for the kids who couldn't stop their fight and she was going to do the same. I actually started to tear up hearing my little girl exhibit such determination. It actually made me realize that what I was seeing in her was what I've been doing for six weeks now and although I'm starting to feel weary, seeing my daughter fight her way up the mountain made me realize that I can finish this - I can make it all the way!
We finally reached the top of the hill after an hour of climbing and we took a short break or, as Puck would say about Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, we "entered into a break". Unfortunately, we didn't have any toilet paper with us. Sarah went back amidst the ferns and did what she had to do, rested up, ate a snack and then we were back on our way down the backside of the mountain. Now up to this point we were still loosely following the ACA maps but as we were going to follow Ginny's directions we made a right at Konnarock Road, diverging from the map. About a half an hour later, disaster struck!
I don't even know what town we were in, since many of these smaller towns don't have names posted but I think it might have been "Green Cove" - again, I'm sort of operating without a map here. Anyway, Sarah has this habit of looking around when she rides. Don't get me wrong, I love that about her. It is one of the things that has been amazing about our rides together is that she reminds me how fun it is to just ride and not worry about my mph or how fast I need to go (I know, ironic considering our earlier encounter where she felt the need to dust the other family). Watching her enjoy herself on her bike takes me back to my summers in Germany when that's what we did.
But sometimes her enjoying the ride gets her distracted and causes her to forget to hold her line as it did today. She was looking at something off to her right, not anything in particular, just enjoying the view and I was following behind her about two feet back when I looked down to grab my water bottle. She chose that moment to slow down and veer off to the left. The result? She clipped my front wheel and I went down. HARD. So hard that I managed to break the buckle on my right shoe. Of course, here I am sprawled in the middle of the road but fortunately we're on the backroads of Virginia in the summer so there wasn't a whole lot of traffic. I peeled myself off the tarmac (yes, there was some road rash involved here) and made my way over to the grass on the side of the road to ascertain the damages to Sarah first, the bike second and me third.
First of all, Sarah. She was fine as she was able to maintain control of her bike and didn't fall over at all. For that I was very grateful. Me, I can take it but I didn't want to be in the middle of nowhere (once again with no cell service) and not able to get in contact with Amy. But she was feeling terrible. I could see that she felt guilty and she was so worried that I was going to be hurt. I tried to assure her I was okay (although at first I wasn't so sure) and that it wasn't her fault, too much.
Next, the bike was okay. The front right brake lever was a little twisted and scratched but not too bad (my right arm took the brunt of it) so I got that fixed up. Shifting was fine, wheels still true, brakes worked okay. Just a bit of scratching and road grunge, "easy enough to fix when we get to Floyd," I thought to myself. The good people of Green Cove reminded me of why I want to move out to this part of the country. No less than ten people in the space of twenty minutes stopped to ask me if I was okay. So the next time all of you Yankees are deprecating about those racist Southerners, just remind yourself that they are lot more caring of strangers than many of your Northern compatriots. I think most particularly of the time the van "right hooked" me and then just drove off. So I was the victim of a "right hook" and a hit and run! In case you don't know what a right hook is, here ya go;
Anyway, I took stock of the rest of me and realized that I had broken the strap off of my right shoe! What the heck am I going to do now? I don't know how long it will be before Amy catches up with us and I don't have a spare!
DUCT TAPE TO THE RESCUE!!!!!! One of the smartest things I ever read was the tip to always carry duct tape in your saddle bag/handlebar bag. I had read this a few years ago and as a matter of fact The Day I Made God Laugh (which, incidentally up until this trip was the last time I tried to ride a century) I was contemplating patching myself up with duct tape when the EMT's arrived. The doctor was pretty sure I was in a mild state of shock.
But back to the task at hand, I took the broken pieces and dut taped them together which seemed to hold for a while. We eventually met up with Amy and made the transfer of Sarah back into the van after first stopping at one of the numerous small convenience stores that you can find on the backroads of Virginia. They have sustained me on many of my rides thus far. We got Sarah some food (and of course the boys as they are like little nine-year-old locusts) and rehydrated her and then we said our goodbyes for the day as Amy and the kids were going to go ahead and maybe spend some time with Ginny and Jack in Floyd. I reapplied the duct tape that had been coming loose and went on.
That left me and my somewhat sketchy shoe to make it the next what I thought was 70 miles by ourselves. My reasoning was when I got to Jack and Ginny's maybe I could find a local bike shop and get a replacement shoe. However, I learned a number one rule of getting directions from people who don't ride - they have no idea how far things really are or how difficult the roads! When you get directions from Google Maps you should always plug in the bicycle option!!!! I'm sure Ginny was very consciencious in plugging in the shortest route from Damascus to Floyd and by Google Maps it does show it to be only 102 miles but it doesn't take into consideration that it is on roads that wind up and around mountains and rivers! At one point I was in a place call Mouth of Wilson and I was only two miles and a river away from North Carolina!!!! Of course upon hearing I was in the Mouth of Wilson, all I could think of was the character from Home Improvement and that started me laughing and giggling for about five miles - I think I was delirious!
But the most trying part of the journey was the fact that I wasn't yet finished with the Bubba Dogs! I spent a lot of time today on back roads and climbing up steep inclines and every one of these inclines seemed to have an unleashed dog on it waiting around some bin. I used the yelling, aggressive technique on some and that seemed to work. As loath as I was to do it I sprayed a few others with my water bottle. Some I simply out rode but a few I had to resort to the pepper spray. I thought I was supposed to have left these guys behind in Kentucky!!!! Oh well, the pepper spray works and at this point in my journey I really have no sympathy for these damn dogs or their owners. After the one tried to chomp on Sarah and made her ride into the opposite lane I'm of the mind to spray first and explain later!
As you can see from my average mph for the day it was slow going. There were not nearly as many downhills as I would hope in this mountain studded area and I found myself stopping at many rest stops along the way to rehydrate and refuel. The energy bars are great but they start to taste like sawdust mixed with glue after a while and I just need something salty - like barbecue pork rinds (shhhhh, don't tell Sarah - she'd freak out). I think I hit one of the lowest points of the day when I got to Galax, VA. Now granted, it's supposed to be "The Gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains" and according to it's website it is;
rich with tradition, shopping, recreation and scenic beauty. A visit to Galax, Virginia offers everything from quaint downtown shops to exploring trails by foot, bike or horse. Galax, Virginia is home to the largest Old Time Bluegrass Fiddler's Convention as well as the New River Trail.
And you know all of it's true because it's listed on its website. However, it was all I could do in the heat of the day (the sign outside a local bank stated it was 98 degrees!) was think that I had 45 more miles of this crap to endure! My foot was cramping up a bit because in the heat it had swelled up a little but I didn't want to try to adjust it because I didn't have that much duct tape left and I might need it for emergencies so I decided to just suffer. I stopped at a local service station to get me some caffeine and a big salty bag of potato chips. Hey, at this point I'm burning off something like 4,000 calories a day so I decided to treat myself. Finally after half an our of propping my foot up and pigging out on chips and Mountain Dew I saddled up for the last three hours of the journey.
The bad part was it was now about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and I could tell from the terrain that my up and down rolling was not finished. So I ducked my head down and gritted my teeth, grateful for the caffeinated fruit chews I had score at the gas station.
Finally about 6 o'clock (and a few bubba dog encounters later) I found myself about ten miles outside of Floyd, VA. I looked up and low and behold there was a black mini van headed my way with a blue tarp bungee corded to the top - it was Amy!!!! I breathed a sigh of relief because I knew if nothing else I was getting close. After passing me she turned around and caught up with me. She told me all about the kids settling right in at Jack and Ginny's and how gorgeous the place was, how we had our own guest cabin and that it wasn't that much further. However, she warned me, the last bit of the road was a gravel road so I wouldn't want to ride on it after the 104 miles I had already ridden. She told me to just call her when I got to the bridge and she would come and get me.
Almost an hour later I reached said bridge in the gathering dusk and here is the site that greeted me;
Damn, I look rode hard and put away wet!!!!
Moments later, Amy picked me up, we rode to Jack and Ginny's, I peeled the duct tape off my shoe, I showered 12+ hours of road grime off my body, and we had a fantastic dinner prepared by Ginny and the kids - William is particularly taking all the "Chopped", "Cupcake Wars" and "Next Food Network Star" shows to heart as he concocted a fabulous salad dressing from ingredients in the kitchen and his own imagination.
And after some great dinner conversation with other adults it is time to now finish this journal and get it off to you my readers then a chance to sleep in a bed with my wife and no children in the same room!!!!!
Tomorrow, its off to Blacksburg to see if I can find some new shoes!
And today's report;
FFR - 6 raccoons, 3 possums, 4 squirrels, a deer, 10 birds of indeterminate species, 8 UFO's
RRL - a toilet (looked usable), some bags of dog food, a kiddie pool, two coolers and three pairs of mixmatched shoes spread out over 30 miles.
Miles Ridden Today - 95.21 Average Miles per Hour - 13.8
Today I rode to Booneville, KY and started the day with my 13-year-old daughter Sarah as my riding companion. We were loathe to leave our wonderful room in the Shaker Village outside of Harrodsburg but we knew we wanted to reach at least miles today to bring Sarah's total up to 240 miles ridden so far. We figured today would be her last day to ride in Kentucky due to the reputation of the dogs in Eastern Kentucky. We also knew we were riding for the Rain Boys and Girls today, the fifth grade boys and girls of Sunrise Day Camp. We were also eager to get on the road and try to avoid getting rained on today.
Yesterday we spent a wonderful day exploring the historical village, which was one of the first Shaker communities in Kentucky. It has been painstakingly reconstructed and much of the work is still ongoing. It was very inspiring to stay in buildings that were constructed over a hundred years ago. The story of how the Shakers did all they did to glorify God is incredibly inspiring and really makes you think about the effort you put into your own work and efforts. It certainly got me thnking about my ride today and how I truly had to give it my best effort. If I didn't, I would be giving less than my all to the children of Sunrise and they deserve so much more from me.
The ride actually went incredibly well and Amy and the boys caught up with us after 20 miles and Sarah decided she wanted to go another five miles since the elevation chart showed there were no major climbs ahead. And then we had another attack of the Bubba dogs. We thought we were doing so well and we were only a mile away from her ending point when we had to slow down and make a left turn onto a rare non-numbered road. As we slowed down two little yappy dogs and a big black agressive dog came running out of what we thought was an abandoned trailer on our left. After her earlier experience Sarah was already afraid of this and as the big dog went after her she took off down the road. The dog herded her into the oncoming lane and it was only by the grace of God that a car didn't come. I fumbled out the pepper spray and sprinted to catch up and I finally got the dog's attention and told Sarah to get back on our side of the road. The dog and I stared each other down and I then I let him have it. Unfortunately, I didn't get him really well, just enough to make him wary. I then rode down the road where Sarah had finally come to a stop. She was scared and breathing heavily from her fear which made me even more angry. I told her to get behind me and slowly rolled back towards the dog.
Its obvious the lead dog has been sprayed before because every time I raised the spray he backed off. One of the little yappy dogs wasn't as smart and got a little close so to keep Sarah safe I let him have a taste as well and he backed off. Finally, Sarah headed up the hill and I held back daring the dogs to come after us but they seemed to have learned their lesson. We then proceeded up the shaded, dark one lane road expecting to see more dogs any minute now as we could hear more dogs barking in the distance. Sarah is totally freaked out now and she is exhausted from her sprint efforts. It was at this point that Amy and the boys rode to the rescue. They had missed the turn earlier and now caught up with us. Sarah was more than ready to stop so we got her bike loaded up and got them on their way. I still had about 70 miles to go so I headed up the dark, one lane road on my own to the sounds of dogs barking in the distance. I really thought I would look to either side and see a scene out of the movie Deliverance, perhaps something like this;
But I lucked out in that there were no more dog issues, only pleasant riding. Amy phoned me later to let me know there were plenty of places ahead to get water and sustenance so I would be seeing her again when we reached Booneville.
As I rode through Berea and other towns of the Kentucky highlands, I saw some of the beauty of this rural part of the country. The rolling hills, the rivers, creeks and hollows. And I got the chance to speak to more people about Sunrise Day Camp and the kids who attend. Spreading the word and riding the best that I can, that is what this day was about.
I managed to stay rain free, but I rode for the Rain so I can only be excited about that. And oddly enough, I found this song going through my head througout the day;
And we may not have set fire to the rain but I hope with what I did today I was able to help the Rain (and Thunder, Lightning, Acorns, Troopers, Land, Sea, and all of the campers of Sunrise) just a little.
I finally caught up with the family and we decided to head out to Beadyville to get some dinner. We were searching for a place called The Purple Cow but it ended up that we ate dinner at a place called Manna which we picked because Sarah saw a cool old bike affixed to the facade of the building. We met another Sara (no h) who waited on us and it turns out that she has battled cancer twice. She is now three years since her last battle with cancer and so tomorrow I will ride for her as well as for the Boys and Girls of Land. We all need to work together to help these brave fighters, no matter their age.
So friends, help me spread the word and encourage folks to donate to our Ride Across America to help the kdis of Sunrise! And now, time to get some sleep - its a short but steep day tomorrow.
And the daily report;
FFR - 1 Turtles (I was too late), 4 possums,35 raccoons, 2 frogs, 1 cat, 6 UFO’s, 1 small brown bat
RRL - 1 cooler, 1 plastic bin top, 1 bag of dog food (maybe that's why the dogs are so hungry for cyclists!)
Total Miles Ridden - 104.26 Average Miles Per Hour - 14.5
If I thought Friday was a difficult day to get up and get motivated to ride, today was doubly difficult. We had an incredible day at Mammoth Cave yesterday and we left the cabins at 8:00 in the morning and we didn’t return until after 6:00. I lot of walking and climbing of stairs to see some incredible sights. Of course, all the climbing didn’t really help my thighs or calves after the long day in the saddle the day before.
But to really make matters worse, I was awakened at 3:30 by the sound of crashing thunder and rain falling on the cabin roof. Once again I made an executive decision to sleep until nearly six o’clock even though I knew Sarah would be riding with me this morning. Since we were in two separate small cabins it made life a bit more difficult but because of a snafu the owner had to book us that way. However, he did give us an incredible price and when he found out that Sarah, William and James had gotten their Junior Ranger badges at Mammoth Cave, he programmed the LED sign outside to congratulate them on their feat.
But this morning it was time to face the weather. I have been fortunate in that I haven’t really had to ride much in the rain for almost 2400 miles except for the occasional times that I’ve gotten caught in short, brief showers. However, as Sarah and I headed out it started coming down in a small drizzle. With the constant threat of the dogs I really didn’t want her to also deal with this so I left the decision up to her as to whether or not she would ride with me. She decided to go for it - have I mentioned what a trooper she is? She kept my spirits up and had me smiling she chatted away and made her 13-year-old observations about the scenery, life and how she hoped we could find some turtles to rescue.
We made some pretty good time and before we knew it we had made our goal of twenty miles and Sarah seemed as fresh as a daisy, if just a bit damp from her efforts. I, on the other hand, felt incredibly exhausted and not sure how I was going to make another 80 miles of riding. Almost all of the other blogs I have read all talk about how you ride yourself into shape and after the first week you get used to the riding and you’re stronger than before. In my case that was certainly true but right now I am just exhausted both physically and mentally. The physical part I can push through but the mental part is getting harder. I think part of it comes from the fact that I still don’t know if all this I am putting my family through is really making a difference. I haven’t gotten a financial report in a long time so I don’t know if people are actually donating. After the initial flurry of media coverage, it doesn’t seem as if the media are covering us anymore so I don’t know if we are reaching folks and if the word about Sunrise is getting out. Amy, the kids and I talk to everyone we meet about what we’re doing and the camp and we are still as excited to be helping as ever. It’s nice to hear the folks speak to us and show support in those conversations, but the whole point of the journey is to raise money to help these kids and right now we don’t know if that’s happening. I think that’s what is wearing down my mental state and my emotional one as well. The overall result is just to leave me starting to feel very tired, just when I am entering into the last third of the journey.
So after Amy and the kids pulled away I knew I had 80 miles to go and about ten miles later (a good 7 miles from the nearest town) the skies opened up like they never have before. Lightning was flashing just a few miles away, the thunder peals sounded like howitzer fire and the rain came down as if from some gigantic fire hose. Just as it started to rain hard I pulled over and put on my rain coat but my legs and feet were still getting soaked. It was okay as it was still a warm rain but the lighting and thunder made me nervous. But I had nowhere to go, so I kept pedaling.
Finally, just as I was coming up a hill I saw what appeared to be an abandoned structure to my right. Sighing a great sigh of relief and thanking God for providing, I took refuge there. Finally, about an hour later the rain and heavenly pyrotechnics subsided enough that I felt ready to give it a shot trying to make it to the next town. It rained lightly but steadily until half a mile from the intersection where I would make the turn to head up towards Harrodsburg. Praising my good fortune, I headed into the nearest gas station/convenience store and proceeded to warm up with a large cup of dark coffee and a cherry fruit pie - ahhh, the fuel of champions!
And oddly enough, the rest of the journey suddenly took on a new life. The wind shifted to be on my back, there were no more severe climbs and even the road surfaces seemed to be smoother. I was still wet and squishy but I started drying off as the miles went by. I was able to relax now that I was on US 68 which kept far enough away from houses so I wasn’t on constant paranoid Bubba Dog alert. There was only one encounter where a dog came right up to the road barking at me and I thought I’d have to use the pepper spray but he backed off after I yelled at him. Of course, every time I would go through a small town my nerves would go on edge again but 95% of the ride I was able to relax and enjoy making some really good time.
Before I knew it I was in Harrodsburg and even though Amy (who knew I was feeling exhausted today) told me to call her when I got into town and she would come and get me, I decided to ride the extra eight miles to where we were staying so I could get in a good 100 miles today. It ended up that I actually rode 104 when it was all said and done - and it didn’t hurt at all. We’re staying at the Shaker Village which for those of you from Long Island is akin to staying overnight at the Old Bethpage Village. It is a reconstruction of one of the old Shaker settlements here in Kentucky and our room is right over the Cooper’s shop. Its very cool and tomorrow we get to spend the day exploring history - I’m a happy boy.
On Tuesday I’ll be back on the road, this time riding for the Rain Boys and Girls. Of course, it would have ee appropriate for me to ride for them today. I love these kids but I’m really hoping it stays dry when I ride for them!
And the report for today;
FFR - 2 Turtles (Sarah was very upset), 10 frogs, 6 possums, 2 cats, 1 deer, 9 UFO’s
RRL - Plastic bin top, a screwdriver, bag of dog food (don’t these people feed their animals), car battery
