It has been 10 days since my post from Missouri and life has continued to be just grand. From Missouri, into Illinois, on to Kentucky, and now we're in Marion, Virginia, the last state of the trip and it still hasn’t sunk in as to how far we’ve come or really what we’re doing.
Things have been kind of eventful. After we finished up at the library in Houston we went to a movie, The A-Team. Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper managed to keep us awaking with their performances, which I should say is a challenge any time you give us a dark room and comfy chairs. The next day we hit Centreville where we camped in the city park and met a group of 25 supported riders that were biking to raise support for multiple schlerosis research (check them out at http://biketheusforms.org/).
Then we hit Illinois. Crossing the Mississippi was fairly epic, more so because of the honking semi’s than the actual crossing. But seriously, we biked that far from San Francisco and they really expected us to not get a picture? We stayed that night in Chester, IL, at the Fraternal Order of the Eagle. FOE is well, hard to describe. I guess it’s like a fraternity (hence the name) for people not in college. Anyhow, they had an air conditioned bunkhouse and shower for cyclists to use, so we took advantage of the (free) accommodations they offered. The “bunks” were 8 slabs of wood, with no mattress. They weren’t incredibly comfortable, but it was air conditioned and free…you know what they (the Lebanese that is) say, "What's better than the most expensive honey? Free vinegar." The next day we headed to Carbondale, about 45 miles away, and stayed there for the night and had our bikes tuned up. We wandered the city at night, and walked through Southern Illinois University. The library at SIU was magnificent. It was honestly fun to just walk into and out of it.
Well, from Carbondale we hit Elizabethtown, IL and waited until dark and pitched our tent behind the high school there. Public high school equals public property right? From Elizabethtown, IL, we rode to Cave-In Rock, boarded a ferry at 6:30 a.m. and crossed the Ohio into Kentucky. We then made our way to Whitesville where we spent the night in the city park. We headed toward Howardstown, but ended up taking a detour.
Back in eastern Colorado we came across some fellow eastbounders riding to raise money for Alzheimer's Research (this is their web address if your interested in their project http://fijisacrossamerica.com/). They were being supported by the parents of one of the riders for one week, until the regular driver of their support vehicle could return to his post. Wayne and Lori, the substitute drivers, told us to call them when we got to Elizabethtown, KY.
On our way to Howardstown, we came to a junction with Route 62. We stopped at a gas station there to take a break and shelter from a thunderstorm. We got out the maps and noticed that 62 would cut out about 20 miles of our journey to Bardstown, so we decided to take it. We then saw that Elizabethtown, KY, was on our way now, so we gave Wayne and Lori a call. They invited us over and of course we accepted. They ordered us pizza, let us do laundry, stay in their basement, and in the morning made us breakfast. Yeah, taking Route 62 proved to be the smart choice. Thank you Wayne and Lori.
From E’town (as it is fondly abbreviated by Kentuckians) we headed to Berea, via more shortcuts which cut out another 20 miles and allowed us to meet up with the mothers of Wes and Lee. They put us up in a hotel, took us to dinner and breakfast. Ah, the life of luxury we lead.
Berea to Chavies, which is the epitome of a coal town. We stayed in a car port next to a gas station (with permission from the owner of the place). That night turned out to be a circus. Apparently everyone in town comes to the parking lot of Quik Mart to hang out at all hours of the night. First, the five people trying to get a car started, then boisterous social club that meets on the front steps on a nightly basis…even the dogs in town came out. Fun times.
The next day we headed to Elkhorn City, KY. Let me give a shout out to the dogs in Kentucky. They’re energetic, playful, and will chase you to no end; however, they are not the hardened killers the riders heading west made them sound out to be. We (I specifically) did have a little run in (literally) with a dog this day.
We were riding, myself and Wes ahead of Lee a little ways, when a couple dogs started chasing Wes. I was catty-corner behind him on the right side, about 15 feet back. A dog was on his right hip chasing and barking. Well, all of a sudden the canine decided to turn and jumped directly in front of me. Now I have lightning fast reflexes….but I could do nothing. I hit the dog square in the side at 15 mph. I don’t know if you know this, but it is possible to actually ramp off of live beings, and that’s what happened. My bike and I went flying through the air and onto the pavement where my fall was broken by my hip and elbow. The dog ran away and is hopefully okay, although I don’t think he’ll be chasing cyclists for a while. I got some cuts and bruises, but all-in-all, it could have been much worse. No serious injury to me or my bike, and hopefully the dog.
Well, we made it into Elkhorn where we enjoyed the soft grass of another city park and now we’re in Marion, VA, where my parents have met us. We’re staying in a hotel, and had dinner last night, and getting ready to head to breakfast now, so I better wrap this up soon.
We’re in the home stretch and this will probably be my second-to-last post. Don’t worry avid readers there will be a final chapter! Anywho, when we planned the trip, we decided to go West to East for a number of reasons, but the biggest one was simply the fact that we would be biking home, and it has made all the difference. It’s like a marathon where you have a friend run the last few miles with you to keep you motivated. It has allowed us to meet up with parents and friends (today we’re meeting more in Wytheville). The best part of any journey is the homecoming. Sure, the adventures are fun, the experiences are great, but when it comes right to it, the feeling that you’re headed home beats them all.
Am I sad for this trip to end? Definitely. I love the lifestyle of city park sleeping, pop-tart eating, bike riding wanderer. But to end with a classic, “There’s no place like home.”
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