Today was the trifecta; One month on the road, Father's Day and the first day of summer. (We also crossed the 3,000 mile threshold.) We left Bardstown, Ky. under sunny, humid skies. For some reason our support team failed to catch up with us at their customary time of 2 hours. The last time they were late, they showed up with a speeding ticket. We were hoping their excuse was less benign. After 2 1/2 hours, 47 miles, and a few minutes after I drained my last water bottle, the support team finally appeared. Looking back over our shoulder to the west, the sky was turning ominous and moving our way, so we decided to make the stop a brief one and try and keep ahead of the storm clouds. We told the boys to meet us another 16 miles up the road for water, sustenance, and possibly rain gear. Long story short, the next time we saw the boys was at the hotel in Berea, Ky., 55 miles later (our total mileage logged for the day was 92). Although, we could see rain all around us, we somehow avoided getting wet. (St. Christopher at work?) We ran out of water with about 12 miles to go. Fortunately, at an intersection that should have had a convenience store, there was a church just letting out from its sermon. Tim asked the parishioners for some water, which they supplied and Tim graciously made a small donation to the church's general fund. Because of only one refueling stop and trying to out run the rain, we made good overall time and were able to get off the bikes earlier in the day than normal, only to spend the extra time and Father's Day at the luxurious Days Inn "resort", twenty years past its prime. Somebody said Berea is the gateway to the Appalachians (at least from the Kentucky side), so tomorrow we expect to be in the boondocks. Cell phone and wireless Internet availability may be sketchy for the next few days. (An advance sorry for those that look forward to starting their day with Dunkin Doughnut's coffee with their morning blog.) Tomorrow's forecast is a little dicier than today's, so we have a better chance of getting wet. Hopefully, it will be a little cooler in the hills and hollers of the Appalachians. Our goal for the day is to reach Hazard, Ky. 104 miles away and avoid getting bit by the dogs laying in wait for our passing. If all goes well, we will cross into Virginia late in the day, Tuesday. Tim's revised mission planning shows Monday, June 29th as our new end date, assuming our luck of the previous 30 days holds out.
P.S. An interesting observation. According to their blog, the three guys we met in Eureka, Co., on day 6 of our journey, (Roger from Australia, the guy from San Francisco and the Brit.) just crossed the Continental divide at Monarch pass yesterday. We crossed over the divide on day 15 of our ride, or 9 days after we met them. In the 23 days since we last saw them we gained 1,500 miles more than them or on average of 65 miles/day more!
P.S.S. See if you recognize anything in this article. http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_12656560
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Happy belated father's day to all. Keep up the great work, you're almost to the Atlantic!
ReplyDeleteSteve
You guys are rounding third base with the cross hairs on home plate. Was that holy water you drank at that church? In a few days, I hope to bring some sort of reinforcement to you via fresh legs to get you to your destination in Yorktown. See ya in Lexington, VA!
ReplyDeleteJoe