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Bike from Oregon to Virginia, June/July 1999 Day 46: Harrisburg, Illinois to Marion, Kentucky As I have already written, today we took a ferry across the Ohio River and into Kentucky. Tomorrow morning is the big day; I will wake up before everyone else and take off! A little more than 1000 miles remain and I will complete the distance in 10 days or less (as I have written countless times). This being the night before, I find myself as nervous and excited as before the entire trip. In reality, this is going to be like an entirely different trip for me. No longer will I spend hours in a supermarket or 1/3 of the day at a pool. From now on I will be on my bike for 8 hours plus a day. I am sad to be leaving the group and also quite scared but move on I must. Maybe I will hate riding alone, maybe I will love it, and the only thing that I know for certain is that there is only one way to find out. Very soon my Poobie, I will once again gaze upon thine eyes, perhaps even before you get this letter. Tonight I will call you and see what you found out regarding my flight home. The Virginia girls tell me I ought to end my trip in Williamsburg (just before Yorktown) were I can have a bike shop ship my horse home and then take the Amtrak to Washington D.C. Day 47: Marion, Kentucky to Rough River Dam State Park, Kentucky Finally I have done it! Although last night I was a basket case, once I finally got on my horse everything was OK. First off, I woke up and was ready to go in about 45 minutes (the group routine is usually about twice that). Once on the road everything was normal except that instead of waiting in towns and intersections for the group I just kept going… and going… and going. When I finally stopped it was 4:00 pm and I had ridden 116 miles. I did stop for lunch and several times for water or Gatorade, but other than that I kept moving. Leaving around 6:00 am, I figure I rode around 9 hours today and because I am going off route tomorrow for a shortcut I will have to do the same again. Regarding the riding, it was nice in the morning until maybe 10:00 or 11:00 am and then it got pretty bad with temperatures near 100 degrees and very high humidity. If I were only riding 50 or 60 miles a day it wouldn't be a problem but I'm not. Likewise, there are no longer community pools to chill at, but that really is a null point as Kansas totally burnt me out on pools. So where does that leave me? Today I only rode 116 miles in rolling terrain so when I hit the Appalachians I'm really going to get my ass kicked. Right now I plan on getting a plane ticket tonight (leaving BWI the morning of August 1st) and riding to perhaps the first big city in Virginia (maybe Charlottesville). From there I will have a bike shop ship my horse home and I will catch a bus or train to Aunt Judy's. That way I can say I rode a bike from Oregon to Virginia. It is just too hot and the terrain isn't nice enough to cycle the whole route. Actually, I really miss you very much and just want to come home. Not to make more excuses but it really is time for this trip to end. My rear is starting to develop bumps and sores and my wrists hurt. I've also noticed that I have a difficult time holding my right hand still. Given what I have already done to my elbow I think I ought to listen to my body. OK, so I've been sitting in a restaurant looking at maps and have decided to end the bike portion of my trip in Damascus, Virginia. Assuming I ride all the way to Berea, Kentucky tomorrow, I will have just 283 miles to the little town of 918 people. Why Damascus, well, they have a hostel were cyclists and Appalachian Trail backpackers stay. And two bike shops. Of course I like the fact that it is right on the Appalachian Trail as well. So there it is, looks like I've got about 400 miles to go. Better go make that reservation and give you a call. Day 48: Rough River Dam State Park, Kentucky to Berea, Kentucky Since the trip began I've wanted to do it and now that I've done it I never want to do it again. What is it that he who speaks in riddles is talking about, riding from sunrise to sunset of course. Today I awoke at 5:00 am and set off at 6:00 am with a thick fog, which worried me, but luckily I had no close calls. Around 6:00 pm I pulled into the RV Park in Berea, 150 miles later. Figuring that I stopped at a market for lunch and at many gas stations for Gatorade I would say I was on my bike for 10 hours today. Let me jot down a few notes about the day before I forget. First, 4 dogs chased me today and I finally realized that most of them just like to run behind me and bark so if I speed up or slow down, so do they. While in one small town I purchased chocolate milk and a banana and since the store was cooler than outside I asked if I could enjoy my food indoors. The old women made me eat in the corner! Lebanon was the town in which I met two young women (recent college graduates) from Vermont who were heading east to west and just starting out. And of course I saved the best for last. Upon riding into the town of Lancaster, Kentucky (still 20 or 30 miles from Berea) I glanced up at the display of the bank, 6:00 pm was the time and 102 degrees was the temperature! Day 49: Berea, Kentucky to Buckhorn, Kentucky Yesterday was great and as you remember I told you on the phone that if the trip ended right now I would be happy. Today I wished it had. Coming out of Berea everything was fine; I showered before leaving the campground and bought my breakfast at Super Wal-Mart. Outside of Berea I found the "Murphy's Ford" shortcut that saved 10 miles but then I hit the hills. Poobie, many of the west bound cyclists have told us how much more difficult the Appalachians are than the Rockies. So many in fact that it began to annoy us, especially since none of then had actually ridden over the Rockies yet. But back to my story, after the shortcut I found myself climbing hills so steep that even in my easiest gear I still had to climb out of the saddle. Now you know how vain I am so I obviously wondered how on earth the trail could go through terrain I could barely ride. You can probably guess the answer; I went the wrong way! Yes, after the short cut I zigged (went right) when I should have zagged (gone left) and for about an hour I kept going the wrong way, up hills as steep as Ma and Pa's driveway. Finally I stopped at the little store and asked how far ahead the junction was and received the usual blank stare. Quickly I pointed to the road and found out it 89 and not 1209. I was screwed (and a bit upset as well). Outside the store I found a car less (not careless) road so went back inside to inquire how long I might wait for a ride. Deer in headlights woman told me that last year someone did the same thing and got a ride back with a fellow who comes to the store but she didn't' know if he would be in today, with it being Saturday and all. Smile, nod and walk out; what else could I do? Luckily a sport utility came by within minutes. I flagged them down and found them willing to take me until they saw I had a bike. Our silent stalemate lasted about 7 seconds until I saw a truck coming down the road. Moving on to greener pastures I abandoned the sport-ute and hailed the truck. Exactly where I wanted to go is where the hillbilly in the truck took me and although he didn't know any of the road numbers, once I told him I was headed to Booneville he knew where to take me. Honestly, I tried very hard to remember his name but his accent was to thick and the name was so Kentucky it just didn't' stick. What I will never forget though, is looking out the window and seeing nothing but a sheer drop while my new friend drove with a can of Budweiser between his legs and no seatbelt. It seemed very fitting in fact when he threw the can out of his window when he finished, just as natural as can be. So now I'm back on the correct road, headed to Booneville of all places and not to happy as I knew had I not gone the wrong way I would already be there. Along the way the scenery made me feel better though. Green and leafy vines grow all over the trees and telephone poles and all look like things, just as clouds sometime do. You'll have to see it in person, as I didn't take a photo. Seven miles from Booneville it was 1:00 pm and I hadn't eaten so I stopped in Vincent, a junction town with no houses but a post office and café. I made myself a peanut butter and honey sandwich and ordered a chocolate shake that turned out to be so good that I ordered a second. Thunder prompted me to ask the women if it would rain and she said yes but as I was headed to Booneville I could probably outrun it. Maybe she just wanted to get rid of me or maybe she just wasn't much of a meteorologist but I ran straight into the storm. No complaints about the storm though, as it really cooled things off and everything was safe and dry in my panniers. Through Booneville I rode, in the rain, until Buckhorn and the state park with the same name. There I set up my tent and felt gray and gloomy, just like the sky. After a shower I rode the 1/4 mile back into town and had sandwiches for dinner (bologna, cheese and brown lettuce, made fresh for me), bought milk for my cereal for breakfast and came back to camp. My tent had been set up at a hiker / biker walk in site on wood chips which didn't work very well with my tent stakes so I decided to move everything to the car sites which had grass. Actually, the main reason I moved was because I wanted to pass the time. My new site was much better and I began to feel better. While waiting to use the phone I was looking at maps and the camp host even showed me a much better way to go, I was out of my funk. If all goes well tomorrow I will enter Virginia and the day after that reach Damascus where I will ship the horse home and get a ride to Nashville. Southwest Airlines will do the rest wit a direct flight to San Francisco or Oakland where Willy will pick me up. I can't wait.
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