Day 35 (5/31/22): Something’s Changed
Start: Berea, KY
End: Booneville, KY
Mileage: 53 miles
Elevation: 3,807 feet
Greetings from the Booneville Public Library. Similar to yesterday, I arrived at my destination a little earlier in the day and needed a place to hang out, as it’s just a bit too hot to pitch the tent just yet. I seem to be the only person in the library, so the librarians were more than happy to have me park my bike inside and my bottom at a table. Crazy thing. Purely by accident, my bike is parked directly in front of The Magic Treehouse series—one of Lexie and Bailey’s favorites from when they were kids. (Way to go Jack and Annie.)
First, I need to correct a glaring omission from yesterday’s list of veterans. Somehow I missed my Da who served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and earned the Purple Heart. (He also met Marilyn Monroe while serving, which is a story for another day.) I intended to include him at the end of the list but must have gotten distracted by something at the fire station.
The night at the fire station was just fine. No real issues other than some loud trains.
I managed to start pedaling by 7:00 a.m. this morning. Good thing as it was a slower ride owing to the transition from lots of quick up/downs to longer ascents and descents. I haven’t climbed like this since Arizona. I think I actually like the ascents and descents better as you simply go into climbing mode when you’re on a big hill as opposed to the constant speed-up, slow-down on the up/down undulations which have been the norm since New Mexico. Perhaps, I’m just tired of undulating.
The first ascent started in a town called Big Hill. No joke. 650 feet of pure up.
(Tish, don’t read this paragraph.) I’d been warned about State Route 421 in KY previously and the warnings were definitely on target. Lots of hills and turns, a 24-inch shoulder if you were lucky and even then there were rumble strips in the shoulder making them mostly useless (read: ride in the traffic lane), and plenty of traffic including more dump trucks than I care to think about. There was a lot of stopping today to simply let the traffic pass me. I never felt in danger, but the 30 miles of Rt. 421 were the longest stretch of hairy roadway of the trip.
Came across my first “Road Closed” barricade that wasn’t accounted for on my gps maps. It took some time, but with some help from a very kind gentleman, I figured it out. He had a Reagan/Bush ’84 cap on. Ah, the good old days.
I’ll be in the “backyard” of a church in Booneville tonight in a tent. I’m not expecting a shower let alone a rest room.
After I got here, I looked around town for a place to eat and found a quintessential local joint—The Old Bus Stop Diner. It was a trip. Everyone knew each other and the gossip was pretty thick. I now know who left who for someone else’s boyfriend, which kids are likely to turn out bad, and the car preferences of many of the patrons. I also learned what a cake walk is, although no one knew what Daniel Boone had done locally to merit having the town named after him. They were very nice to me and wanted to know all about my ride. The staff was a trip. The best I can tell the manager sits in a booth all day and talks to people, the assistant manager walks around the place and kills flies with a swatter, the waitress—who was just as kind as could be—handles all of the orders, and the cook serves the food himself. I could not have asked for more atmosphere. Good food too.
One eating establishment which left me baffled was the Dairy Mart about 9 miles outside of Booneville. Normally, when I’m that close to the end, I just power through, but it was over 90 and figured why not have a little ice cream treat. Well, for some reason, the Dairy Mart doesn’t have any dairy products, just a lot of junk food. The woman behind the counter claimed she hadn’t had a chance to buy any ice cream. Really?!
What I’m Grateful for Today
I’m not mechanically inclined. I’m normally not able to fix things without a lot of swearing. In our house, Tish assembles the barbeque, and I write the Christmas letter.
One of my personal goals for the trip was to be less scared of tinkering and trying to fix things. I’m still no mechanic, and there was a lot of swearing in Eminence, MO when I couldn’t get my front disc brake on Smoke to stop rubbing against the pad, but through consciously trying to think more about how things work more and trusting myself a bit more to go through trial and error, I seem to be making some headway. My current “project” is to get the gears on Miles functioning better. I won’t bore you with details, but I’ve had skipping and clanking since I started. I think I’ve figured out the right way to adjust them and am constantly tweaking my set up. Sometimes it’s worked, other times…well…the chain falls off when I shift. I’m determined to get this right, although I’m also looking forward to riding with a guy on Thursday who owns a bike shop who might be able to lend this neophyte a hand.
P.S. Facebook just told me I ran my first marathon 13 years ago today. Whoda thunk?