Mood:  energetic

Yes, today I will be in Wilkesboro!  I have been looking forward to riding my bicycle into the nursing home parking lot.  Mother called and she wanted me to come to the back door because it is close to her room.  Okay.

It is only 30 miles away, so once I get over the Blue Ridge Mountains, it will be mostly downhill except for a few rolling hills.  The weather will be nice.  I wonder if the road will have a good shoulder.  It is a four lane road with lots of traffic, but a shoulder will make it safe.

Since the motel was serving a nice breakfast, I had one a little after 6 Am, and another around 9:30 AM.  Having done devotions and packed the bike, I departed for  the last leg of this part of my journey.

The highway, called 421, was a nice four lane road, but it had curbs and gutters on the side of the road, all the way out of town.  That meant that there was no shoulder, and I had to ride in the right hand lane.  Fortunately that didn't last long.  As soon as we were out of Boone, the curbs and gutters went away, and were replaced by a nice 8' smooth shoulder.  If this kept up, this would be a very safe ride. 

The area is very picturesque, with lots of hills overlapping hills, and a mixture of trees and fields.  The climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway was not bad at all.  The Parkway is 10 miles out of Boone, and once past it, the road dropped sharply, and I was coasting over 30 mph for several miles.  From that point there were some rolling hills but nothing difficult.  The shoulder narrowed but it was still wide enough for me to stay completely off the right hand lane.  Once inside the Wilkesboro area, the shoulder shrank some more, making pedalling a bit less safe, but several thousands of miles that I had ridden were just like these and the drivers created a safety barrier because of the courtesies they extended by giving me lots of room.

I arrived in Wilkesboro around noon.  Not wanting to get to my mother on an empty stomach, I stopped at Applebees for lunch.  Knowing that I was not going to be bicycling for a few days, I dialed down the amount of food ordered. 

Mother calls.  My brother, Tom, has a short break for lunch and wants to meet me, and carry my bike and gear back to his house.  From there I would use their other car.  It was a very kind thing for him to hook up a utility trailer that would haul everything nicely, but I wanted to ride to the nursing home.  He and I chatted on the phone about it.  Since he was close, he stopped in.  It was great to see him again. I hated that he went to such an effort to help, and then I wouldn't accept it.

The nursing home, called Britthaven, was several more miles down 421, and less than a mile from the exit.  I found it easily, and as I started coasting down the hill to the back of the complex, there, by the backdoor, sat my mother in her electric wheelchair waiting for me.  It was a grand reunion!  We both had waited a long time for this occasion!

Too soon, it seemed, I needed to leave for that day.  My sister-in-law, Margaret, needed to be picked up from work at 3:30 PM.

Since I will not be riding again until Monday, August 18th, this journal will take a rest until then.  It is noteworthy, however, that we did have a birthday party for my mother, her 88th.  It was held at my brother's home.  Happy 88th Birthday, Mother!

Will McMahan