Day 69-Sunday, August 3rd, 2008
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: I'm not lost. I just don't know where I am.

Last night I fell asleep prior to 9 PM, and slept well all night.  I kept waking, feeling fully rested, at ridiculously early hours.  I woke at 4 AM, then 4:30 AM and finally got up at 4:45 AM.  When I turned on the lights, I saw that the actual time was 5:45 Am.  I hadn't adjusted my wristwatch to EST.  So I hurried to get ready, and was out the door, fully loaded by 6:15 AM.  The only place that I knew would be open for breakfast this early on a Sunday, was Dairy Queen.  Who, besides myself, would be crazy enough to be up that early on a Sunday morning?  A lot of people, apparently.  It was very busy. 

The road, however, was not. 

There was little traffic and the countryside was almost bewitching in its beauty.  The directions on my map, however, were befuddling.  "Cross the Middle Fork River Bridge and turn left on John Taylor Rd (a single lane road).  Turn right on unmarked Hwy 563"  You get the idea.  After a bit of this, thinking I was lost, then finding out that I wasn't, I made a fatal error.  I turned right when I was directed to turn left.  Soon I was wandering around some pretty remote areas trying to figure out if I was lost or not.  I stopped at several houses for directions.  At the second one, someone was home.  Yes, I was lost.  I go back the direction I came from and turn right, then right again, then right again, then left, and that will take me into Berea.  Easy for her to say. 

An hour later, I stopped by a gentleman who looked like he needed a break from mowing the lawn.  He had me backtrack an mile, but he put me out on a wonderful wide road.  It was only two lanes, but it had 8' shoulders.  The last ten miles were up and down, and then I was in town.

But not before having a few more run-ins with dogs.  The first two, just like yesterday, I was going downhill.  The last one, however, I was going uphill, fairly slowly, and there were four dogs lying next to the road that decided to give chase, two of them Doberman Pinchers.  Fortunately, they were not that interested, and I talked gently to them.  I guess that mathmatically speaking, since I came across 2 dogs yesterday, and six today, then I will have 18 on Tuesday, 54 on Wednesday, etc.  Not.

Despite all my concerns of not getting there until late, I rode in a little after noon.  Getting to Wendy's for lunch was like taking one's life in one's hands.  I walked the bike amidst very congested traffic.  Within two hours, I was joined by both relatives with their families.  It was an experience to treasure.

Monday is a Rest Day.  Primarily, a owner of a bike store is going to come to the motel, on his day off, to replace my disk brakes.  I will need them on the steep hills of eastern Kentucky.  Then I want to look around town, and prepare myself for one of the more difficult days of cycling.

I will be riding on Tuesday to Booneville, KY.  It is 55-60 miles, but there are no services, no conveneince stores, no restaurants.  The road is narrow, curvy, steep and hard to ride.  It will be a long day.  I will probably be out of internet range for several days.

Will McMahan

Day 68-Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: This must be the start of Dog Country

For some reason, the shorter rides seem harder, at times, than the longer ones.  The ride today, a short 26 miles to Harrodsburg, should avail enough time to catch up on odds and ends.  But if I leave early then I'll be there in the morning, so I planned to leave mid to late morning, get there a little after noon, have lunch, settle in, and see the town.

It was around 10:30-10:45 AM when I started rolling.  One problem with starting then is that it is starting to heat up with the humidity.  I guess if I were riding  longer mileage it would still be the same, but I think the body adjusts through the morning better than when it is thrust out into the heat.  It still seemed to take forever.

This was a typical ride:  beautiful country, lots of up and down hills, some of them steep.  The main difference is that, for the first time, I was chased by some serious dogs.  Prior to today, all of the dogs have been confined--either fenced in, in kennels, or tied/chained up.  As I was rounding a corner, I spotted a dog on a porch.  It lifted its head in attention, flatend its ears, and took off like a shot out of a cannon towards me.  Because I was going downhill, I easily shot past it before it got to the road, and left it in the dust.  A similar thing happened later.  Maybe this will be a sign of things to come.  I expect that to be the case.

Harrodsburg is a very attractive town, with lots of beautifully maintained historical homes and buildings.  It is just stunning to see a string of victorian homes in impeccable condition.  Since I like museums, I headed for theirs, after checking into a motel.  It was long on books and research, but short on substance for the casual viewer like myself.

With my overall mileage passing the 3,400 mark, I am starting to tire of the lack of people to chat with.  For some reason, it seemed easier in the western part of the United States.  Maybe if I camped more, that would change, but I had sent back my tent in order to lighten my load.  At any rate I have always missed Karen a lot, but we talk a couple of times a day.  However, now I am starting to miss the companionship of friends also.  Oh well, the trip won't be too much longer, and I will be seeing more family and friends on the way.

Tomorrow will be a special treat!  My niece, Emily Kregor, with her husband Jon, and my nephew, Matthew McMahan, with his wife Jennifer and two children, Caroline and Ana, will be traveling from Cincinati and Louisville, respectively, to visit with me.  I haven't seen Matthew or Jennifer since their  wedding, and it has been a couple of years since I saw Emily and Jon.

We will be meeting in the town of Berea, KY, home of Berea College.  It should be a nice place to get together. I am looking forward to it.  Of course this is predicated on the roads not being so difficult that I can get there in a reasonable hour.  I'll leave early just to make sure.

Will McMahan

Day 67-Friday. August 1st, 2008
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Back in the saddle again.

It rained, often hard, on the morning that W.T. and I visited Mammoth Caves yesterday.  The good news is that I didn't have to ride in it.  And I knew that a weather front was going to push it out of the way so that I would not have to contend with it today.

My goal for the day was to reach Springfield, KY.  My map from the American Cycling Association had it measured at 59 miles, and they are normally spot on.  As I was studying the map, however, I noticed that there was a highway that was shown but was not the recommended route.  It was clearly shorter but must have more traffic than the planned route.  The idea of knocking 4-5 miles off the day's total mileage won the day. 

As usual I awoke around 5 AM.  the odd thing is that this is only my second morning in EST zone, yet the body seemed to adjusted to it.  After performing all of the needed functions, I was packed and ready to go at 6 AM.  There was a problem, however---it was still dark out.  I debated whether to wait until it got lighter, then finally decided to get on the four lane road and ride hard for 1/2 mile at which place a wide shoulder appeared, and I could get out of everyone's way.  I have reflective tape on the panniers and on the triangular caution sign on the rear.  In addition, I turned on my flashing lights.  Waiting for a long break in traffic going my direction, I took off.  As the first car approached, it moved over in to the passing lane, as did the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth cars.  At that point, I got to the point with the shoulder and knew I would be safe until I got to McDonald's, the designated breakfast place for today.  When I finished eating, at 6:30 AM, it was light outside, thus safe for bicycling.

The new route took me right through Hodgenville and into the country.  Traffic was light at first.  The scenery was very pretty with rolling hills.  None of the hills were back breakers, so the morning was progressing smoothly.  I arrived in the town of New Haven for breakfast #2, and couldn't find an open restaurant, but did make use of the convenience store in the middle of town. 

My next town, Bardstown, about 13 miles away, was going to provide lunch, I decided, then it was only 25 miles to Springfield.  On the way, I encountered several touring bicyclers, unusual in that I was off of the prescribed route, and the third one pulled over to chat.  We exchanged information.  My primary contribution was the different ways to cross Washington to get to Seattle.  He gave me a much shorter way to get to Springfield.  He said that the road was busy out of Bardstown, but the shoulder widened after a while and it was much shorter.  In fact it ended up being 8 miles shorter.

I have ridden many busy roads, but this one was one of the most uncomfortable rides because there was no shoulder, and when I was barely moving up the hills, traffic started to back up significantly.  Several times, I pulled off the road into a driveway and stopped in order for the traffic behind to clear.  I try to always watch approaching traffic behind me and today I was watching a semi truck coming up behind (and not slowing down) and there were two semis coming down the hill.  It was obviously going to be a tight squeeze so I pulled off the pavement into the grass, in order to give everyone comfortable room to go forward.  That is a seldom used maneuver, but I will not hesitate to use it if things start to look a little dicey on the road.

Ironically, for the most part, I am not the one that is worried about the car and truck drivers.  They, as a whole, have been extraordinarily courteous.  However, sometimes when they pass me they give me plenty of clearance but cut it awfully close to the oncoming car or truck.  they should be worried about each other.

That having been said, I have not taken so much evasive action as I have today.  Perhaps the other route would have been safer, but I still like having ridden 12-13 less miles to get to the same place.

Tomorrow will be a very short riding day, only 26 miles.  i'll be stopping in Harrodsburg.  It is a good sized town of around 8,000 people.

Again, no mishaps today.  As I crossed a bridge, the bridge was 1 1/2-2" higher than the shoulder, resulting in a jarring blow to the bike, bouncing it up in the air (and me along with it) but there was no damage to the bike, and I was able to retain control.  The blow was so hard that the water bottle, for the first time this trip, popped right out of its holder.  Somehow as it was bouncing around, I pinched it between my elbow and my ribs.  It stayed there until I stopped.

Will McMahan

St. Louis and on to the east
Mood:  celebratory
what a fine time sharing the "eastern MO" part of Wil's great bike adventure.  Wil and I left about 9 on Thursday morning, I from our home in South St. Louis City, headed west to meet Wil who was riding in from Augusta, which is almost equi-distance in the west and he rode East!  We met at the TRailhead brewery for a huge lunch - I rode thru some light drizzle but by the time we finished eating (great onion rings!) the roads were mostly dry.  We enjoyed a nice ride (some light rain!) through Creve Couer Park, then for 7 miles on Midland boulevard into Forest Park and then finished up the 30 miles to our home across the street from Tower Grove Park!  Early Friday morning Jim and I escorted Wil into the downtown traffic and halfway across the Mississippi river where we parted ways, very grateful to have shared the "good journey" for a bit!  We are inspired to dream of our own trip in the near future!  Thanks, Wil - safe miles and good people...

Day 65-Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: Another pleasant day in Kentucky.

In order to get to the motel near Mammoth Caves before W.T. arrived, I would need to leave early.  Not only was I uncertain as to the terrain, but it was supposed to rain later.  Additionally, I was crossing over into Eastern Standard Time, so I would lose an hour.

I ate breakfast at 6 AM, then hit the road, wondering what the hills would be like today.  In the first hour, I had three hard climbs that left me gasping for breath.  This was going to be a long day.  I passed another restaurant and stopped for breakfast #2.  Yes, I am gaining back some of the weight that had been lost earlier.  Right after this meal, I dipped into a hollow that was so steep that I wasn't sure the brakes would slow me enough to negotiate the curves.  The climb out was torturous and very slow.  But I made it.  This did not bode well for the day, but, fortunately, the worst was over.  There were no more hills this bad for the rest of the day.  Those are apparently being saved for eastern Kentucky.

Not too long after the second breakfast, I passed a grocery, and picked up a cheeseburger for lunch.  Just as Jack and I had done on Sunday, I found a nice shady cemetery to enjoy the sandwich.

It didn't seem like too much later that I entered the town of Sonora.  I was only 12-14 miles to the hotel. I stopped for a bowl of soup and a number of large glasses of iced tea.  It is just amazing how much fluids one consumes.  On the bike I drink but generally don't feel thirsty.  Once I stop for food, I seldom drink less than three large glasses of tea or water.

The road was nice.  I still hadn't been chased by any dogs with serious intent.  Life was good!  A rain drop touched my face.  I started pedalling faster.  It was just a few miles to go!  But there was no way I would make it dry.  I pulled under some cover and tried to quickly put the rain covers on the panniers.  Additionally I donned my rain sponge jacket (that's my new name for it).  It had been raining hard, but by the time I was all situated, the rain started to ease off.  Soon the sun was out, it was still in the high 80's, and I was starting to swelter in the jacket. 

Feeling reatively certain that I had preceeded W.T. in getting here, I ducked into an ice cream store in order to cool off both inside and out.

Our room at the Cruise Inn wasn't bad for as little as they charged.  It had two beds and room for all of our gear (mostly mine) and the bicycle.

W.T., who reminds me of an absent minded professor, called on his cell phone. He had taken a wrong turn somewhere and was on a parkway leading the wrong direction with no exits in sight.  I assured him that I was in no hurry.  He showed up a little bit later.

Before eating, we drove down to Abraham Lincoln's birthplace, about ywo miles down the road.  After seeing a short film on Lincoln's life here (he moved when he was seven) we toured the grounds, which were the actual grounds of the original farm.  The spring still produced water.  A cabin, similar to the one Lincoln lived in was on display.  It was an incredibly poor (economically) start for someone who secured such greatness.

We dined at a steak house in a town nearby, then retired to the room and resurrect memories of brothers, many of whom haven't been seen for decades.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Mammoth Caves.  They have numerous tours.  After we have gone to the tour of our choice, W.T. will drop me back off at the motel, then he will be off to New Albany, Indiana, to the home of a childhood friend.

I am so pleased that he chose to drive all this way just to visit.  He is just as smart and funny and wise as always. 

Will McMahan

Day 65-Tuesday, July 29th
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: A good day. Ooh, that pool feels great!

Jack left the evening before last, and I had all of yesterday to relax and prepare for today.  The most important issue was to have my brakes checked at the local bike store.  My brakes are starting to fail, and the brake pads need replacing.  Unfortunately, the local bike shop had neither the proper parts or time for installation, so they gave some quick adjustments, advised that I have them replaced prior to traversing eastern Kentucky (which, I gather, is supposed to be very steep) and sent me on my way.

My room at the Ramada was a joke at any price, least of all the $100 that I was paying.  The phone didn't work.  The internet computer didn't work.  The entire facility was under renovation.  My room was nice, but when I stepped outside the door, the concrete hallway was dirty, and had rebar showing through the holes in the concrete.  I started calling around.  Comfort Inn: All full. Days Inn:  All full. They were all full.  Wait a minute, what is this?  Budget Inn:  yes they have a room for $39.  I took it.  And, yes, the phone worked. 

Today, I was to leave Owensboro and try to get to an area called the Rough River Dam.  There is a state park there, and several motels.  I missed the turn onto Highway 54 and had to backtrack to find it.

As the hills started to add up, I pulled into a little post office in Deaneville.  From there, I took items off my bike that I doubted I would need, and mailed them back home.  One item was my tent.  I kept the ground cloth, pillow and two sleeping bag liners, so I could sleep outside (if it was not raining).

The miles started adding up.  The hills were tiring but I could do them.  Ironically, an email that I received from someone in Granite Falls helped.  This gentleman had been reading my journal and felt inspired by my trip.  He had lost weight through his bicycling workouts.  It is seldom that we have the opportunity to inspire anyone, and this gave me energy on even the longest hills.

As is common, I had eaten three times before I arrived at the motel around 2 PM.  They had a small but nice swimming pool, and for the first time since leaving home, I put on my swim trunks and took a dip.  It was fantastic!  It was just the right temperature to feel cooling, yet the water was warm enough that one didn't need to tiptoe into it.  I lay in the shade, listening to Ivanhoe on the MP3 player, taking occasional dips.  This was definitely heaven.  The outdoor temperature was in the mid-90's.

Tomorrow was going to be exciting.  The ride was not going to be exceedingly long, 58 miles, and I was to meet one of my fraternity brothers, W.T. Wrege, and we were going to visit the area, especially Mammoth Caves.  I wanted to be at the motel first if at all possible.

Speaking of possibilities, I had no accidents of any kind today.  This shouldn't be newsworthy, but, after riding over 3,000 miles without any mishaps, the last several days have made me a little more conscious of how easy it is to fall.  Maybe it was the day of rest in Owensboro, or maybe it was just the increased focus while riding.  Whatever, it made for a good day.

Will McMahan

you are looking good
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: did G-D really say that about Kentucky!!!!
just a hug and a hello to you from us....we continue to be impressed with your determination and spunk.  continue having fun....hugs, j & c

Good For You
Mood:  happy
So I guess your knee is better.  Last I remember you were going to bike to Oregon with your grandson but had to cancel due to an injury.  This trip is lots further than Oregon.  Continued good luck and happy traveling, Connie

Day 63-Sunday, July 27
Mood:  accident prone
Now Playing: Wow! This is great! Crash (#3)

What a great night's sleep!  As I got up, the left leg felt fine.  A little tender with lateral movement, but there is no lateral movement on a bicycle.  Jack was already up, so we ventured down to Rudy's Cafe for a large breakfast.

Since all church services were late in the morning, we decided to leave early.  I would attend a service in the evening after Jack left.  The lodging facilities in this neck of the woods is scant.  No motels, but one can camp in the Sebree city park (no bathrooms), or stay in the Baptist Church (kind of a hostel-type of situation), which would work well for me if they were still allowing bicyclers to stay.

After packing stuff up, and re-depositing it in Jack's car, I took off down the road.  Jack had a little shopping to do. 

Up ahead loomed the high but narrow bridge over the Ohio River.  As I approached it, it still looked narrow, but, for some reason, not as steep as it appeared yesterday from the car.  I started over it.  I don't know why, but it seemed easy.  I was in my low range chain ring fully expecting to have difficulty climbing, and never went below 7th gear (on the mountain passes I would be in 2nd or 3rd gear).  It must have been the lack of weight.  There was no traffic on the bridge except Jack and one other car. 

I'm in Kentucky!  Only two more states to go! 

Most people don't know this, because most bibles have deleted this scripture, but in the book of Genesis (I think in the second chapter) God made a pact with Adam.  He said "Adam, I am going to make a beautiful area which I will call Kentucky.  It will be an exceedingly beautiful area.  However, I will also make it hilly with lousy cell phone coverage.  Don't worry about what this means, Adam, future generations will understand."

Suddenly, just like yesterday, I was flying.  In Morgantown, before 9 AM, we had breakfast #2.  Still rolling well, we had a nice break under a shady tree in a cemetery.  The double cheeseburger was still warm.  I was feeling strong.  The leg was responding as if nothing had happened yesterday.  It looked like we were going to get into Sebree way before noon.

So we took out the maps, and reset our goal for a town called Owensboro, KY.  It had a population of 54,000.  There should be motels all over the place.  It had a bike shop so I could have it checked out.  It would likely also have other amenities so that I could have a rest day.  It had been Manhattan since I had rested, a long 9 days earlier.  I had been averaging close to 70 miles/day in all sorts of hot/rainy/humid weather.  A day of rest sounded good, I would have a chance to catch up on this journal.

Jack went ahead into town to scout out motels.  I was pleased with the rapidity of the day because Jack had a long drive back to Bloomington, Minnesota, and if he could get partway back today, then he should have no trouble getting home Monday evening as he wished. 

He returned to report that he only saw a Holiday Inn Express.  They were a little pricier than I liked but it might be worth it.  It cost $76 last time.  I rode in, and entered the lobby.  Yes they had a room available.  Only $130.  Why so much, I asked?  "There is a national tournament of 144 teams for Girls 16 and under Fastpitch Softball this week."  Oh Lord!

I did some digging and found a cheaper room but timing is everything, and my timing was stinking in Owensboro.  Jack went ahead to meet me at the Ramada.  A quarter of a mile from the Ramada, I crashed again!  This one wasn't near as bad as yesterday, but the cause was similar.  Instead of a gap between the shoulder and the highway, this one's highway was raised about 1 1/2 inches higher than the shoulder.  Again, I didn't take enough of an angle in the transition, and I flipped over.  Three falls in four days!  I hope this is the last one!  It wasn't bad:  a few cuts and scrapes.  I rebumped the bruise on my left shin.

I didn't say a word about it to Jack, but I am sure he was wondering where the fresh blood on my arms and legs came from.  Jack doesn't miss much.

I hated to see him go.  He had been so instrumental in making the last two days so pleasant.  Not just the riding:  he is smart, fun and funny.  A good traveling companion--but now he needed to get home.

Tomorrow will be a day of rest, sightseeing, and hopefully, bicycle rehabilitation.  In a couple of days I hope to hook up with another fraternity brother of mine, W.T. Wrege.  W.T. is the only person I know that is smart enough to be a professor of accounting in college, yet has trouble punching in a code to get a security gate to open.  He really is delightful and funny.  I look forward to seeing him again.  We will be touring Mammoth Caves together.

Will McMahan

Day 62-Saturday, July 26th
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: I'M FREE! I

Today began a little differently than normal because Karen's cousin, Jack Ingersol, was here. He would be accompanying me in a support vehicle for two days before starting his return to Minnesota.  I had a mixture of feelings:  I really like Jack and looked forward to seeing him, but it was slightly disconcerting, after having been totally independant, to have someone else there, another dynamic.  I felt funny waking him a little after 6 AM, not sure if he would feel it too early or too late.   In light of his yeoman's drive yesterday, I hoped that he would not be disappointed in his time here.

We started off with a large breakfast at The Cracker Barrel across the street.  It took awhile to get packed.  I also thought it an opportune time oil the bicycle chain.  Recumbents have a very long chain, over 10', and with all the water that I endured over the last several days, it seemed a wise thing to oil it.  Jack had suggested that he carry all of my gear, and that seemed like a good idea although I didn't think it would make that big of a difference.  We left around 8:30 A.M. 

Our destination was Shawneetown, a small town close to the Ohio River, and a short hop from Kentucky.  The distance was going to be around 66-68 miles, something I should be able to accomplish without too much trouble, even with the late start.

Jack adapted quickly to the routine.  He would go out about 5 miles and wait for me to approach.   If everything was okay, I would give him a "thumbs up", and continue on.  He would then pass me and go further up the road.  It helped that he had a neat GPS which he used to calculate distances to future stops, etc., but especially for finding a town in which to eat.

It quickly became apparent that, even though I was carrying a small pannier, the bike was going several miles per hour faster since Jack had the rest of the gear.  In fact I hadn't averaged these speeds the whole trip.   It made me wonder why, when Karen supported me for two days, we left most of the gear on the bike.  It took someone intelligent, like Jack, to point it out, I guess.

Later in the morning, we ate at the Dairy Queen.  Earlier it looked like it might rain, but now the sun was breaking out, so I had to replenish my sun screen (50 block).

This ride became very liberating!  Going easily up the inclines, and faster on the level, I felt a new freedom that I hadn't had before.  A person could cover territory a lot quicker without carrying an additional 50 pounds of weight.

Jack had a cooler filled with ice, in which he stored bottled water.  Ahhh.  What a relief as the temperatures creeped upward.  He also picked up a roast beef sandwich for me, and gave it to me in a nice shady spot up the road.

It became clear that we were going to arrive in Shawneetown early, so Jack went ahead to secure some motel rooms for us.  He met me 8 miles out of town, informing me that he had them ready, and then he returned to Shawneetown to wait for me.  It wouldn't take long.  Or so I thought.

I was riding on a two lane highway, on the shoulder.  It was a crappy shoulder, pitted and gravelly, so I moved over to ride on the smooth pavement.  Unfortunately, there was a gap between the shoulder and highway.  My front tire dropped into the gap, and before I know what was happening I was body slammed into the concrete.  (So much for not having any more crashes.)  This was a hard crash, full of potential for injury, and I was immediately sore.  Moving slowly, as traffic eased by, I lifted my head, then shoulders and arms.  I was successful in extricating my left leg from under the bike, and it was able to bear some weight, a good sign.  Lifting the bike upright, I looked behind me, and a pickup truck with an older couple inside was stopped 30 feet behind me, blocking all traffic from getting too close.  I limped back to them.  They were obviously concerned if I was okay, and offered to carry me and the bicycle into town. 

A trip of this type creates a certain amount of self sufficiency, but hopefully not stupidity.  I wasn't about to take a lift if the bike was okay, and if I was capable of riding.  On the other hand, if either of those two items were not okay, then, in a heartbeat, I would take them up on their offer.  I asked for them to please wait to see if I could ride.  If I could, then I would wave, indicating that I was okay, and they could dive on into town.  I was able to ride fine.

I arrived at the motel with Jack not the wiser until I told him about the mishap.  My left leg was gimpy, and a knot was starting to form at the top of the shin.  Jack pulled out his ice chest, we wrapped ice in a towel, then let it rest on the knot.  When Jack went to his room, I took the time to call Karen and give her a "heads up" (I don't ever want for her to learn about this sort of thing from my journal) then I showered and reapplied the ice pack.  I was feeling better already.

Jack suggested that we drive into Old Shawneetown, the original settlement.  He also wanted to show me the bridge that I would have to traverse in the morning.  It looked very daunting and very narrow.  Hopefully traffic on Sunday morning would be light.

My intended destination tomorrow was to be Dixon, KY, and I had calculated 60+ miles, but, for the first time, I had overestimated the mileage.  It was going to be less than fifty.  Having the time, we drove there.  Once there, we realized that it was shorter still, so we went to the next town, Sebree.  It was still only 37 miles.  Very hilly miles, but only 37.  I have to admit:  seeing all of the hills, after riding on the level, was a bit disappointing.

After dinner at Rudy's Cafe, we returned to our rooms, having discussed plans for tomorrow.  Jack had been transformed, in my mind, from a helper, to an extremely valuable aide.  His help was incalcuable.

The knot had disappeared under the ice pack.  In my only other bad crash, a few years back, I was hurt pretty good and could hardly walk, but ironically, once on the bike, I could pedal fine.  Maybe tomorrow would be like that.  I wasn't hurting near as bad this time.

I fell into a deep sleep at 8:30 PM, wondering what the morning would bring.  Would the leg hold up?  Just how dangerous was the bridge?  Would I be able to sustain the hills?  Would I even be able to ride at all? 

Will McMahan