Day: 19 (Marion, KY to Simpson, IL)
Average Speed: 9.8 MPH
Miles Cycled Today: 60.7
Miles Cycled Total: 1148
Mood: Like the terrain... Up and Down
Just After Crossing Ohio River into Illinois
Maybe it has something to do with entering a new state. I dunno. Day one in Virginia was a comedy of errors, day one in Kentucky was a disaster, and day one in Illinois is doing its best to keep pace.
It started out good enough. Great actually. I had the entire Methodist Church in Marion to myself, and took advantage of their beautiful Yamaha for a bit. Perhaps I shouldn't have played Stormy Weather, but I did. And with the echoey acoustics, it sounded pretty cool.
Did a load of laundry. Had a pork chop for breakfast. And hit the road.
The hilly, hilly road.
Twelve miles in, a tiny ferry greeted me (really- it's like it was waiting for me- I biked right on and it left) and I fit right in with all the other bikers on the boat. Check out the pic- you can't even tell which is mine!
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| Hmmm... One of These Things is Not Like the Others! |
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| Headed Across the Ohio River |
Illinois greeted me on the other side with open arms... and some intense hills.
Someone told me that there were no hills to speak of past Springfield, Kentucky.
That someone is named Joop.
Joop is a liar.
No worries though! I was actually in the mood for climbing- every mini-mountain for the first half of the day felt great. I stayed in "uphill mode" even on the downhills, because I knew another climb would be coming soon. One... More... Pedal... became my soundtrack, and I happily put it on repeat.
At the top of a particularly nasty little climb (my front tire kept coming up from the road with every down-pedal... that's how steep it was), someone had created a bicycle rest stop in their yard that advertised fresh water, a phone charging station, and a dog that has no desire to chase you.  |
| Robbie Jenkins (and with a Relay for Life T-Shirt!) |
Robbie Jenkins runs it, and she greeted me with "Ain't she a nasty bugger?" (referring to the hill I just got over). She filled up my bottles with ice water, gave me a bag of Chex Mix, and encouraged me to rest in the shaded picnic area for as long as I would like.
I'm kind of bummed that I don't live on a major bicycle route, because I would love to meet the people that Robbie has met by simply offering her property to sweaty travelers.
"At least a hundred this year alone," she said. "From all over the world. The nicest people you'll ever want to meet."
I didn't notice an outhouse so I discreetly peed in the bushes nearby before continuing on.
The heat didn't bother me (and it was hot), the hills didn't bother me (and they were big). What could go wrong?
Remember that song I played on the piano earlier? Look at my poorly drawn graphic on today's route. You guessed it!
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| Today's Route |
I'm not complaining- I've had all sorts of luck- but the weather has not been cooperating with me. Today's storm beat both of yesterday's in both intensity and duration. At the top of my biggest climb of the day, I felt a raindrop. A big raindrop. The kind of raindrop that says "Get your rain gear on before it's too late!" as it smacks you in the forehead. I decided to pull into the Hill Top Auto Service driveway to take the raindrop's advice.
Lucky me.
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| Wayne, Betty, and Bernie |
Timing (again) couldn't be better. Wayne, Betty, and Bernie were hanging out in the garage, drinking some beers and shootin' the shit. Betty motioned for me to come into the garage just as the rain started coming down in sheets.
"Water or a beer?" Bernie said in place of "hello."
I had plenty of water for the day.
It's like they were expecting me. There was a fourth chair open, and they didn't seem at all surprised that I'd shown up. For over an hour, Bernie delivered one-liner after one-liner in hilarious deadpan, Wayne kept conversation alive, and Betty had a motherly outlook for all of us.
"You ever hear of a place called Middletown, New York?" Bernie asked at one point.
Yeah. I've heard of it.
Determined to keep the impromptu party alive, Bernie ran out in the heart of the storm to refresh our beers, and he played Bob Dylan on the stereo when he got back.
"Don't bother going any further today! Stay here! Drink some beer! Crash on the couch! Have some ham sandwiches!"
So, so, so tempting. But the storm had subsided, and two hours of daylight still remained. I could still get 20 miles in.
It sucked leaving these three. This was the most fun I'd had since Hanna visited.
"We'll give you a ride to Carbondale in the morning! Nobody needs to know!"
I should've listened, but I didn't.
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| Post-Storm Ride |
I've been looking forward to Carbondale for a while since it's the first town with a bicycle repair shop since Virginia- and I could use a few tune-ups- my gears have been shifting awkwardly and the chain is falling off more than it should, brakes need adjustment, and a few other things. But Carbondale is 60 miles from Hill Top Auto. I set my sights on a campground in Simpson, KY instead.
And I made it, but not without a complete disaster. My bike decided to start shifting on its own. I never knew what gear it was going to decide to be in, and it wouldn't shift to a low gear at all. Now, if I want it in low for a hill, I have to get off and manually move the chain to the cog where I want it, covering myself with grease in the process.
This is not good.
Imagine you're in a car and every time you want to shift you need to pull over, open the hood, and figure out how to put it into an appropriate gear that fits the terrain.
Also, my phone (which was run over by a car a few days back) is rapidly deteriorating. I can't answer calls (but I can return them!). I can't text, and I can't dial out. The camera works though!
Shit is falling apart.
It was dark (as Bernie had predicted) by the time I made it to the campground.
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| Landmark Crew Helping from Far Away |
Since the camp was closed when I showed up, figuring out the Wifi password so that I could communicate and figure out a plan for tomorrow was quite a process that Mike DiMartino (owner of the Landmark Inn in Warwick, New York... eat there... it's the best... I can't stop thinking about that Gorgonzola Steak tonight...) and crew helped to suss out.
It's way too complicated to explain how we did this- especially with my phone barely working and a weak signal- but suffice it to say it was like playing that childhood game Telephone with actual telephones.
So I'm here. Sleeping on a slab of concrete. I put some hay underneath the tent to make it comfy.
I have no idea how I'm going to make the 40 miles to Carbondale tomorrow in order to get my bike fixed- but with my luck, it shouldn't be a problem.
One thing I do know... next time I find a piano in the morning, I'm playing Sunny Side of the Street instead of Stormy Weather.
P.S.
Just because y'all pronounce it that way...
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