June 26, 2005

Lots of stops lots of people!

We got a late start in the morning as usually happens when we get in late the night before. It really doesn’t make a lot of sense to push for the extra miles as by the time we get in, eat, shower, set up camp, and I write my log, download and get pictures ready to email, record the stats, and charge all my batteries it’s usually around midnight. Last night it was 11:30. A can function OK with around six hours sleep but seven is much better. I told Nick not to wake me before 6:00 AM.

We had big plans for the day but a number of things caused them to get modified fairly rapidly. We were on the road around 8:05 with temps in the upper 80’s. We planned second breakfast for around twelve miles but on Sunday morning at the planned stop nothing was open. We rode for a few more miles and stopped at a gas station convenience store and just about cleaned out their donuts. I notice a bigger wobble in Nick’s rear wheel so I told him I would true it up a bit just before we leave that stop. When I looked at it I saw that Nick broke a spoke on the new wheel that he bought in MN. It was obviously a poorly built wheel. There is no way that a wheel with less than 1,000 miles on it should break spokes. Nick bought a few spokes in case of any brakes but the bike tech put the cassette on too tight and we couldn’t get it off without a chain whip. I am not impressed with any of the shops we have stopped at for repairs. We will find one tomorrow and I will ask if I can rent time and tools and do the work myself so I know it gets done right. I feel sorry for anyone riding across the country who doesn’t know anything about bike mechanics.

As I was truing the wheel (as best I could with a missing spoke so Nick can ride on it) Nick and Tim struck up a conversation with a man on a motorcycle who is part of a four cycle motorcycle advocacy group. He travels on a lot of rural roads on his motorcycle and we shared a few stories. He has bicycled some in his younger years and knew what we were up against. I wasn’t listening too much to the conversation as I was occupied but I could tell that he was a good guy. When we left that stop at 10:30 the temperature on the bank sign read 101.

Picture after the wheel fix

The next option to eat was Denver, IN, but again, it’s Sunday and the café isn’t open. We went into “The Hot Spot” which is basically a video store but has some snacks, cool drinks and hot dogs. Oh yeah, they also are a tanning salon. The clerk for the store just graduated from high school and was very accommodating. She put some more dogs on the rotisserie but that was taking too long so we put them in the microwave. If you are going through Denver, IN there are no hot dogs left.

It was pretty hot and although we were changing pulls at half mile intervals we were much slower than the day before. We passed through another small town with a general store / gas station / café, but the café part was closed. We restocked our Gatorade which means we each drank one bottle and filled one of our water bottles with it. We also each bought a box of macaroni and cheese for tonight’s dinner. It was cool inside so we spent about a half an hour there. In side the store owner (I presumed) called people by their first name when they came in and asked them something about themselves. We chatted with the owner and the patrons as they came in. One father and young son (around 9 or 10) came in and I asked the boy if he had a bike. His father mentioned that he rode and raced a small motorized dirt bike. I then asked the boy if he was any good. The reply: ”Nope.” I was surprised by the honesty of the answer. Just about any kid you would ask in the northeast would tell you how great they are. Apparently he was pretty good on a smaller cc bike but got a bigger one and was at the bottom of the pack on it. I said to him: “That’s the way life changes get used to it.” On the way out I told the boy to “stay honest”. He smiled. He and his father seemed proud of the compliment.

Things continued pretty slow as it was really hot. At about the 58 mile mark I said to Nick that “I am invoking the sixty mile siesta rule.” I make the rules up as we go along. It was almost three o’clock and I could tell from our speed, how I felt and the looks on faces and how much liquids we were drinking that a break was necessary. We looked for the next shade at the sixty mile mark and stopped in front of a farmer’s house who also raised hogs. He was out in front so we asked if we could borrow some shade. He said: “I won’t charge you too much. It should be worth a lot on a day like this.” We chatted with them a bit and Tim asked if those were hogs squealing. He said: “Yes, they are fighting for water on a hot day like this.” His daughter and a young man who I presume was his son came out and joined the conversation. We talked about the trip and I gave them the log web site as they seemed quite interested. I took a fifteen minute power nap in the shade and we rolled out at 4:00. The skies developed some occasional cloud cover and it seemed cooler. We seemed more refreshed as our speed increased.

Sixty mile siesta stop

We rolled into Huntington around 5:30 and the temperature on one of the signs read 100 degrees. I wonder what it was during the afternoon. Nick looked up our options for camping and we decided on the town owned Clark Lake Campground in Huntington. It’s up on about the only hill (about 50 feet) we have seen in Indiana. Also it’s only a mile or so off the route we will take tomorrow morning. There is a slight breeze up here and it is quite comfortable. There is a family staying at one of the sights who have been here a week. We chatted with the father and he saw me typing the log so I gave him the link to the log site. I have been giving it to the nice people we meet along the way as many of them end up in it.

View of Clark Lake

We have met a lot of nice people along the way. There kindness and well wishes have been inspiring.

Jim

Cycledog (Ride the extra mile!!)

© 2005 - JNS