ZOOM!

Here we are again, about 4 days behind schedule, with lots to write about.  July 16 was one of our toughest and best days.  We woke up in the safe confines of the First United Methodist Church building in Marion.  The sky was cloudy and it seemed as if it would rain.  Neither one of us was feeling very gung-ho about hitting the road, and as we were talking, it seemed that we were both feeling a bit blue, sad, discouraged, depressed - call it what you will.  We finally got our butts out of the building, only to spend about an hour dealing with tire issues on Riley's bike and by the time we finally had all of that taken care of, we really weren't feeling very chipper, and it was 10 o'clock to boot!  

We got rolling, and slowly but surely, we got the cobwebs cleared and making progress, so that when we reached the town of Sebree, we were both feeling good and glad that we had worked through the funk that we were experiencing that morning.  The ride wasn't too long, about 45 miles or so, but long enough to feel like we had made some progress and overcome some difficulty in doing so.

In Sebree we found the Baptist church that hosted cyclists, and we opted to stay there.  The pastor and his wife were away on vacation, and apparently if that had not been the case, we would have been fed a home-cooked meal to go along with the free lodging!  Both of the churches that we've stayed at had log books for the cyclists to sign in.  In Marion, Brother Wayne told me that the price of admission was to sign the log and have our pictures taken to paste into it.  While thumbing through that log, it was a little surprising to see just how many of the people we had met along the way.  The log in Sebree seemed a little less complete.  We had met a guy that afternoon who told us about the place and that he had stayed there the previous night, but he hadn't written anything in the log...  The people who had written their thoughts in the log book all raved about the hospitality and wonderful cooking, so we missed that.  In the long run we did, however, feel very much at home and welcome, so much so that we decided to stay another day.

And that leads to the part of this post that I really don't want to write about. It is now mid-July and there is no denying that.  We are simply running out of time.  Prior to departing on this trip, whenever anyone asked me how long it would take, I said, "About two months, give or take."  That is in fact, an accurate answer.  What I hadn't fully realized is that, to ride cross country in 2 months, especially without the support of a sag wagon, a person is undertaking a full-time job for those 2 months.  It isn't really a sight-seeing trip, or a leisurely vacation; it is hard work, every day.  I'm not opposed to 2 months of hard work, but I think that I was caught a little bit off-guard, and I know that Riley certainly wasn't fully expecting the amount of work and exertion involved.

So, there we were on Saturday morning, in the basement of the First Baptist Church in Sebree Kentucky.  We needed to get to yet another bike shop because the used seat post that I began the trip with, is now a used-up and worn out seat post.  Owensboro ought to do the trick.  Hey Owensboro is off-route by several miles.  That's alright, it'll be easy to get to and easy to get back on route.  Where should we try to get to tonight?  When do we hit the Mammoth Cave Loop?  The loop is 85 miles and after returning to the route, we're only 8 miles down the road?  That means 78 miles extra riding to visit Mammoth Cave?  That's an entire day.  And when exactly do we fit in our visit to the cave?  Do we ride half a day, then visit the cave?  That's an entire day of riding, just to see that cave.  Hey, I remember visiting it when I was a kid.  It will be TOTALLY worth it!  But, even after we get to Virginia, it's another couple of days to Delaware.  And it is going to take a week to drive home from Delaware.  Can we possibly fit in a stop at Niagara Falls, or Mount Rushmore?  Can I visit my cousin Tom?

You might get the picture.  We are running out of time, and there is not much to look forward to other than long days of hard pedaling - at least that's how I was thinking and feeling on Saturday.  I got a message from Grant, a friend from my days at SDSU.  He told me that he was jealous, and wished that he could be riding across the country.  I'm jealous too.  I'm jealous of the people who have 3 or more months to do it in.  I'm jealous of those whom we have met who have the liberty to add, "And after I get to Oregon, I might ride down to San Diego."

I don't mean to rain on anybody's parade, nor do I want to seem ungrateful.  I am thankful that I have had this opportunity to spend with my son.  I'm grateful that I have had the chance to pursue an idea that I've had for so many years.  I'm very grateful that my wife, who is not at all into bicycling, has been willing to deny herself and her fears, and not put the kibosh on the trip.

When I got to thinking about Mammoth Cave, I really didn't want to have to sacrifice that little side trip for the sake of the mileage total.  We already scratched the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley because they were too many extra miles.  One of the first things that Riley said to me after he told me that he would commit to making the trip, was that he was looking forward to seeing the Grand Canyon.  By the time I was his age, I had been to probably 45 states and seen the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Mammoth Cave, and so many other National Parks and National Monuments.  There is a reason that we have set aside places like these as National Parks and Monuments, and that is because they are truly spectacular, worth saving and worth seeing.  Riley also talked about seeing Mount Rushmore, almost in the same breath as when he mentioned the Grand Canyon.  I don't want to be so rushed for time that we have to scratch so many wonderful things that are truly worth seeing, just so that we can crank out enough miles to get to the Atlantic Ocean by August whatever.

So Owensboro had a couple of things making it worth going a little out of our way to get to.  A bike shop (although they didn't have a seat post that would fill the bill) and truck rentals.  Yes, we have once again hit the road in a 10' box-truck, Budget this time, not UHaul.  We picked up the truck today (Monday July 16) in Owensboro, got on the bike route, and drove to Mammoth Cave.  We took the Historic Tour today, and will take the Grand Avenue Tour tomorrow morning.  It was very strange being on the tour today, because I distinctly remembered much of what we saw, even though I last saw it when I was 10 years old in 1968.  Riley very much enjoyed the tour and was excited about attending the evening amphitheater program.  As we were racing to get to Subway and back so that we could listen to the program, Riley said that he couldn't remember ever being so excited about learning something.

We will be driving to Charlottesville VA, and then continuing our pedaling form there.  We currently have logged over 1500 miles pedaling, and we should certainly finish with more than 2000 miles pedaled.  The trip isn't over yet, but it does feel like it is winding down, and I think that both of us are coming to terms with decisions that we have had to make.  I would love to have another chance to ride across the country, but I don't think that it would need to be a chance to redeem myself for not pedaling the whole way. I would love to pedal the whole way sometime, but if the cost is too high - meaning not being able to enjoy the journey - then it just would not be worth it.