Day 14 : Some Awesome Company...

From Sonora, KY to Utica, KY - ~92 miles

we awoke this morning from a very very muggy night of attempting to sleep, at 5 am. we had the bikes loaded, a breakfast of muffins leftover from yesterday in our stomachs, and were out on the road by 6:20 am. we really wanted to be on the road early since yesterday was hot and windy. the best way to try to remedy both of those things is to get out early and get the miles logged.

the beginning of our ride was awesome! we logged miles super fast, and we didn’t see our first car (in either direction) until almost an hour into our ride. we quickly knocked out our first 26 miles, and decided to stop for an early “lunch” (it was about 9:30 am) of sandwiches. we scarfed our sandwiches and then quickly got back on the bikes to try to cover the miles while it was still fairly cool. however, it wasn’t much longer and the heat was up, however the wind was not as bad as it was yesterday.

the day moved along pretty normally, with the exception of the heat. we decided to take a break from the heat and get some much needed calories into our system at a little ma and pa restaurant just outside of fordsville, ky. it was much like all the other ma and pa restaurants in small town america. lots of local folks, local service, and greasy food.

we ordered a large pizza, an order of breadsticks, and some sodas…which hit the spot for sure. and let me just say, we were not in any hurry at all to get out of the air conditioning and back onto the bikes. so after we finished our food, we just kind of relaxed in hopes that it would get cooler. in the meantime, we struck up a conversation with the two guys sitting at the booth behind us. a father and son, who could not have hidden the fact that they were father and son if the world depended on it.

they were incredibly nice and very interested in our trip…what we were doing and where we were going. we told them that we were trying to make it 30 more miles today, in order to leave us 82 for tomorrow so that we could meet cailyn’s parents at Cave in Rock State Park. at that point, the guy just up and offered to put us and our bikes in his truck and drive us to Cave in Rock. i believe his words were, “it should only take us two and a half hours”. and as tempting as it was, we said that we should probably stick with riding…it kind of felt like cheating. then he said, “well I could take you as far as utica.” (where we are staying tonight) but again, we really appreciated the offer, but felt like we should just ride the miles. the guy was just amazingly nice, and it was apparent that he genuinely cared about us and was interested in helping us.

we chatted a little longer, and then they said that they needed to get going to make it back for church. they went up to the register, paid, and hit the road. we decided it was time to fill our waters, pay for our food, and get on the road as well. cailyn went to get started on the waters, while i went to pay for the food…however, when i got to the register, our waitress informed me that the guy that had been at the booth behind us had paid for our food. man…people are amazing…it may seem like there are no good people left in this world…but that is simply not true. a complete stranger just moments before, and he paid for our food!

i think the biggest thing that I have learned and been challenged by to this point in this trip is generosity. i don’t feel like i am always the most generous person, and to have people like this guy and my friend pervis, and the guy that gave us a ride when we broke down, be so generous…it is working on me in a great way i think.

so, we got our waters filled and got ready to tackle the last 30 miles for the day in what was still an absolutely blistering heat. before we got out of the parking lot, though, a truck pulled in with two older guys in it, who I wasn’t sure if they were smoking their cigarettes or eating them, and began to ask us questions about our bikes. they just seemed to be astonished by the way that they worked. and actually, for whatever reason, we seemed to get a lot of interest in our bikes and their uniqueness today.

after talking to them for a few minutes, we finally got back on the road. we actually were able to finish the last 30 miles without too much trouble, although we did have to stop again for more gatorade. (it was probably our third gatorade stop of the day) i just have to say, if you have stock in gatorade, we did our part today to pay for your retirement. we just couldn’t get enough gatorade today!

from the beginning of the day, we were planning on getting to utica, ky because we had heard from another cyclist that they had a nice fire station that hosts cyclists. as we rolled into town, we immediately noticed what looked like a fire house, but it looked brand new, to the point where it may not even be open yet. so we went to the gas station across the street to see if they knew anything about it. they suggested we ride over to the fire house and just see if there was anyone here (which we didn’t think there was anyone, because there weren’t any cars). however, as we rolled up to the building, we could see people inside. next thing we know, the front door pops open, and a young girl, maybe 11 or 12, says come on in. we wheel our bikes inside, to find that there are 5 other cyclists here for the night. a family…well, part of a family. it is a family with 9 kids. 4 of the children and the dad are doing this trip. and get this, they are riding a recumbent tandem, a regular tandem, and one singular bike. they seem like an amazing family. this is like their 32^nd day of their tour…the same distance that we have gone in 14. but they are making it one day at a time. it was awesome to be here with them tonight! there is something so cool about watching large families interact!

tomorrow we will shoot for 82 miles…hopefully as quickly as possible…which should be aided by our excitement about seeing mom and dad and also about having our first rest day of the trip. man is it going to be nice to let the legs rest for a day!