DAY 24

Hitting the road with the rising sun, today I was determined to stay positive. The race was coming to an end and I knew now that body, bike and brain would be able to complete the next 800 miles or so -- nothing could stop me now. The lonely start to the day in this quiet and empty motel would become one of the top 10 of the race....despite the stories of the mean dog that lived along the route.

Despite the fact that I was clearly on route 76, I would go north about 10 miles to meet the digital route that my fellow riders were on. The population density was increasing and finding food or water was not much of an issue anymore. With more people the traffic was also increasing and we now had to share the road with many more cars and trucks. But, with more people, maybe there will be more bike stores . I needed new LOOK cleats badly. In almost every town of more than 2k, I would do a swing around to try to find a bike shop. Back on the communal course with the others, I would see, on Track Leader, that Mark Crocker was never far ahead.

The heat would be persistent throughout the day and any shady hideaway would do for a rest stop. Hills were also persistent, and not very many flats would be found today. A series of 250'-350' hills would just roll on and on and on. Not fun climbing with cleats that slip out when you don't press down exactly right. The right cleat was once again the culprit of all my slip-outs.

FEEL THE LOVE

It was always uplifting when you would feel the love. Finding a fancy sign calling you in to free water and snacks under a shady stand would warrant a stop by many a rider. This stop had coolers full of drinks and snacks for free. Some air pumps and other maintenance gear were also hanging from the rafters.

Going through one of those small towns I would spot this symetrical quilt pattern. I had seen dozens and dozens of these patterns on barns sides for the last week. Each quilt was different and made of odd colours that seemed to be random, but certainly must contain meaning.

FIRST DOG EVENT

It would be about now that the first dog chase would occur. I would spot one making a bee-line for me through his yard, making lots of noise. As I sped up, I kept my eye on this pesky pest and, thinking I was clear, his much quieter and faster friend was coming in on my 8 o'clock and he almost got to me as I swerved effectively away. Did not expect coordinated attacks from dogs. These guys were pros and I was their play-thing. I need to up my dog avoidance game. Next town, I started to hunt for weapons. dog spray is all good, but I felt I needed more. The problem with spray is that you have to spray down wind; if not, you will incapacitate yourself. And that would be very bad indeed. But, first a victory ice cream.

There would be a second dog attack shortly afterwards and this time they both came in from the same side, but up hill so they were fast and I was not, and I had to resort to a swift kick to the head of one of them. That put an end to that attack.

CARRY A BIG STICK

I found my weapon in the next town and slid into a place that I could extract quickly. It was war time and I would practice unsheathing my sabre repeatedly until I was fast. Eventually, later that day, I would get some electric tape and make a hard ball at one end to add to the pain factor. These dogs were going down.

KENTUCK FRIENDLY

Somewhere in those hills of Kentucky, I was catching up to Mark and I would find him in Buckhorn, pop. 154. He was in the only shop in town eating ice cream. Go figure, giddy-up. It was great seeing my new friend again. Even though it was still daylight, I was going to call it a day here as there was not much up ahead except for deserted big hills and probably more dogs and I didn't want to deal with night time attacks. Mark was going to call it in, too, and we could keep each other company on the next day's ride -- safety in numbers.

The store manager mumbled something about being able to sleep in the church which immediately sounded very attractive. As he looked through his pile of papers and business cards for over 10 minutes the line-up of town folks was at least five long. Nobody complained or even made a sound. Mark and I felt guilty for this long hold-up while our cold drinks were warming up on his counter.

And, all of the sudden, the phone rings and it's the very person the store manager was looking for. We had been there so long that somebody from the store was able to walk over to the priest's house find him and have him call the store. By the time we stepped out, about a block away, the priest standing there waiting for us. This web photo is the exact view we had from the store front.

This man of the cloth quickly opened up the place and let us in and then he was gone. Feeling charitable, Mark got the sofa without any complaint from me and I selected a nice oak pew.

But first some food.

The town might be small, but it had everything a couple of bikers could want. I walked barefoot and Mark in his flip flops, or thongs, over to Cody's for whatever they wanted to serve us. With time on our side, we could have a relaxed big meal in this dry town. I know we could both feel that the end of this race was approaching and it was helping with our spirits. The meal was great and super friendly (they reopened the kitchen for us) . The fact that a very large man sitting on some cushions behind the cash register with exposed leg bone, could not take away from the evening. And I will NOT share a google picture of exposed bone with you all. Go to Cody's and check it out yourself if you are interested.

Another good ride day with over 165 miles done on those incessant hills. And I'm sleeping in a church with a full belly at mile marker 3588.6 with my pal Mark, on course. That's so much better than yesterday. Oh ya, I even forgot for a second about those dogs...