Day 24: 43 Miles

Sebree, KY to Marion, KY

This morning started off much like normal except this time I had 2 other cyclists with me. The weather was supposed to be bad tonight so I planned a short 43 -mile route to get me to another church where I would be safe indoors before the weather hit. Charlie also planned on doing the same route, while Matt decided to take a rest day to stay in Sebree. Charlie got out the door about 30 minutes before me and then I was off around 8:45.

The first 20 miles were the easiest I’ve had in a few days. There were a lot of rolling hills but easy enough where I could keep my rhythm and not have to get out of the saddle to climb. Just after mile 20 I arrived in the town of Clay, where there was a restaurant. I made a quick stop to get some french toast and hash browns and was back on the road before 11:00.

Miles 20 to 30 were also not that bad, but the hills were bigger than what I had seen before I stopped. I was still making great time and knew if I kept at it I’d be done early today. With 7 or 8 miles to go the wind picked up significantly and the hills got bigger. It was a real struggle to finish but I was still done by 1:00 which gave me a good amount of time for some rest and recovery.

I got to the United Methodist Church in Marion and found a sign on the door with information for cyclists. I called and got pastor Dave’s daughter who let me know Dave would be on his way. Dave had a graduation to get to and was in a bit of a rush, but was still nice enough to give me a tour and make sure I was settled. There is a nice room with couches to sleep on tonight. The church also had a nice shower and a kitchen we could use. As Dave was leaving, Charlie showed up and I showed him around the place. After we were both settled we walked down the street to do some laundry. By the time we got back from doing laundry the sky had turned dark and it looked like it was going to downpour at any second. We decided to head into town to a restaurant so we were not trapped in the Church during the storm without food.

We found an Italian place and the storm hit just as we were entering the restaurant. Tornado horns started to blow and then wind picked up to a point where they had to cover the windows and lock the front door because it wouldn’t stay closed. We watched the storm outside and placed our order for food. I ordered the meatlovers pasta, which was enormous. I was pretty hungry but it didn’t look like I’d made a dent in the food by the end. When the waitress came back to clear the table she said she was impressed, so I guess I’d done better than most. Charlie and I both followed up our meal with a piece of cheesecake and then headed back to the church.

By the time we got back to the church a few other cyclists had showed up. One guy from Florida had rode to Marion last week, but his recumbent bike had some mechanical issues. He was back now fixing the recumbent bike in the basement and switching some things over to his new upright bike. While we were chatting with him a British guy rode up to the church. He had made it all the way from Rough River state park to Marion in one day. Rough River is where I started 2 days ago. We are now a group of 4 cyclists for the night, but given the weather and our riding abilities I’m sure we’ll split up again and meet new people in the next few days.