June 17 – By Mark
After a good night’s sleep at the Rough River Dam State Park, I joined a few riders up at the lodge for the park’s famous breakfast buffet. I told myself I wouldn’t over eat like last night but two plates later I was quickly regretting eating that last biscuit. One way or another though a 75 mile day was ahead and nothing was going to come close to slowing me down from beating the afternoon heat. I left the lodge with Ben Dymond and Bret Taylor soon caught up with us a few miles down the road. We got into a sweet peloton going about 20 mph and then later talked about what the Midwest towns will be looking like in a few weeks. The fact that we’re going to be almost doubling some towns’ population still leaves me in awe. When we got to the first stop I got a quick bite to eat and headed out just a few minutes later with the early morning crew who had been at the stop for a while already. After just a few miles we hit some rolling hills and the group began to split up and ride on their own. Leigh and I ended up missing the second stop so we got some food at the next town’s diner. It wasn’t the nicest place I’ve seen but after interacting with the locals they won us over and sent us out the door feeling happy and full. It happens time and time again; you tell people what you’re up to and after they get over the initial shock of seeing you in tight spandex they really warm up to you and start talking. Our waitress couldn’t have been more than 15 but she was telling us about how she plays tennis for her school and recently placed in the county tourney. My mind flashed back to my last two college years where I’ve picked up tennis and play it almost every week. Still can’t get my serve down though!
We rode an easy 8 miles to Sebree, Kentucky where we were staying at a church. While waiting for a shower I dominated a couple games of ping pong and helped prepare dinner too. At the church we stayed at lives Violet nearby, a wonderful lady who takes it upon herself to cook meals for cyclists who stay at the church. She’s been hosting cyclists for thirty years and she said we were her biggest group yet. Watching her cook dinner and converse with us really humbled me, I couldn’t get over her kindness and genuine concern for us and every person who she crosses paths with. After getting a hot shower I prepared the garlic bread while Stephen peeled the sweet potatoes, Jeff cut the cantaloupe, and Rose and Violet’s grandkids made the brownies. Dinner with everyone was incredible, it was like we were all a big family, all eating together. I began to realize that that’s just what we have become here on this trip.
Late night activities including playing a few games of ping pong and watching the NBA finals. Some kids went down to the dairy bar for a late night milkshake fix but I was set for the night. I took advantage of the church’s free wi-fi and watched an episode of Lost before bed. It took a little while to find a quiet place to sleep, away from the snorers, but the church’s Sunday school room turned out to be a good find.
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