Day 38: Rough River Lake, KY to Elizabethtown, KY; 48mi; 2473mi
We woke up today and after a great breakfast provided by David, our host at Rough River Lake, it was all business. Tyler informed us this morning that we would have a police escort into Etown at 1pm eastern time and after we did the math we figured that we would need to ride 15 mph for the first 35 miles before we met up with friends to ride the last 23 into town. So we did. As we unloaded we were passed by the two women who slept at David’s house last night, both on their fully loaded bikes that I would guess weigh about 100 pounds. It reminded me once again of how easy we have it.
Today was a beautiful ride altogether. The weather was perfect. Cars were nice. The dogs weren’t mean. The scenery was great. We crossed into Hardin county. Just great. I thought it couldn’t get better until people started joining us. Starting at 23 miles out, Austin, a friend from Etown and a recent WKU alum, joined us on his mountain bike. At 12 miles out, Matthew, an eleven year friend of Tyler’s, joined us. Finally, my little sister Olivia joined in with three miles to go. It didn’t take her a mile to proclaim that she liked downhills better than uphills.
A very poignant moment today happened on 62 into Etown when we stopped at the cemetery and visited the grave of Barrett Cummings, Tyler’s granddad. There are times when this ride has been taxing both physically and mentally, but that moment when we stood together and reflected on why we started and how far we have come was amazing. I’m very proud to be a part of this group and right now I wouldn’t care if we hadn’t raised a dime for Alzheimer’s.
The icing on the cake of today was riding into town. There was a large group/small crowd of family and friends gathered at the community center to cheer us in. After seeing my dad and sister for the last couple hours as we rode in together, I finally got to see my girlfriend who has patiently listened to all my stories all summer while she has been home taking classes. That was great. I’m glad to be home for a couple days; I just hope I can leave when the time comes.
-Cameron
