Day 41: Springfield, KY to Berea, KY; 61mi; 2581mi
I have raved recently about how nice it has been to stay with people we know throughout Kentucky. That is still true, but we have also learned that this is a double-edged sword. When we eat barbecue and sleep in beds, 5:30am comes very early. As we went to bed last night, we toyed with the idea of sleeping in since we only had a short day of 61 miles. We decided, however, that we should get back in the grind and wake up early. That is why I felt so worthless when I got out of bed at 7:15, knowing that Alex had been up and working for over an hour and a half. I thought about all my friends that are working tough jobs all summer and decided that my daily grind isn’t bad at all.
And today proved this to me. The grind was hardly a grind at all, as we knocked out twenty-five miles and I hadn’t drank two bottles of water yet. The arrogant confidence that comes from a ride like this often gives us bad ideas, and today was no exception. The little voice came back out and said, “It’s only thirty miles left.” So, when the three that had done this ride on their way to Lexington during fall break suggested a Pizza Hut reunion tour, nobody had any reason for us not to. It was only two miles out of the way after what Tyler recalled was a “big, tough hill”. As we rolled through Danville and came up to the hill, we all realized how much our cycling has improved. The “big hill” they rode over fall break now was only a minor speed drain. As we have gotten used to riding our mentality has totally changed.
Pizza Hut was great, while we were there. I learned in the ten miles afterward that it might not be the best idea to eat a pizza buffet in the middle of the day. This is as close as I have been to “hitting the wall” in a month. It was all I could do to make it to the water stop and then finish the day in Berea.
Making it to the end today was so worth it. First, our stop in Berea had in store for us a bunch of friends from WKU, Fiji, and the Alzheimer’s Association. I met the woman who had piloted the “Memories in the Making” art program in Kentucky. Then we drove to Richmond to a Fiji’s parents house where we have been treated to a killer dinner featuring twice-baked potatoes and steak skewers. Good day.
-Cameron
