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| Fire Station in Collinwood TN, our home away from home |
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| Hap working on computer in fire station |
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| Fire Station |
We fixed our usual for breakfast at the fire station, oatmeal, banana, and PB bagels. It was pouring down rain when we woke up. The temps were maybe 60's. So we put all the rain gear on again! and headed out. We were still on the Trace. We stopped for a break and something to eat at the only OPEN bathroom for the day. There was a couple there in a small RV that we chatted with for awhile. They told us that their RV would be perfect for us because you could put a bike rack on the back of it. When I told her we would probably have at least 2 bikes (and maybe 3) if we did that, she sort of looked at me funny and smiled. We get that alot..... a headshake....then a smile.........
We got off the Trace at milepost 427. It is 440 miles long and ends just south of Nashville TN. We didn't want to ride in Nashville again. We had done that once before. We gave it a wide berth. It's a nice road for cycling on, very pretty and hardly any traffic. We enjoyed our time on the Trace. Hap had our GPS programmed to get us to Centerville. It did a great job of winding us around the small backroads. A really nice route. It was kind of funny though because we would go through these really small towns out in the middle of nowhere all on the backroads. There would be people sitting on the front porch and all of a sudden we would just appear and ride by there house. We sure got some funny looks. Lots short steep climbs, but that just made it more interesting!
We had arranged to stay in a hotel that night because the weather was just so crummy. We knew the hotel was on the outskirts of Centerville. But we didn't realize how far. It seemed like we just ridin and ridin. We were on a two lane road leaving Centerville and everyone else in town wanted to drive in the same place! There was no shoulder/berm at all. We were having fun now! And then it got even better because school let out and we got into the school bus parade. Oh boy! Where is that hotel Hap???? Of course the hotel was at the TOP of a very long climb.
After we got checked in, Hap walked across the street to the grocery, while I got the laundry started. Hap has been trying to catch a cold for a couple of days. For Hap a cold means he sneezes three times and that's it. He was on the mend.
The next day I woke up feeling pretty crummy with a cold (more than three sneezes!) so we opted to take a day off. We haven't taken a day off for awhile so we figured we would be fine. As it turned out, during the day I laid around and slept, while Hap paid bills and messed around. But later that night Hap got super super sick! I don't think I've ever seen him that sick in all the time I've known him. He spent most of the night in the bathroom. The next day he slept until about 11 and woke up feeling fine. We decided to just ride a short day to Dickson, TN (maybe 20 miles or so....). It was a beautiful day. Both of us were feeling alot better.
On the 20 miles though, the GPS (that I just praised...) took us down a huge hill and at the bottom it turned into dirt. What! Are ya kidden me! It was a very steep, stand up in lowest gear...climb to get out of there. We made a new rule that said, if the road turns into a one lane road, stop at the TOP of the hill and check the map. The rest of the ride was great though. We couldn't find a campground so ended up in an Econolodge in Dickson. I went for a swim at the hotel while Hap took a nap. Then we walked across the street and ate Dinner at a Cracker Barrel.
We at breakfast at the hotel. The ride to Adams, TN was probably one of our prettiest days of the trip. Temps warmed to 80's and we had a fantastic tailwind. It was just plain beautiful riding weather and terrain. Lots of ups and downs, low traffic roads.
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| Feeling better Hap? |
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| Let's see, should I eat this or not? |
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| I don't know if they are going to make it............. |
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| Mmmm.....well look at that.... |
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| Thanks Hap! |
As we left Ashland City, we immediately started a long climb...no shoulder/berm... everyone else and their brothers and sisters leaving AC! Whew! It was a long 10 miles of watchin our backs! Finally we were able to turn off the main road. Then it got better.
We stopped at a gas station for a cold drink, a saw a runner with a sign on his shirt (yes a real sign!) that said "58 miles and 58 years old. Happy Birthday!" We couldn't stand it so we asked him what he was doing. He said he had 20 miles to go! When we left we realized that he was running about the same mileage as we were riding. Ouch!
When we got to our campground it was empty of people. The lady had told me she may not be there but to set up whereever we wanted. She did say it may be alittle wet around the trees. Well it looked like everything had been underwater not too long ago. It was a canoe livery. We set up camp, and as we were starting to cook, we got attacked by gnats. We ate in the laundry room while we did laundry. After eating we ran to the tent before they could attack! The next morning when she came, we asked her what the gnats were. She said they were buffalo gnats. They had a specialist (who knew buffalo gnats had specialists) come and study them because they were so bad. Turns out this is worst investation in the US of the BG!
We were glad to get on the road! Another beautiful day and another beautiful route. We were riding to Bowling Green KY for the night. The riding was not as hilly as I would expect in KY. But it sure was pretty. We had a fantastic tailwind from the SW. And we are going NE! Yeah us! We decided that we needed a DQ fix. So when we got to Russelville, I found one on my Iphone and we went in search. It looked like a simple matter of turn here, turn there. No big deal. Wrong! We got turned around of course and the road we needed was actually an overpass. Mmm.. well look at that. So we went under, looped around and finally made it to the overpass. I think everyone in town wanted a DQ as much as we did. We finally made it, only to find out their chocolate ice cream was not working.................
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| Diane's special salmon recipe |
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| Which way Hap? |
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| What does that say? |
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