Day 7: Deep Uphill Rollers

June 12, 2021

Gethsemane to Harrodsburg

Day 7 was a hot day for a ride.

I wasn’t ready for the alarm to go off at 6:00 this morning and had Peter not gotten up I would have stayed in bed…but I’m so glad I didn’t. We were happy to see that the sky’s were clear and we wouldn’t be starting out in rain, which had been predicted. Peter found some things in the kitchen to munch on since he would miss the breakfast, that wasn’t going to be served until 8:30.

We were both dressed in our matching kits and were ready to ride by 7:30. It really was beautiful this morning, a little cooler and less muggy than yesterday. I rode my prescribed 5ish miles out with Peter, watched him disappear into the horizon, then turned around and headed back to the B&B.

As I walked through the front door the sweet aroma of monkey bread filled the entry. I hustled upstairs for a quick shower and was back downstairs for a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, fried ham, hot biscuits, hash brown casserole, fresh fruit, and to top it off, monkey bread. Thank you, Brenda and Amy. Since there was so much food left over, Brenda was happy to send some with me to take to Peter for a snack.

After breakfast, I settled into a rocking chair on the front porch and read my daily devotional, called an old college friend, then packed up my stuff and headed out to meet Peter. We hooked up at the Lincoln Homestead State Park around 11:00. We found a shady spot and Peter enjoyed his ham biscuit, monkey bread and the ice water I brought him. The temperature was rising and Peter said drinking the water from his bottles was like drinking warm bath water.

We parted ways and both headed on to Harrodsburg. I’m not usually a slow driver but I wanted to take my time on these back roads and really take in the scenery, and because there was so little traffic I could drive slow. However, as soon as I saw a car in my rear view mirror I would pull over and let them pass, it was a very relaxing drive. I can’t say I missed riding my bike in the heat today because I didn’t.

Along the way I kept looking for a store where I could get some ice to take back to Peter. I didn’t find anything until I got to Harrodsburg. I checked to see where Peter was, on my Life 360 app, and headed back to surprise him. He was hanging out with some interesting guys at a store, he found in Mackville.

I made my way back to Harrodsburg but was too early to check into our room at the motel. So, I headed to the Dairy Queen across the street and had a vanilla milkshake for lunch, and started working on our journal.

I checked Peter’s progress and he was getting close so I headed back to the motel and got there just before he road in. Once we got into our room, Peter showered and I walked over to the DQ and got him a caramel Moolatte.

We headed out to a restaurant that was recommended but when we arrived we discovered it was closed so we ended up at a Mexican restaurant a block from our motel. As we were finishing our dinner there was a torrential down pour that Peter said he was glad he missed on today’s ride, however, he said would have enjoyed a little rain, without the heavy wind, to cool him down.

Peter said today’s ride was a good one but also the most challenging. The ride started out very pleasant, he was happy to have me ride along for the first 5 miles, but when he got to Springfield it got a little congested. After Springfield he came across 3 miles of deep, uphill rollers that were grueling, and to top it off, there was no shade and the temperature was now in the mid 80’s. He said he would rather do a long climbs, than to do those kind rollers. He was most appreciative of the cold water and hardy snack at Lincoln’s Homestead.

The longer he rode, the hotter it got and he said by the time he got to Mackville he was looking for ice and water. He saw an ice freezer on the outside of a building and was hoping it was connected to a store, which it was. Inside the store Peter met the a couple of interesting characters and he proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes conversing with them while nursing a cold orange Gatorade. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any ice, then I showed up, unannounced, with ice and Smart water to save the day.

Peter had a couple of climbs the last 13 miles into Harrodsburg and fortunately the sun had moved enough to provide shade on his side of the road, so it wasn’t unbearable, plus he now had iced Smart water.

Peter said that the last 3 miles seemed like an eternity and he was so relieved when he arrived at the motel after 55 miles and the temperature reaching 89 degrees. He informed me after his shower that the caramel Moolatte, I got him, never tasted so good.

Back in the motel, after an early dinner, Peter is rechecking his calculations for tomorrow’s ride, it’s hard to believe, tomorrow will be his final ride of this adventure.