June 1, 2006
Day 22: Rough River to Utica
Got up thinking this would be a 75 mile day to Sebree but knowing I had a bail-out plan of 50 miles to Utica if the rain was as bad as predicted.
Stopped fairly early for a snack at a little country store with its egg handler license clearly displayed (whew...I was worried about inadequate egg handling before that)
Got a call from Ben and Jonathan who'd made it to Sebree and highly recommended it, but I knew the Duke boys would be there too and thought maybe I'd be better off letting them go ahead and having the Utica fire station to myself.
Crossed 1000 miles for the trip just before Whitesville (just a little over 3000 to go!) and had lunch there, where the faster part of the Duke group caught up with me--I went on while they found food, hoping to somehow miss the rain, but as soon as I left town, I saw it coming. Then it came just as a church awning appeared. I ducked under there, managing to stay mostly dry while the wind whipped the rain back and forth through the structure. I waited there for a good hour, listening to thunder rumble around and echo through the hills.
After an hour, I put on my rain clothes and headed on, pretty sure I'd be stopping at Utica instead of pushing for Sebree, mostly to have time and space to sit down with the maps and figure out how far behind I actually was. I know that makes a lot of sense--stopping EARLY to find out how far behind you are, but if I'd gone on to Sebree, it would be another evening of socializing instead of taking care of things that needed to get done.
A guy in the Utica convenience store on the edge of town asked how far I was headed, as I stood there dripping on the floor in my sexy rain shorts and told him "However far it takes me to get from here to your fire house." As he gestured toward a building across the street, I was happy. The last few miles riding into Utica had been great, too, since I knew I was headed for a dry interior spot. I think I'd be happiest with a tour that only goes 40-50 miles per day, but by my calculation, I need to boogie more than that to hit Colorado by the time my mom gets there to visit me. Pray for miraculous Kansas tailwinds!
I could tell bikers had been here recently since the TV was tuned to the weather channel! The TV didn't give me any hope for upcoming dry days, but I listened to a little bit of afternoon programming while doing laundry, eating a bag of chips and salsa, and spreading everything out to dry.
Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 1,021 miles (1,643 km)
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