June 8, 2006
Day 29: Centerville to Summersville
Where I don't want to get out of bed, get up and find some great dessert for lunch, ride over some big hills, ride over some bigger hills, and end up in the middle of a carnival
I did not want to get up this morning. I think I could have stayed on that courthouse lawn half the morning lazy-ing around. Or maybe I just had myself psyched out about the hills, especially around the Current and Jacks Forks rivers, but I pulled myself out of bed, fixed some oatmeal, and got on my way. If I'd have thought about the people coming to the courthouse in the morning, I might have gotten a move on a little faster. Nothing like talking to lawyers before 8 a.m.
I made it about a half a block before stopping again, as I saw someone going into the library. The library was supposed to be closed that day, but one of the librarians let me in since they had a staff meeting. I stayed just briefly so as not to abuse my access, but they were a really sweet bunch and told me where to find the library in Ellington.
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After more library time in Ellington, I headed to the Orange Blossom for lunch on the recommendation of the librarian and had a great dessert (gooey butter cake or something like that) that I hoped would get me over some hills. But I was just dragging otherwise and spent way too much time in Ellington procrastinating.
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the day was so hot and humid, but the hills didn't end up being as big or tough as they'd been in my mind. I didn't have to walk or anything like I thought I'd have to, but they were still tiring. There'd been no services for 27 or so miles and I really wanted something cold to drink, so I stocked up in Eminence, had some bad tasting Pepsi and a not-very-good ice cream sundae near the route and got out of that tourist town. Some high school kids yelled nasty things at me as I was leaving town, but I just gave them a nice friendly wave they'd be sure to understand and kept going.
I was really tempted to call it a day at Alley Spring, mostly to avoid climbing out of the river valley, but they wanted something like $17 for a tent site, so I just soaked my shirt and bandana in the bathrooms there, went to look at the spring, and hoped that the guidebook was right in saying that the terrain between Alley Spring and Summersville started to level out. It was after 5 when I left Alley spring, but the evening shadows helped cool the road down.
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Relative to what I'd been riding through, the road was much more level and the ride to Summersville was actually pretty pleasant. I was glad I hadn't stopped at Alley Springs only to face a big climb in the morning. The map said camping was allowed at the city park in Summersville but that there was no water, so I thought I'd find the private camping/cabin thing also listed. For the good of the general public, I probably needed a shower.
I followed the signs through town for the family center where I'd hoped to camp, but as I got close, I thought there must be some concert or something since cars were lined up all over the road of this tiny town of 500. Then as I turned the corner, the ferris wheel appeared. I thought of going back to the city park right away but decided to check the place out anyway.
The people running the food inside said that they usually did allow bikers to camp there, but they thought I might be better off at the park since the carnival would go past my bedtime. The Family and youth center there sounded like a really neat community thing, complete with basketball and rollerskating weekend nights, a weight room, and some other facilities to keep local kids out of trouble and away from drugs. Since they were doing the carnival as a fundraiser, I decided to let them cook and contribute that way. As we kept talking though, one of the workers went and talked to Tammy, the facility coordinator, about letting me take a shower there.
I was pretty happy when they told me I could take a shower and overwhelmed when they came in with fresh towels and hotel ammenities. I can't explain how nice a real towel is when all you've been using is a paper-towel thin camp towel. So I just petted the towel and told Tammy how much I appreciated her letting me use the shower. She said she loves having bikers there because we're appreciative of the little things (like a clean towel!). I actually ended up taking two showers because I'd left my razor downstairs with my bike, but the shower was so nice the first time around that taking a second was no problem.
Tammy then went out of her way to make sure I knew I was welcomed there and told me I'd have no problems camping outside the little cabins by the family center. Since it was getting dark and I didn't really feel like finding the park, I took her up on the offer and went back in to talk to some local kids about my trip.
But as it got later, I figured I should go set up camp. Tammy and I had talked a little while about the work the center did and how the cabins helped support the facility, but she said she wouldn't accept any payment from me for the shower or campsite, and wouldn't I just rather stay in a cabin instead? No charge, no donation, no nothing. Just her helping out a traveler. I knew the room was probably totally cleaned, so I told her I'd just sleep in my sleeping bag on top so she wouldn't have to change linens, but she insisted I just snuggle into the clean sheets and pillows and have a comfortable night. So I did...
Today's ride: 64 miles (103 km)
Total: 1,422 miles (2,288 km)
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