Day 30: Summersville to Hartville

June 9, 2006

Hot, but a little less hilly as I push toward where I need to meet my uncle tomorrow

Woke up in much better spirits than I had the day before. Maybe that had something to do with sleeping in a bed! Was still up fairly early, though, ate some oatmeal, cleaned up after myself, left a thank you note for Tammy for her wonderful hospitality, and dropped off the key to my room at her house before heading to the local gas station for more snacks and fluids. If it was going to be as hot as yesterday, I'd need all the liquids I could get. One of the ladies at the station had been volunteering at the center last night and was genuinely glad I'd been able to get a shower and a place to sleep. I bought some postcards of the town's flag display, thanked her for helping make my stay in Summersville memorable, tucked my beef jerky and Gatorade into my bags and headed toward Houston.

If you're biking through here, think about an overnight in this town. Sure, there's not much to do, but don't be scared off by the 'no water at the park' information on the map. Tammy said she lets bikers camp for free at the family/youth center, and these ladies went out of their way to make sure I was comfortable and taken care of.

Arthur and Jess, cool eastbounders I chatted with for a while

Some people take pictures of mountains. I take pictures of flatter roads.

Wait...those puffy white things aren't throwing water at me today!

Ah...blessedly smaller hills as the terrain changes and there's more grass than trees

I now had two days to make it about 90 miles to Marshfield to meet my uncle, so I guess I wasn't in a big hurry, but by the time I got to Houston, I was starving for a fast food hamburger. If roadside fast food litter does anything, it makes me hungry. Plus, I get some idea of what's available in the town ahead. So Hardee's it was (or maybe it was carl's jr. here I don't remember they're the same to me). Big ole' Mushroom Swiss burger that was every bit as good as I'd anticipated.

For some reason, I had no desire to explore Houston. I think I was just hot and tired and sluggish and in no mood to deal with people at Wal-Mart, so I just stocked up on cold fluids and got out of there. Next stop, Fairview. Sounded like such a pleasant place, but I had to work pretty hard to find the 'store' listed on the maps since it was buried in a junkyard. The 'store' sported car seats around a makeshift table of sorts facing a TV high in the corner, paperwork, junk mail, and drink cans scattered around the overly full box being used as a garbage can. I was sure the Frito-Lay guy hadn't been here for quite some time, so I skipped the stale snacks and got sodas and water.

Service stop in Fairgrove cleverly hidden in a junk yard (not a recommended stop)

The thirty-something guy running the place was of limited education but obviously was happy to have someone to talk to. Or, more accurately, someone to listen to him. And I was happy for a respite from the heat, so he talked and I drank and he talked some more. When he found out I was a teacher, he mostly he told me about his mom and her work with special education children and how she would have loved to talk to me about teaching. He offered to refill my water bottles, but I just thanked him for his offer and moved on.

I really wish I could say that I think this thermometer is exagerating, but I don't think it is

Bendavis was just a few miles down the road, and I hoped the store would be better stocked, which it was. Gatorade and ice cream battled the hundred degree heat outside while local farmers from two generations discussed the combining equipment they'd been trying to fix all day until the girl working the counter accused them of just hiding out from their wives at the store. They warned me of the immanent hills and wished me luck on my journey.

Not done with the hills yet...you can just see them coming earlier

The hills weren't so bad. Nothing I hadn't seen already, and I eventually rolled into Hartville, grabbed an Icee, found someone who told me where to camp at the courthouse, and settled in for the night. I thought since I'd be seeing my uncle and civilization tomorrow that I might want to do laundry, so I rushed across town, bought detergent from the only other patron, shared my tuna with a scrawny dog who kept barking at me from the end of his chain at the neighboring trailer, sweated in my rain shorts and long sleeved shirt while everything else was washing, and came out with truly clean laundry for the first time since Berea, Kentucky.

Today's ride: 63 miles (101 km)
Total: 1,485 miles (2,390 km)

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