An Amateurish Ode To This Morning's Cup Of Coffee

April 26, 2015

Columbus-Belmont State Park, Kentucky

I need you, oh drink we call coffee,
Your charms often mesmerize me.
Java, kaffe, mud, go-juice, Joe,
But not latte, not mocha, cappucci-NO!

I forgive you when your heat burns my tongue,
'cause the energy you give makes me feel young.
Some call you nasty or sour or bitter,
Nay, you are sweet and delicious. My heart is a-twitter.

No cream or sugar, thank you--just black,
You're more addictive than morphine, more addictive than crack.
Stay with me oh tongue burner, acid reflux producer, ye of bitter flavor,
I need you friend, diuretic, anti-oxidant, cancer-fighting life-saver.

I said no more FOOD pictures. I reserve the right to post photos of my coffee any time I choose. Maybe every day. Whaddya think of that?

Ducks paid a visit to my campsite. Sorry ducks, no handouts for you. Quack!

Today was my most challenging day of the tour so far. It actually had hills and quite a few of them even made me breathe hard. And I had a consistent headwind. But it was also the quietest, and in many ways, the prettiest day I've had. When I say quietest, I mean in terms of traffic. It is Sunday in the bible belt and I think most of the cars were sitting in Baptist Church parking lots. But in literal terms, it was not quiet because that wind was blasting in my ears all day.

Once again I could not help taking a picture at the state line. More important than that, however, is that I came up with a novel idea here. Since it was a quiet road and since I had to go anyway, I thought it might be a great gesture of "unbridled spirit" to stand in one state and urinate into the next one. And so I did.

I think this is Kentucky bluegrass. I remember going through Kentucky as a little kid with my parents and I wondered why Kentucky bluegrass wasn't blue. Today, as a purported adult, I wonder the same thing.

This concrete wall protects Hickman, KY from the Mississippi River.

~~If my journal has inspired you to ride The Great River road~~ . . . Ha ha! Good one! Let me start over.

If you ever decide on your own to ride The Great River Road, do not miss the Columbus-Belmont State Park in westernmost Kentucky. It is on the site of Ulysses S. Grant's first Civil War battle and it has a well kept campground with spacious sites and a great bluff-top view of the Mississippi River.

The bluff-top view of the Mississippi River.

The partially obscured, partly cloudy, backlit-by-sunset, bluff-top view of the mighty Mississippi.

Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 723 miles (1,164 km)

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