Oddly, my mood improved, if not my soreness. A mile or so down the road I realized I should check my tire and rim, but fortunately there was no damage. 

Kudzu was EVERYWHERE along the road. I first saw it in Tennessee where Larry had educated me about it. It was introduced to the United States in the late 1800s to prevent topsoil erosion in areas like this which receive a large amount of rain. Once established, however, it was able to outcompete the native flora. Consequently, it grew over trees, barns, abandoned cars…. everything.  

It was a beautiful blanket of green death, covering everything it touched, and killing everything it covered. 

Heart

1

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply

At the outskirts of Louisville (pop 7,323) a roadside vendor offered me a free watermelon. He was serious, and it was a nice gesture which further improved my mood, but I declined with a thank you. Where would I strap a 25-lb melon onto my bike? And how?

I rode around the corner and, after leaning my bike against a building, sat in the shade. A woman passerby asked “Are you traveling?” I thought it was a silly question at the time, but since I now train on a loaded bike it was actually a sensible thing to ask. I said yes, answered a few other questions, then asked her the question I most commonly ask locals: “Where’s a good, cheap place to eat in town?”

As I was riding toward Mary’s Grill I saw a Pizza Hut and my bike pulled into the parking lot on its own volition. After a lengthy meal, I started looking for an O ring to replace the rubber band I’d been using on my odometer. Four stops later (WalMart, King’s, NAPA, Bobby Bush’s) I still didn’t have one. 

As I was walking my bike to Bobby Bush’s I passed the striped pole of a barber shop. On a lark, I poked my head inside to ask how much a haircut would cost and the barber yelled, “THERE he is!” He looked as if he’d been waiting his entire life for me to walk in that door. I declined when I learned my dwindling funds would be further depleted by another $3.00. 

I felt like I crushed his soul… 

but $3.00 is $3.00.