We knew that today would be hard,so we elected to start at 07.00,to beat the heat a little.The route was sold as having hills,or even Roller day.So we set off with Heinz,who ,I should explain,joined the tour yesterday.Heinz had done the first part of the tour 2 years ago with a friend,who spoke good English.heinz is German and speaks little English and no French,but he cycled a bit with us yesterday and liked our pace.He will be with us now all the way to Boston.
Anyway of the three of us cycled along US 36,which being a highway had a shoulder,which, as well as being littered with broken tyres, was of very poor quality.Often the shoulder was so bad that we no alternative to cycling along the highway.
There are an unbelievable number of dead racoons along the road,smelling mightily in the heat.The average life expectancy is less than 3 years with vehicular accidents the most common cause of death.
Still lots of turtles and small snakes also along the roads.The first rest stop came soon after we turned off the 36 after 26 miles(42 Kms) Refreshed we started along a smaller road that just like yesterday had not been graded like the highway,so the hills came thick and fast and steep.About 40 Kms to the next stop and every kilometre seemed to have a half dozen climbs.Occasional relief was provided by the flowers along the roadside.
The second stop took place at a closed store but it had been bought to use as a hunting lodge,so we met an elderly lady and her daughter who were doing some jobs there.I am not sure how pleased they were to see us,but at least they tolerated our presence.
Another few miles and we came to the 'Road Closed',which we had been told to ignore and carry straight on.The reason for the closure was a bridge broken by the recent flooding.So we had to carry our bikes down an embankment,pass them up onto the unbroken bridge and climb a ladder,borrowed from a nearby farm,toget onto the bridge.
Tom was helping up on the bridge and Dana passing up the bikes.
A little adventure all of its own.Along the road we passed this sign,which did mark a tiny bump in the road but....
The road was all alike and all up and down
Temperature today again spiked at 41°C but the average was only 30°C-1994 miles completed,63702 ft climbed and dinner calls
Anyway of the three of us cycled along US 36,which being a highway had a shoulder,which, as well as being littered with broken tyres, was of very poor quality.Often the shoulder was so bad that we no alternative to cycling along the highway.
There are an unbelievable number of dead racoons along the road,smelling mightily in the heat.The average life expectancy is less than 3 years with vehicular accidents the most common cause of death.
Still lots of turtles and small snakes also along the roads.The first rest stop came soon after we turned off the 36 after 26 miles(42 Kms) Refreshed we started along a smaller road that just like yesterday had not been graded like the highway,so the hills came thick and fast and steep.About 40 Kms to the next stop and every kilometre seemed to have a half dozen climbs.Occasional relief was provided by the flowers along the roadside.
But most of the time it was a case of just grinding up the next hill,some one could ascend with enough speed from the descent,but often there was a double hill,so one could ascend the first part using the built up energy from the descent,but never the second part,which just chuckled at our attempts.There were a few small rivers to cross and these always seemed to be gathering places for swallows/swifts/martins,so as one rode by there was a symphony of swallows darting about filling the air with life and movement.
The scenery was quite attractive but one needed to make a mental adjustment to focus on the greenery and not the pain.
Another few miles and we came to the 'Road Closed',which we had been told to ignore and carry straight on.The reason for the closure was a bridge broken by the recent flooding.So we had to carry our bikes down an embankment,pass them up onto the unbroken bridge and climb a ladder,borrowed from a nearby farm,toget onto the bridge.
Please tell Heinz, Jim Lyle from XC17 says hello.
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