Last night in Cleveland we had lots of Olive Garden that was
donated! It was delicious! I’m pretty sure I’ve been eating for at least two
people each day. It’s necessary to keep eating with the amount of riding we are
doing; however, with all the free food we eat way more than needed! After
dinner the church has many couches and a big tv we watched Independence Day on
followed by a group meeting about safety and chores. Unfortunately, we had a
rider take a fall the other day and after a visit to the hospital found out he
broke his wrist in a few places and headed home today. After the meeting I found myself
stationed up on a couch and Avatar was playing. The ride today was a nice 61
miles rolling hills and a mountain climb up the Cumberlin Gap. It was so steep!
Going down the mountain was a bit more scary to me rather than enjoyable. There
were many sharp twists/turns and it was again very steep downhill. I was
breaking the entire way and still going about 30mph. My hands are so sore! A
few of us stopped in at Wendys before lunch and got some chicken sammiches and
in Dunlap (where we are staying) we got some 6inch subs from Subway! We are
staying in the Tennessee National Guard Armory! Apparently we are sleeping on
cots tonight and we just showered here in the group shower. There was a
leftover bar of soap in the shower that nobody wanted to use and we figured
somebody had just dropped it! (haha get it? Don’t drop the soap!) I’m not sure
what we are doing for dinner tonight. I hear its family dinner tonight which
means we are probably making pasta, beans, and rice perhaps but we shall see.
Oh! We changed time zones today! We are an hour behind now in Dunlap TN so that
means we gained an hour of sleeping! I can for sure see myself getting stronger
now. My legs (quads, hammies, calves) are feeling rock hard! It’ll be
interesting to see where I’ll be at the end of July. My legs will for sure be
fit, but not sure about everything else with all this eating! While biking, it
sure gives plenty of time for lots of thinking. I need to continue cycling when
I come back for sure and perhaps join the UCF Cycle club or Tri-Knights. I’ve
learned that this summer is not the time to be a picky eater, so I eat
everything that is in front of me in order to make it through the day. When I
come back it will be a challenge to eat less and healthier. I’m enjoying this
adventure so far and the thought of applying to be a trip leader next summer
crossed my mind. It’s such a whole different world biking cross country.
Anyways, I’ve been writing long blog entries lately and will try to shorten
some of them. I haven’t had internet lately and currently don’t have cell
service but I will post the blogs when I can!
We biked into Swanee today about 47miles up a mountain and
got caught in a storm. Most of us had to walk up the most of the mountain which
was at a 12% gradient. At about mile 25 a storm pulled in fast and most of us
were a little spread out but within site of each other or within a mile of two.
I ended up pulling into an empty church that had steps and a little balcony
covering. On my way in I slid out on the wet gravel and my bike and self are
great my hip is a little bruised up now. I ended up waiting under the covering
for about 2 hours while the van came around and was picking people up from the
front first. A nice guy pulled over in the rain and handed me a rain coat and a
cold Gatorade. Some people are just so generous, its absolutely incredible to
see first hand just how kind people can be. I continued on when it cleared and
met up with others and rode in. Sewanee and such a small town! It basically only has a
college here. Oh and today we got chased by at least 10 dogs. It provided motivation
to go faster! We’re staying at our first Catholic Church called St. Marys
Sewanee. It’s old and pretty yet I find it rather eerie and creepy. There are
small rooms we are staying in with twin sized beds which is nice. Theres old
paintings and walls are pretty
scratched up. It reminds me of the book “The Yellow Wallpaper” that I read back
in high school. The view from the church is amazing! It’s a nice overlook on a
valley that just keeps going on and on! I’m posting pictures tonight too!
Thanks for reading!
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