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| Days 40 - 41
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Long lovely ride along the Mississippi Valley. Got wet in the morning and at the end of the ride a big thunderstorm. Fortunately the ride was almost done, as I don't ride when I see lightning close by.
Jonesboro had a great park in honor of the 4th Lincoln-Douglas debate in 1858. As you can see we had fun with poor Abe and the diminutive Douglas.
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John tries to copy Abe |
Marjie offers encouragement to Douglas
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Abe wants to be a doctor AND a biker |
The fresh produce stands are a welcome new sight. We got the best tomatoes, corn, peaches, melons, etc. I'm so stuffed with tomatoes and corn I may float to the next RV site.
We had to cross the river again to get to the RV site in Cape Girardeau, but we get cable TV so I get to watch the news. Seems like the same broadcast as the last news sometime back in Whitehorse. Bunch of idiots yelling at each other, about stuff they know nothing about. Could we please have a celebrity death match between Lou Dobbs and Sean Hannity?
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I used to wait until the AM break before putting on the sunscreen, but lately I've been putting it on first thing before starting. Guess what? Every time I do this it rains like hell.
I don't mind the rain as it actually cools me off but it's so hot and humid after the rain that I never dry off. The sun never really came out so I didn't get fried as much as in days past. In Illinois and Kentucky some of the roads are bordered by big shade trees, a nice change.
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Shady road in Kentucky |
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Even though it seems ages ago that we started in Fairbanks, the days are flying by.
I can't believe we’re over 4000 miles into this trip and that there are only 2 weeks left (with 2 days off!). So far both body and bikes have held up, but the crank bearings on my Fuji are making nasty grating noise. Hopefully a bike shop in Nashville will be able to take a look. I'm afraid this may be more than I can try to fix.
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This can't be the Klondike. There’s no Kudzu vines in the Klondike |
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| Days 43 - 45
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Our day off in Nashville was a terrific rest(?). First we were able to fix the bike's broken bottom crank. That's the part that connects the pedals to the frame. Sort of a combination of valves and crank shaft in your car. Cumberland Transit had the part but no mechanic, The Bike Peddler had the mechanic but no part. They got together and fixed me up.
Again, nice people everywhere.
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Kathie had steak, potatoes and salad for dinner. The day off we chilled till 5PM then off to Loveless for fried chicken, biscuits, catfish, and hushpuppies. Very neat place that was featured on some cooking show. Very tasty!
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Kathie, Rory, Marj, and John at Loveless |
Then we were off to the music scene in downtown Nashville. Lots of action and people. We ended up at the Wildhorse Saloon for good country music and lots of line dancing (not me!).
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Wildhorse saloon |
Next AM we were back on the road to Chattanooga. The weather was cooler and the ride was terrific. Marjie was happy to have Kathie's company in the RV, even though she got a little cabin fever at mile 75. "Aren’t you done yet? That's enough. Get in and let's go to the Rv park."
Stopped at a fruit stand in Mounteagle TN. Nice man gave me peaches when he found out what I was doing. The BEST peaches ever. I can't tell you how good they tasted after a day in the heat on the bike. Also very handy to eat on the bike, and you can save the pits to throw at the dogs.
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The man who gave me peaches
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The good people of Nickajack Lake |
When we got to Nickajack Lake (the RV park), Mickey, the manager was there to greet us and had everyone come out and say hello. I was able to talk to them about cancer screening. Mickey had called the local TV station, channel 3 NBC in Chattanooga, so we did a short interview. She let us stay for free — thanks.
Nice people ARE everywhere and so far Tennessee gets the award for the nicest.
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Day 46 - 50 >>> |
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