• I'm drinking twice as much water and Gatorade as I was in less moist states. My sweat can't evaporate, which leaves me exhausted and soaked. Hopefully laundry will happen in a couple days when I visit Inez.
• I'm too tired to read. Or rather, I'm too tired to enjoy reading. I even bought two new books, but I can't bring myself to crack them open yet.
• I feel a little bit like a new parent. I have a boring, scary, exciting, repetitive job that I do any time I'm not sleeping or eating. I'm always tired. I have very few conversations throughout the day, and when I do talk to people, all I want to do is talk about the bike trip.
• I bought some tea because I was sick of the hotel tea. It smelled like amoretto, but the taste is 95% hibiscus. Ugh.
• The bridge across 45 into Kentucky (over the Ohio River) was scary but kind of amazing. It was two narrow lanes, and the surface was a square metal grid where each square was about 2.5" per side.You could look down the entire time and see the water! And it was bright blue. I couldn't take a picture because I could stop, but it was over a half mile of lovely. And while I was on it, someone breezed by me, slowed down in the oncoming lane, leaned out their window, and shouted at the top of their lungs, "'Merica!!!!!" I don't know if they were heckling or encouraging, but I found it amusing.
• I think the chain on my bike is getting old. I have a replacement chain, but hopefully I won't need it.
• The towns are closer together out here. I like that.
• I started using a thin layer of petroleum jelly to supplement the anti-chafe stuff I'm putting on my shorts. It's working wonders; my saddle-soreness is almost completely gone. I know that some people don't recommend using it when biking, but it's proving very useful.
• People around these parts seem much more friendly and talkative. I'm answering lots of questions about the trip and getting lots of waves from the road. But unlike out west, nobody is giving me honks of encouragement... Perhaps it's a regional thing.
• I tied an American flag to my paneer. It's lucky now.
• The southeast roads have narrow to nonexistent shoulders. The drivers are all very nice about it, but there are a few dozen times this week where I had to bike into the tufts of grass on the side of the road.
• I've been very lucky weather-wise so far. Too lucky...
• The Katy trail was completely amazing. Except for a few mosquitos (only when stopped), it was perfect. There was shade all day from the trees. The trail packed hard and was very comfortable to ride on. There were lots of cross-country bikers to see and talk to throughout the day. There were huge bluffs throughout. You had great views of the Missouri River. There were restrooms strategically placed every 8-10 miles or so. They built an easy way to cross the Missouri and get into St. Louis. There were restaurants, wineries, parks, and campsites right off the trail. There were no hills. There were no cars. If it's not my favorite of the whole trip, it's certainly in my top 4.
• St. Louis was a little sketchy. And by that, I mean that most parts were cool and great and a couple parts (15-20 miles) were terrifying. There were times with multiple cops on every block. Part of it was probably 4th of July revelers, and part of it was probably the giant air-show. But it was still a tiny bit scary. Once I got downtown, it was excellent!
• Hills look much smaller sitting in a car.
• A lot of these roads are less safe to bike than the interstate. But it's illegal to go on the interstate. So it goes.
• I am getting exactly what I need from this trip. I'm going to keep most of it to myself, but this really has been a journey of discovery. As much as I miss the heck out of Megan (and Sweet Tea and everyone else), I'm glad I'm doing this. It's the last time in my life I'm going to get this kind of opportunity, so I'm happy I was in a position to capitalize on it!
That's it! Cross your fingers for good weather and Tennessee tomorrow.
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