experienced -- it was hellishly hot (high 90's), and we were under a
blazing sun all day; no shade. And into a strong headwind all day,
too. (And following the 80-plus miles the day before.) I think I went
thru 8 water bottles, plus a Gatorade (supplied by a nice lady in
Dixon, who also refreshed my water AND gave me an icee), and I had a
chocolate milkshake along the way. (Stopped in a cafe in Marion
before checking into our lodgings to watch the USA/England match; had
a delish peach fritter-like food item, avec a big pile of ice cream,
and a cup of coffee. As an athlete, I have to be very careful to eat a
healthy diet.) Everyone came in exhausted. Our lodgings were in a big
Baptist church -- pretty plush (an excellent kitchen, for example),
but everyone was too wasted to really enjoy it.
SUN 6/13 -- HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY TO ME!! And what's-her-name, that
woman -- Kris! yeah, that's it!
Another hot, hot day, making the 47 miles from Marion to Dixon Springs
State Park pretty much just a slog. But at least it was relatively
short slog. I rode with Phil all day, which was great, and really
helped make the miles go by. We did get to take a ferry across the
Ohio River -- out of KY and into IL, at a little town called Cave In
Rock; cool.
But overall fundamentally NOT cool, the 3rd brutally hot day in a row,
which took a toll, especially on John. After dinner he pretty much
collapsed, and cramped up really badly -- so much so that we called
911. Scary. But with lots of fluids, and ice packs, and some
effective massage work by Joyce, he was much better by the time the
EMTs arrived. Who evaluated him carefully, and decided he didn't need
an immediate emergency room trip. But it was also clear that John
shouldn't ride tomorrow, so Steve volunteered to take him and Dawn to
Carbondale (our next destination) that night, day before our scheduled
rest day there.
Hmmmmmm, Carbondale, isn't that the very city where, even at that very
moment, my beautiful wife was waiting for me to arrive the next day to
celebrate, one day late, our 40th anniversary? Yes! Turning John's
misfortune to my advantage, I hopped on the van to be with my wife ON
the actual anniversary day. (Yeah, I missed a few Trans-Am miles on
the bike. It was a no-brainer.) As I packed up (with lots of help from
Robin and Lucille and Clive and Hugh), I commented that it would be a
real downer if I found her with another man in the room. But I didn't,
and she was either very happy to see me or put on a very good act.
(If this were a video there'd be a slow fade as the happy couple
embraced.)
We had a GREAT 3 days in Carbondale celebrating our 40th.
(Sent from my iPhone)
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