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Progress. Big fan of progress.

We also got an ID of yesterday’s insect. A regal moth. Thanks, Karen Cropper!!

Miss…iss…ipp…i. Had to take this pic from a bit of distance. Little to no shoulder up there by the sign.

Lots of logging and, therefore, logging trucks last couple days. Probably the scariest thing on the road when they’re loaded. Move fast, rarely move over, and small debris flying off. I haven’t gotten hit by any debris (or trucks!) but there’s lots on the shoulders.

Spent about 10 miles on the Natchez Trace Parkway. No commercial traffic allowed. Very little traffic period. Pretty flat. Enjoyable ride.

You can tell when you’re getting close to a “big” town. More traffic. Houses closer together. Fast food remnants littering the ditches. There has been lots of trash in ditches for last 400 miles or so. What is wrong with people? No respect for their environment or other people.

If I was walking, I’d have picked up a ton of trash the past week.

There was slight chance of rain today. I felt a couple sprinkles while riding but shortly after I was finished there was a major downpour for over an hour. Lucked out on that one.

Some big gaps between lodging options next few days. Hoping to make another 80 miles tomorrow and then figure things out from there.

Ride on.

Just Pete

Today was another good day. A bit bigger and longer hills but not too bad.

I was near to Shiloh. Knew I was going to be close to Shiloh but didn’t realize I was going to be that close to Shiloh National Military Park until after the fact. Probably would have detoured for that.

Crossed the TN River a couple times because I kind of took my own route for half the day. Seeing the water is a nice change of pace.

What the heck is this? Looks like some lethal insect from deep in the Amazon.

Think last bike shop forgot to lube Getty’s chain. She’s starting to creak a little bit. Next bike shop not until Mobile, AL (480 miles). I haven’t carried any chain oil. Don’t want that leaking/spilling in bags. Gonna have to get some in next day or 2.

Will be in Mississippi tomorrow.

Ride on.

Just Pete

Nice ride today. Actually kind of enjoyable. Busy road but really wide shoulders. Comfortable temp. A bit of flat ground. I’d take it every day.

Got to use the aero bars a bit more today. Really only use when wide shoulder, fairly straight, and no shifting required. Kind of limits me!

I can pedal a pretty straight line unless going slow…which almost always involves a low gear (i.e. uphill). I am often pedaling right on the white lane line. With the aero bars, I’m still a bit shaky on that.

Crossed back over Kentucky Lake early AM. Thinking I may get to south end of it tomorrow. Really long lake (184 miles long).

I should really be brokering hay deals while I’m out here. I could probably get this guy $400/bale in MT. Not sure how profitable would be for him after my $50/bale and transportation but you never know.

Physically feeling good. Aero bars aren’t a panacea for my hands but they help.

Mentally, I’m more than 2/3 finished. I should be in FL in 9 or 10 days. All is good tonight.

Ride on.

Just Pete

I didn’t even think about the 100 mile option today. This (46 miles) was plenty. One of the tougher days of pedaling. Big, long hills. At least the weather was good.

I feel like I’m in the movie, Groundhog Day. The scenery is the same day after day. Hilly road with forests on either side. A few small variances but, for the most part, it’s been the same for a week.

It’s not that the scenery isn’t nice. I’m sure it would be very enjoyable in a motorized vehicle. On a bicycle it just gets very monotonous.

This is big deer hunting area. I’m seeing lots of deer crossing the road. The WiFi password at hotel is DeerHunt and they have deer coolers!

Tomorrow will be about 55 miles of riding. I’m going off the route and down the other side of the lake/river. Hoping for a bit different view. Probably not but at least I’ll cross some water.

Over the Appalachian Trail, Camino, and Sea2Key, I’ve totaled about 270 days of adventure. Today may have been the first day I didn’t take a single picture.

Below are a few highlight pics from the AT. It will at least give you something to look at! Plus, there are a few newbies who missed out on that!!

Ride on.

Just Pete

Comfortable ride most of the day. Temp in low-80’s. Slight headwind but feel like I’ve been lucky with wind. No tailwinds but also very little wind for some time.

Crossed the Kentucky Dam. Created Kentucky Lake by backing up the Tennessee River for 184 miles. Kentucky Lake is the largest manmade lake in the eastern United States. The lake stretches south across the western tip of Kentucky and nearly the entire height of Tennessee.

Spent the majority of the day riding through Land Between the Lakes. I think that’s an old Indian saying for land between the lakes.

I’m pretty sure most of the land is about 10 miles wide and the road went through the center. All I saw were forests and hills…and the TN border.

Felt pretty good for first 50 miles. Struggled on hills last hour. Headwind was slowing my coast on the downhills so I would have to get in lower gear than normal for uphills. Pedal lots for very little.

Did see this little pond during one of my stops.

The one area that I wanted to see was the Elk and Bison Prairie. It’s a 700-acre enclosure that has a 3.5 mile paved loop through it. Unfortunately, when I got there I found out no bicycles (or motorcycles) allowed. I guess that makes sense but I’d definitely take my chances.

Tomorrow is pretty much a 50 or 100 mile day. The 100 miles is 7500 feet of ups and downs. Hills are usually 200-400 feet up and down. That’s probably 25 hard climbs. I’m in pretty good shape but not so sure I can do that. 20 mph tailwind would be nice!!

Intermediate goal is not happening. 100+ miles further than I thought it was. No way I can make it to Naval Air Station Pensacola to watch Blue Angels practice session on August 11. Oh, well. It was fun to think about for a couple days!!

Ride on.

Just Pete

Good, relatively flat ride today.

If you’re looking for a final resting place, this cemetery near Metropolis, IL, is really nice. Beautiful flowers on every plot.

I had to cross the Ohio River. If you remember from yesterday, I was taking a shortcut today. Well, I figured out why they suggest riding an extra 30 miles to take a ferry across.

The Ohio is really wide through this area. I went over a narrow, 2 lane bridge. The bridge was grated (rough ride) and probably a mile long.

I pedaled as fast as I could but when I got across and could pull over to the side of the road, I discovered that I had a caravan of cars behind me. Not a real supportive caravan. A couple thumbs up as the vehicles passed but several more one finger salutes. Oops!! Sorry.

I was in KY and had saved 30 miles so I wasn’t really that sorry about my traffic jam.

Paducah has a very nice area along the river. Not quite Stillwater, MN but much nicer than most riverfront towns I’ve been through.

The Ohio River is broad with lots of barge traffic moving through here.

I was in Paducah early enough to walk around and explore a bit. You’d be surprised how good it feels to walk after you’ve spent most of the day on a bike.

Need to make about 75 miles tomorrow so hoping today’s relaxing day helps.

Going to start giving a clue/day regarding my potential intermediate goal. Here’s the first: It’s an event which you need a connection to get into.

I don’t have that invite…yet. That’s why it’s still a “potential” goal.

Ride on.

Just Pete

Decided to take Gerty in for a checkup this morning. She got a new rear tire. Original was pretty worn. Also got a couple water bottles and aero bars. You can lean on your forearms. Hoping it will take some stress off my hands.

Had been thinking about getting them for 2400 miles. Jury is still out. Takes some getting used to. Small movements are big turns. Basically steering with shoulders vs arms.

Didn’t get out of bike shop and back on route until almost noon. Shop was busy but they were good about fitting me in.

Crossed the Mississippi for final time. Back into IL.

The scenery was better today. In the flats looking up at the hills.

Hadn’t seen any corn for a while.

There was a good chance for rain late this afternoon. I got lightly rained on for the last 45 minutes. Decided to call it a day. Would have had to go another 40+ miles.

My back was sore again today. Starting to be a nuisance. Not happy.

I’m doing a bit of a detour from my original plan tomorrow. Basically avoiding riding 15 miles east to come back 15 miles west. I’ll miss taking a ferry across some river but I don’t really care! I’ll take a bridge across.

Working on a new goal between here and Key West. Need something intermediate to push me and keep me moving. It’s going to be difficult to put together but I’m hopeful. It will be super incredibly cool if I can pull it off. Stay tuned!

Ride on.

Just Pete

Big mileage day today. It was “only” mid-80’s but still very humid. Even Gerty was sweating today.

About an hour into the day I reached down for my water bottle. Not there. Stop. Second bottle missing as well. I’d say I lost them but I know where they’re at. Freezer, Room 110, Super 8 Motel, Bonne Terre, MO. If you’re reading this and stayed in that room last night, grab them for me please.

I used a large Subway soda cup for my water bottle rest of day. Doesn’t keep cold very well. I just stopped more frequently.

A few miles later, phone goes flying. I heard it hit pavement this time. Stop. Walk back. Found it in ditch. Protective cover had come off. Nothing broken and I was able to put back together.

I’ve figured out why phone slips out of holder, I think. Holder is rubber that stretches around corners of phone. Outer protection of phone is also rubber. When moist, humid gets kind of slippery connection.

I’ve spent the last 2 days riding through the Ozarks. They’re sometimes referred to as the Ozark Plateau…which they definitely are in this area. Everything is a similar elevation. There’s just roller coaster hills of 200-300 feet. You don’t get an expansive view because you don’t get “above” everything. That’s why the dearth of pics last few days.

At the 50 mile mark, I was not feeling great. Back has been bothering me a bit last few days. My legs felt dead. And my hands hurt. I really felt like calling it a day because once I passed Marquand, it was Cape Girardeau or bust.

I sucked it up and kept pedaling. 10 miles up the road, I stopped at a cafe. Had some cherry cheesecake and Mt Dew. Revitalized and refreshed.

Thought the last 10 miles into Cape Girardeau would be downhill to flat. Silly me.

I’ll sleep well tonight.

Ride on.

Just Pete

I got on the road shortly after 7AM. It was very humid by that time but the heat hadn’t cranked up yet.

The biggest problem for me in the humidity is the perspiration. Whenever I stop or struggle up a hill, sweat is pouring into my eyes. If I stop somewhere that is air conditioned, I get really cold. I’m soaking wet and the A/C is about enough to give me hypothermia!

Up and down hills all day once again. Pedal really hard. Coast. Repeat.

Lots of trees around here. Some shade…which is good. Very few views…not so good. This was the most expansive view of the day.

Finished pedaling a bit before 1PM. Good timing because got pretty hot the last hour. By 3PM, heat index was 108. Hard to walk across parking lot to Subway.

I’m now less than 2000 miles from Key West. A bit over 4 weeks to go?

Weather for next week is much cooler. Low to mid-80’s. Hope to make some good miles.

Ride on.

Just Pete

Hot. Humid. That about sums up my day. Sounds like lots of you are experiencing similar.

Heard some sad news today. I had met these young ladies about 5 weeks ago in Western MT. Alex (center) took a nasty spill and can’t finish her ride to CT. She’ll be all right but has to be difficult emotionally when you’ve put that level of effort in.

Other than that it was a pretty boring day. Up and down some descent sized hills. Actually descended about 400 feet overall.

A good chunk of day was on old Rte 66.

Not scenic at all. It’s a frontage road alongside I-44. Saw a few tourist attractions. Jesse James had a hideout in Meramec Cavern…or so the sign said. I also passed the Jesse James Wax Museum. Looked a bit run down but they have some cool stuff…or so the sign said.

That was the only pic I took all day. Not much scenery along the Interstate.

The next town with a hotel is 50 miles from here. I had to choose between 80 miles today or 30 today and 50 tomorrow. I didn’t want to get stuck in my tent (currently more like a real thin, real large sleeping bag) in the middle if heat and humidity got too bad.

Tomorrow’s 50 miles is mostly through a part of the Ozarks. Going to try to be finished early. That means starting early. Not my specialty.

Weather is supposed to start cooling on Friday.

Ride on.

Just Pete