A Short Sunday Ride
I considered taking a day off in Utica on Sunday. Saturday’s 71 mile ride through the hills and wind was tiring and I thought it would be good to take a break.
I had slept at the volunteer fire station in Utica and wondered the night before how often the trucks there were put to use in such a rural area. Just after 6:00am I heard sirens and the cars of volunteers pull up. Minutes later one of the fire trucks was out on the road.
Having gotten up to watch the commotion, I spoke with Chris. He and Amina are friends, both in their 60’s. They started in San Francisco and are also heading to Yorktown. The two of them had been doing some shorter days and decided to only go 27 miles to Fordsville and stay at a church there. That sounded like a good compromise between a rest day and a long day of riding, so I decided to go there too.
I had taken a look at the remaining maps in the morning and figured I had around 970 miles to go to get to Yorktown and the end of the trip. You would think it would be less than that with only Kentucky and Virginia remaining, but the route is anything but a straight shot. So it all adds up.
It was another day of cloudless skies and much less wind than Saturday. However, the hills in many parts were difficult and I didn’t have a lot of energy. The ride the day before must have taken more out of me than I thought.
When I got to Fordsville I saw the bikes of Chris and Amina at a place called The Diner. If you talk about rural Kentucky and the people, this place is it. As I’ve said before, it’s just a different world in this part of the country. I felt like I was on the set of Hee Haw by the time the big guy in the overalls walked in and had a seat.
After the diner I got settled in at the church. The pastor had a good sense of humor and I talked with him about the days when he used to live in Florida and how he ended up in Fordsville. Then it was over to the Depot Museum and speaking with Don Locke, an 82 year old who plays General Lee in various Civil War historical events in the area. This town was definitely the South.