Day 66 – Marion, Kentucky to Utica, Kentucky

A Night at the Fire Station

Early Saturday morning it was cold with the wind already blowing hard. I had planned on doing 71 miles into Utica, but now was wondering how likely that was. The weather report called for winds out of the northeast, which was the direction I was heading in a good portion of the day.

The pastor had stopped by the church where I was staying while I was out for breakfast. He had locked me out, so I had a minor delay in waiting for someone to come by so I could get my things out and get on the road.

The early miles weren’t much fun with the cold temperature, hills and wind. However, it was blue skies with no clouds and excellent scenery. And as time went by it warmed up just enough and there were some flats mixed in so it was turning into a nice ride, despite the wind.

It’s interesting going through areas and terrain where Civil War soldiers marched over 150 years ago. But you’re seeing it in color now instead of in a black and white photo.

Later on I arrived in the town of Clay. I decided to take a break from the wind at Jeri’s Place and have lunch. The guy running it was very personable. When I asked if he was Jeri he said no, he was Andy. He bought the place from Jeri sixteen years ago, but as far as the name, “I just ain’t never changed it.”

Andy was a salesman and his voice reminded me of Gomer Pyle . “Can I getcha all somethin’ else? Ice cream?” “Man, I wish you hadn’t said that” the customer replied. “Well… since I did, do yeh want some?”

There was still another 45 miles to go after Jeri’s Place and the wind was still going strong, but thankfully not a full on headwind. About 20 miles up the road I arrived in the town of Sebree. Here I passed a church with a sign welcoming cyclists. Stopping for the day sounded great, but I decided to stick with the original plan of getting to Utica.

Despite the wind and long day, I arrived in Utica around 5:30. The general store I passed by was closed, which wasn’t good news but a little further on there was a Marathon gas station. I stopped in and asked the clerk about the possibility of staying at the volunteer fire station, which was just across the road and that I had heard was an overnight option. “Sure” she said. “It’s unlocked. You can just go in.” “Are you sure? Should I call someone first and let them know?” “No, you don’t have to. You can just go in.”

It sounded strange, but like some of the other places I’ve stayed, it was true. All doors to the station were unlocked, including the area to the garage where the well maintained trucks were. They had a large living room area where you could sleep.

While I had been at the Marathon station, a guy named Jacob had pulled up on a bike. He and his brother are farmers and with the season over he decided to bike to New Mexico. He came over to the station with me. There we met Chris and Amina, who are going to Yorktown as well. They said I had just missed Marcus and Kirsty who were there hours earlier, and they had also run into Charlie the day before.

I hadn’t expected to see any more riders along the way, but within minutes of arriving in Utica I was now with three others staying at a fire station. One of the volunteer firefighters stopped by early in the evening to see if we were doing ok. I was wiped out from the ride, but it was another good day in Kentucky.