Day 7! Today makes
one week on the road and all in all I can not complain (not that it would do any good). In some ways I'm shocked I'm still rolling! Moody Road and I84 seem like a distant memory
and we are looking forward! After a tremendous
day off in Walla Walla we are preparing for an easy riding day to Dayton in
hot, but excellent weather. The riding
gear continues to get tweaked. I have a
new rear flasher complements of Greg and Krissie as a parting gift to help keep
me safe. So many flasher choices it takes 5 minutes to decide! There is the new water bottle
and new cleats on my shoes. I went with
only one new water bottle partly because I had already spent $266, but mostly because I have become fond of the used Core water container
and plan to keep it the entire trip. It
is also Juneteenth (observed) and I begin the ride this morning recognizing
this important day in our American history.
Overall, the ride went very well.
The only hiccup was at about mile 20 I came
across some road construction that required one lane traffic with a pilot
car.
I asked the pilot driver, Kathleen,
how they handle bicycles and she said, “your in luck, we give you a ride and
place your bike in the bed of the truck.”
I was hesitant to get a ride because my goal is to pedal the entire route.
“Sorry, it’s safety protocol.”
So in I went and rode in the pilot car for
2.5 miles.
It was pretty cool.
A feeling of power leading 20 cars.
Kind of like a pace car in the Indy 500.
During some small talk during the 2.5 miles, Kathleen told me that there was a big
car show in Dayton (The All Wheels Weekend). Hmmmm
I made it to Dayton by 10:15 am and figured that was way too
early to stop but we HAD to stay the night and enjoy the old classic cars. So I road another 15 miles toward Lewiston
and we drove pack to Dayton so we could partake in the festivities. This will give me a head start tomorrow and
make the day that much easier. While I
was riding the final 15 I could not help but think about the ride in the pilot
car and how I did not pedal those 2.5 miles.
I can just hear Shannon and Skip again “Winks should not have ridden with Kathleen, the ride
is not legit.” So I told Cheryl I have
to go back and pedal those 2.5 miles once the construction is done. She thinks I'm an idiot but Cheryl is the best teammate so we did and I am happy to say the continuous route
is still intact!
Dayton is a very nice little town of about 2300 people that
comes alive during the All Wheels Weekend.
I have a soft spot for 50s and 60s cars and boy is this the place to be
for that.
All the owners drive there
cars up and down main street revving the engines reliving the glory days.
The owners periodically park to stand by their works
of art and talk to passersby.
I enjoy learning
the history and the shear pride and enjoyment they show as they tell their
unique stories.
One especially
interesting man was Gary.
He was
showing an original 32 Ford with the first production V8 engine that he has
owned since he was a teenager.
He lives
in Texas but grew up in Dayton and comes back every year to the All Wheels
Weekend.
It’s evenings like this which remind me why
I’m riding my bike across the country with a sore butt.
Taking the time to smell the roses throughout this great country.
A great evening strolling up and down eating at the local pizza place (Chief Springs) watching the cars
go up and down main street. We even took in some music from a local band in front of the Columbia County Courthouse.
It's on to Lewiston tomorrow. Forecast is for clear skies and hot (90 degrees). I want to get there early enough to watch Game 7 of the Nets/Bucks!
Until then......
JVB here. I had technical issues with the post I tried to leave on my 1ktothebay site, so I'm "borrowing" Vickiy's.
ReplyDeleteYou are getting faster! Over 16 mph for the day. Your fans are proud of you, and not one bit surprised, that you went back for the 2.5 pilot-car miles. (Take that Skip; it’s 100% legit!)
Haha. Ya, I figured I’d never forgive myself if there was an asterisk!
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