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Fred seems adaptable. I think his last pair of roommates were early risers. We were up at 5:30 this morning, and had as pleasant a time as you can have at 5:30. (And yes, the difference between 5:00 and 5:30 is considerable at that hour.) We were almost entirely on country roads today - county roads V, K, KK, BB, B, and C; state highways 5 and 11. These were pleasant, little trafficked, well maintained, and (of course) rolling. The elevation profile looks like a seismograph, there are so many little ups and downs. It was fun, but it was about 70 miles of fun packed into an 82 mile day. The weather forecast was for scattered thunderstorms, severe in the afternoon (40% chance of rain). Andy and I rode as fast as possible (given the hills, heat, and humidity), didn't stop for lunch, to try to beat the rain. In the end, it never came. It sprinkled lightly and briefly a couple times, and there was thunder and lightning 6 or 7 miles away (by Dan's estimate, and he grew up on a farm), but it never caught us. We usually end up in hotels on the edge of town (because it's cheaper). In fact, we've grwon to expect it. But they outdid themselves this time. The Days Inn Kirksville is not only not near the town, it's not near anything. It's a mile to fast food, more than that to a convenience store. It's a nice enough hotel in most respects (for a Days Inn), but the roll-away bed they brought me looked like it was diverted from the dumpster. Springs were missing, and the wire harness that holds the mattress was literally in pieces. To their credit, the maintenance guy fetched it right away, and spent a couple hours on it. Now it at least doesn't look like it's going to kill me. The storm finally caught us at about 8:00 pm. And it was a beaut - lightning in every direction, rain blowing sideways. Not something you'd want to be out biking in. Naturally, we watched it from the hotel bar. |
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