Back in the saddle again ...

Ouch!! Well, riding was actually not too bad today until the last 20 miles. We had to stop and group up to cross the Mississippi River because we needed special permission and all had to sign waivers before crossing. The bridge was opened just for us, and we had an escort to cross with us. The bridge is 1.5 miles long, and a much better ride for us than crossing using the Interstate. 

I was running strong up to this point, averaging 15.8 MPH for the first 42 miles, then down to 12.9 for the second 39 miles. Unfortunately it was a long wait for all of us to reach the bridge, at about mile 60, and after the long wait, when I got back on my bike, ohhh, my butt was sore and sweaty, and my knee was aching! After a few miles trying to ride my knee back to functioning, I gave up, stopped, called the van, telling them to wait for me because I needed a ride if I couldn’t ride out the pain in my knee. After talking to the folks in the van, I started riding again, and the knee felt better immediately! Not near 100%, but I could push down on the pedal again. So now I felt like my knee would hold, but my butt was screaming at me. After catching the van I applied a generous amount of cream, and off I went, with the pain at least tolerable. I had a good finish the rest of the way, with the sweeps pulling me.

We ended up riding about 4 miles on the Natchez Trace, without 35°F temps or rain. Much more pleasant ride this time than back in March when we rode 400 miles on this beautiful route in deplorable conditions.

Last night the church members were very, very receptive to us. They provided a wonderful dinner, as well as a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, big fruit dish--just your typical Southern breakfast!

Tonight we are in a community center, making dinner for ourselves, and we will prepare breakfast also. We are so grateful for a dry and safe place to crash, much more than some of the people we are helping have.

Doctored my butt, hopefully enough to make another 80 miles tomorrow. And, while waiting at the bridge I adjusted my saddle slightly; hopefully this will help on tomorrow’s ride.

Peace …

geezerman