Biking Away From It all: Day 4 - Timing is everything

Caution: Overturned Trucks Ahead!

Day 4 is in the books. Got an early start from the campground, leaving around 6:40 am. A pleasant 7 mile spin brought me to Etowah, home of Scottie's 24 Hours. I got a good breakfast, with some coffee before oiling my chain and setting off for the main event. 60ish miles of Tennessee. I started on Rte 411, a nice little road that alternates between being a four lane divided highway and the main thoroughfare for several small towns. I rode 411 until I crossed the Tennessee River, then started following the directions sent to me by Tim, tonight's host. Tim took me through some beautiful back country roads, as you can see in the pictures. There were a few hills, but nothing to big. Today's weather was still hot and humid, but not quite as brutal as yesterday. At least until about 3:00.

Not my lunch stop, but an interesting looking Country

Late in the morning, some 45+ miles into the ride, I decided it was time for lunch. I met a man on the side of the road who gave me directions to a restaurant some "3 miles away." Six miles later, I stopped for directions again, only to find the restaurant was another half mile up the road. I pedaled on, having gone that far to get lunch, and found an interesting little Mom & Pop shop inside a gas station. When I arrived, it was pretty empty, but soon a couple of EMTs arrived, and a few county police officers, then the regulars, and pretty soon the place was hopping. And just about all of them wanted to hear about my trip so far. A few could hardly believe I was crazy enough to ride all the way to Detroit, but all offered up encouragement and a bit of admiration. That and the super cool AC made my lunch stop awfully nice.

These cattle only wish they had AC.

Eventually, I needed to head back into the heat to backtrack to pick up my route to tonight's resting spot. After a quick phone call to Tim to confirm directions, I set off with about 15 miles to go. That's when the thunderclouds started to appear. Shortly after the clouds rolled in, the thunder started, so I put the rain covers on the panniers and started pedaling hard. As luck would have it, it started to rain when I was less than 100 yards from my destination. A few drops hit me, but not enough to notice.

One of the great views I had today.

A quick shower in a gorgeous outdoor shower got me clean an refreshed. It was very cool to take a nice warm shower in the midst of a cool rain.

Another great view from today.

Tomorrow's original plan was to get all the way to Jellico, TN. Based on the past few days, and the weather report for tomorrow, that seems overly optimistic. I think the new plan is to take 3 days to get from here to Berea, KY. I'm still planning a rest day in Berea, and I'll try to make up some time when I get to Ohio.