Day 7
Lexington to Daleville 46 miles
Woke up, had reheated pizza for breakfast, and set out about 9ish. Was already pretty hot out, and we agreed to just take it steady today as the mileage wasnt too onerous today.
Quickly came across some cows who clearly had the right idea in this weather!
As we turned one corner a woman shouted and asked if we needed water. Never one to turn down hospitality, we took her up on her offer. Turns out that Marilyn (and her husband Paul) regularly let cyclists camp at their house and provide water. They also gave us some snacks to take with us! Yet another example of the kindness of the American people.
Stopped off for more gatorade, and made sure to leave the bike somewhere safe.
And here is todays funny sign! Cant imagine people who work here get involved in office romances. Working with a munter must be bad enough, let alone dating one!
Around 12:30 we arrived in Buchanan looking for lunch. The temperature was already getting pretty high by this point...
Had lunch in a restaurant called Fountains, which was done out as a proper old style American dinner, complete with jukebox and drinks coolers.
Had a burger and a huge, tasty milkshake which I couldnt finish all of – there was so much of it.
When we left, the temperature was up to 101degrees.
The afternoon was hot, slow going. There was little shade on much of the route. It was generally uphill, but quite gradual. One other problem the heat causes is to melt the road. This makes it quite soft and sticky and lots of little stones stick to my tyres!
At one point, with our water bottles very hot, I asked someone if we could have some water. They asked us in, and gave us fresh cold water and ice!
Did the last few miles, and took a slight detour from the route to stick on highway 11, as our motel was just off this road. Got to Daleville in around 46miles. Weirdly, the ACA maps suggest it should have been around 52miles, but Im not complaining!
Checked into our motel – room 101! Clearly, the car loving Americans have decided we are in need of having our spirits broken and re-educated that cycling is wrong!
For $55 we have got a motel with a pool, wifi and a bed each. Its ridiculous how cheap these places are. Went for a swim to cool off which was great. Going to head out for dinner later.
So after one week on the road, Im definitely getting into it now. Passed 300 miles today, and although Im probably slightly behind my required 52miles a day, I should be able to make those miles up on the flatlands of Kansas.
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