Catch up Time

These people have not seen the Appalachians

The dog that followed us 3 miles

Ok. Finally back within internet range. June 4, we left the lake resort thing and spent the day pedaling through a gentle rain. Seemed like perfect cycling weather for a bit, but I was tired the first third, freezing the second, and beyond cold and tired (but determined to make it in to Utica, KY) the final third. We totaled 50ish miles, and our average speed was a couple mph higher than normal. I, for one, was sprinting up hills in my big ring desperately trying to stay warm the last 30 miles or so. The downhills (+ wind) were killer, and even with my shell, I was pretty chilly. The area was pretty nice (rolling hills, fields, forest - kinda standard), but I wasn't paying all that much attention. Spent the night in the fire station in Utica. I slept wonderfully (only one call that night), and we had a ton of oreos before bed, which is probably how I managed the next day.
Two days ago, we took off from Utica and made it 83 miles to Illinois (Cave-in-Rock). The rain cooled things off, so we had a glorious cool, sunny, breezy day. When we got to Marion, KY, the planned stopping point of the day, we reloaded with some ice cream, and rolled 12 more miles to the ferry across the Ohio River. I like ferrys. They're darned awesome, and it always feels great to be in a boat on a river. Terrain was a little flatter, and our average speeds were still up. Cave in Rock is a pretty interesting place; there is, as the name might suggest, a giant cave that pirates used to attack vessels on the Ohio. Anyhoo, I was worn out after 83 miles, and thus at least attempted to pass out at the state park shortly after finishing dinner.
Yesterday we took a 65 mile day to meet up with the others in the immediate fam outside of Carbondale. I started out the day pretty well hyponatremic - caught it early, popped an electrolyte tablet in my water bottle, and got better. My legs were still pretty tired from the day before, but I figure that my legs will put up with nearly anything I can dole out. The first three miles of the day we were accompanied by an adorable stray beagle. He sprinted up the hills to pass us and down the hills (even as we were losing him). If he had made it 10-15 miles, I would be taking him to Wisconsin with me. It was forested riding in the morning (lots of deer and coyotes), with a couple hills in the morning, and one steep one in the afternoon. We also got to see the Tunnel Hill Rail to Trail (kinda like the Va Creeper), which provided an excellent, shady break. The main thing that kept me going was the promise of my mom and sister showing up later in the evening. We got good food, some hang out time, and life was good.
This morning, we got up and rode about 35 miles through Carbondale to Murphysboro. Spent the afternoon doing useful things (like laundry) and chilling. Definately got some sun yesterday, though. We have finished the 3rd of 12 map sets, and we'll have Missouri and their Ozarks before we get into Kansas. There's probably interesting stuff that I'm forgetting. Didn't get laptop access til late though, so I'll get off and fill in gaps later. Tomorrow will be filled with Mississippi levies. Wahoo.