The week of a crash

This week’s update is going to be the account of my ride from Sewanee to Pulaski Tennesse on June 11^th. The day as usual started off early in the morning at 5am to watch the sun rise over the lake. We had camped in Sewanee, TN. We got to have an exciting change to our morning routine: the taking down of our tents. I think we all passed the test, and all of our tents fit (were shoved) back in their little green totes. Then it was on the road again with some of the local riders who guided us for the first 20 miles. The ride started off with a three mile downhill: it was glorious. Because we were following the locals we were able to successfully navigate the maze of back roads. It was a good thing that we were not trying to negotiate them by ourselves because most of them were unmarked. I saw my first ever field of cotton. There was even a man on horse back checking up on his field.

Though we had lost our guides, we kept on the back roads until our lunch stop at mile 40, and the got on the Highway 64. I learned from a roadside sign that we were quite near where Jack Daniel’s Whiskey is distilled. Apparently the county that the distillery is located in is a dry country. So Jack Daniel’s is not actually served at the distillery just lemonade. The group I was riding with was rather far behind the main group, so we decided to see if we could catch up after lunch. We were flying along much faster than any pace I could have held at the beginning of the trip. I was proud, and even though it was hot and there were long hills, I was having a great time. After about 10 miles of averaging over 20 miles an hour my legs informed me that it would be a good idea to slow down. They could not maintain that pace for another 30 miles. Me and one of the other riders ended up dropping back.

Unfortunately, me, my bike, and a car decided to have a fight. I won, but the fork of my bike and the car lost. An oncoming car took a left in front of me. I did not have enough time to stop or swerve out of the way, and T-boned it. I was very lucky and survived the accident with only a small cut on my chin and a two inch bruise on my thigh. The driver of the car was much more shaken up then I was. Once I realized that I was uninjured I started laughing and joking with my fellow riders. Sadly, my bike’s steel fork was quite bent. It has been quite an ordeal to get one, but my bike should be all better on Tuesday. Thank you very much to the work of West Chiles from Pulaski, and John Fleck at Surly I am getting a fork donated to me. I had to ride the last 20 miles in the van. As I rode in the van at 60 miles an hour up some very big hills I had complete respect for my fellow riders, because the hills looked long and hot. A mean way for the last 20 miles of an 80 mile day.

We stayed that night in the dorms at Martin Methodist Community College. We got hooked up in Pulaski by Dan the Mayor to stay in suites. They were pretty sweet with real beds, washer and driers, and AC. This trip has made me appreciate the small things in life such as real towels, private showers, real beds, and AC. We were then provided with dinner at the mayor’s house, which many people of the community enjoyed with us. I personally cannot thank this group of people enough. Many of them came up to make sure that I was ok after my accident. I even got a much needed “mamma hug” to speed along the mental recovery. Through their combined efforts I only had to ride for one of the three days into Memphis in the van. I would like thank West and Terry for arranging to get me a new fork. I also was loaned a bike from John and Michelle Hunt under the condition that I was not allowed to run it into any cars. I got to upgrade and ride Lightspeed titanium bike for two days. It was a very nice ride, but I was a little terrified of breaking it during the ride. I watched very carefully for cars and other road side dangers and had no more incidents.

Overall, it was a very eventful day, but it also showed me how great people can be. The people in Pulaski had only just met me, and they went completely out of their way to help me out. And as my Dad says: in the end it will make a good story, and in life it is the stories that are important.