Some things I have done that are awesome. part 1

Here are some entries from my 230 mile bicycle ride from Bloomington, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois.

Monday June 23rd 2008


Wow! 108 miles and I have finally found a place to sleep! After stopping at a couple different places I have stumbled upon a nice little place to hang my hammock next to the Wabash river. My body feels as though I've been beaten. My arms, legs and back have never felt so brutalized. It's so nice to finally be lying down, I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight.


Coming through Spencer, Indiana I'm pretty sure somebody threw a kitten at me. That's right a little bitty black kitten. I'm riding down the road, and cars are rushing by when all of the sudden this little bundle of fur bounces between the yellow lines. It's as if someone had a bag of the little guys and decided to unload one as they saw me ride by. The poor little fella jumped about a foot into the air before he made a dash into the woods and disappeared. I'd like to think he made it to a nice little farm where he became a barn cat. They would call him whispers and he would spend the rest of his days chasing mice and lapping milk from saucers.


A couple of hours before I made it here, I took a nice swim in what was most likely someone eles's back yard. The day had been so hot and my clothes had taken on quite a bit of sweat and grime. The only logical thing to do would be to take off my burdensome garments, submerge myself in the crystal clear water and try not to think about the pig farm that was undoubtedly up stream. How glorious it was! As I lay in the cool water I could almost feel my aches and pains disappearing. The same could not be said for the scene that was racing through my head where I'm asked to squeal like a pig by some deranged hill people as in the movie Deliverance. Ick! happy thoughts! happy thoughts!


After a nice dinner of tuna, crackers and granola I was pretty much ready to sleep for a couple of days. The raccoon wanting to be my friend had decided he didn't like sticks being thrown at him so he left to go play with whispers up the road. My right knee was not really wanting to bend but I figured it would be fine come morning. The next morning I would find out I was wrong.