We're not in Appalachia anymore...

We're not in Appalachia anymore. That was apparent when we could see
the thunderstorm from miles away. Here we sit, in Bicknell, IN under a
covered picnic area waiting for it to pass. Another other clue was that I have not seen a trash sale for days. I know that sounds harsh, but that's what it is: people hanging out on either the side of the road or their front yard selling whatever they have that they don't want.

We stayed in Bloomington, IN an extra day. Not only did we love it
there, but we also justified it by doing some MacGyver work on his
bike. His panniers had been swaying into his rear wheel the whole
trip. He tried flipping them around but that only caused them to run
his heels. A visit to Lowes with Adam's creativity and $17 later, we
had constructed an extension from his frame that solved it. IT looks
pretty awesome. Now we just need to decorate the bumper that we put on
it. If you know Lee, you won't be surprised that he gasped at each
zip-tie, tube strip, and strand of electrical tape we used. He is a
bit of a weight-weenie. The next story might surprise you though.

After walking back from icecream the first night, we ran into to
Ginelle's friend, Andrea. When she heard of our trip, she offered to
let us take her handlebar radio along with us. Lee got thrilled St
this prospect. I simply do not have room as I aleady have a GPS and
cycling computer mounted (thanks Gine for the new computer!). Lee, on
the other hand, could stand to add more weight if you ask me. Maybe IT
would slow him down on the climbs for me. So we've already enjoyed
that radio tremendously. We thinking about having a dance party in
Lawrenceville, IL if we can only find another covered area like this
one.

Why did we love Bloomington? Well, my sis' and her fiance live there
and I do love visiting them. But if that's not enough for you, we saw
a Gutenberg Bible, an original Monet and Picasso, a letter from Ernest
Hemingway to his parents signed 'Ernie,' a 1st edition Big Book, and
several other awesome things. Also, we got Lee's rear brakes finally
working for free in BikeSmiths, a LBS owned by a transgendered
individual.

Our second day, we feasted at an Indian buffet. I stuffed my face in
spirit of the bird Ginelle told me she recently learned about that
gets fat before crossing the ocean on a 9 day journey in which it
never stops to eat or sleep. Nom nom nom!

--
Sent from my mobile device

cont (later that day)...


There we were, bewildered on the street corner as the winds began to roar, the thunder cracked, and some locals told us that we could camp down by the river... as long as it didn't flood? I retract my comment about seeing a storm miles away. We hustled up the hill hoping to find a fire department. While looking confused and lost, Ed who just happens to be the director of tourism 'round these parts, spotted us. Apparently we looked like we were from out of town. He took one look at us and said "you guys gotta get out of this right now!" Well, we couldn't have been spotted by anyone better. Ed told us to go straight to his house and to meet his wife, Diane, there. We shoveled spaghetti down our hatches and they treated us to Dairy Dee's afterward. The kindest of strangers is amazing. We did not have to try to camp is this absurdly unseasonable storm thanks to this family. By the way, this was not just a little rain. Thank you Lawrenceville, IL for the hospitality.

We have crossed our first timezone!