Headline: We made it out of Berea!Twelve miles out of Berea (with no turning back), we saw a water tower in the distance. Another town! That does not go by the name of Berea!
We pedaled straight into Kirksville, KY, a small town that was nearly devastated by a tornado last year, and stopped at the Baptist church to fill up on water.
Feeling good about ourselves and our supreme map reading ability and good-fortune to be out of Berea, we continued on. Around curves, up and down hills, following the highway as it turned into a narrow country blacktop, all while maintaining a pace of about 14 miles-per-hour.
Feeling good about ourselves and our supreme map reading ability and good-fortune to be out of Berea, we continued on. Around curves, up and down hills, following the highway as it turned into a narrow country blacktop, all while maintaining a pace of about 14 miles-per-hour.
I was in the lead, Melissa behind, passing a house where I could hear dogs barking -- which wasn’t unusual, almost every home that we pass has a barking dog. Then I hear Melissa shouting, “Pedal! Pedal!” and I see her fly past in a blaze of light. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the largest german shepherd I have ever seen chasing after her, with FOUR other german shepards in tow.
Breathless and terrified, we stopped at the next house. There we consulted the maps trying to figure out how much longer we would be on this road.
Ummm . . . . maybe we should have been concerned when the highway turned into a blacktop. Maybe we should have glanced at the map when we saw no other people, biking or driving. Realizing we were possibly completely lost, with the GPS not working, we finally saw a passing car.
Breathless and terrified, we stopped at the next house. There we consulted the maps trying to figure out how much longer we would be on this road.
Ummm . . . . maybe we should have been concerned when the highway turned into a blacktop. Maybe we should have glanced at the map when we saw no other people, biking or driving. Realizing we were possibly completely lost, with the GPS not working, we finally saw a passing car.
When we asked were County Road 1295 was, the road that we have been looking for, the road that we needed to turn right on, the woman driving gave us one of those I-hate-to-break-it-to-you looks and the child, yes, CHILD, in the passenger seat laughed.
“Oh, honey, you're far away from that. You’ll be gettin’ your exercise in today, that’s for sure.”
Yep, County Road 1295 was BEFORE Kirksville. We weren't even supposed to enter Kirksville. We were just so stupidly excited to reach another town that we didn’t think.
So, back to Kirksville we went. In silence. Feeling a little less then chipper. Walking as quietly as possible pass the german shepherds. We stopped at the same church to use the same water fountain. The secretary working at the church actually invited us to stay for the night so that we could attend there Vacation Bible School. But we needed to get moving. We’d lost 20 miles getting lost and we had 34 miles to cover before our next stop.
As we got ready to leave the church, we heard grumbling. In the distance the sky was dark. It hadn‘t rained on us two nights before even though the sky looked the same, so we hit the road. Anyway, the clouds seemed to be moving fast in the opposite direction.
Not five miles later, the sky opened up. It poured. We were drenched within seconds. It was only 2 p.m. but it seemed as though it was 9 p.m. And the worst part? We were on a curvy road with no shoulder. Every time I heard a car coming in the distance, my whole body tightened. I was really afraid that no one would be able to see us or even stop if they could see us.
Melissa made the executive decision to turn back. Back to Kirksville . . . again.
So we’re spending the night at the Kirksville Baptist Church. It’s amazing. Hot shower, laundry, full kitchen, air conditioning. And Bible School starts at 6 p.m. The people attending the Bible School were beyond kind to us tonight. It was such an interesting night, and we met a little boy named Aaron, who lifted our spirits because he was hilarious and as he says "I ain't been scared since I was one year old".
“Oh, honey, you're far away from that. You’ll be gettin’ your exercise in today, that’s for sure.”
Yep, County Road 1295 was BEFORE Kirksville. We weren't even supposed to enter Kirksville. We were just so stupidly excited to reach another town that we didn’t think.
So, back to Kirksville we went. In silence. Feeling a little less then chipper. Walking as quietly as possible pass the german shepherds. We stopped at the same church to use the same water fountain. The secretary working at the church actually invited us to stay for the night so that we could attend there Vacation Bible School. But we needed to get moving. We’d lost 20 miles getting lost and we had 34 miles to cover before our next stop.
As we got ready to leave the church, we heard grumbling. In the distance the sky was dark. It hadn‘t rained on us two nights before even though the sky looked the same, so we hit the road. Anyway, the clouds seemed to be moving fast in the opposite direction.
Not five miles later, the sky opened up. It poured. We were drenched within seconds. It was only 2 p.m. but it seemed as though it was 9 p.m. And the worst part? We were on a curvy road with no shoulder. Every time I heard a car coming in the distance, my whole body tightened. I was really afraid that no one would be able to see us or even stop if they could see us.
Melissa made the executive decision to turn back. Back to Kirksville . . . again.
So we’re spending the night at the Kirksville Baptist Church. It’s amazing. Hot shower, laundry, full kitchen, air conditioning. And Bible School starts at 6 p.m. The people attending the Bible School were beyond kind to us tonight. It was such an interesting night, and we met a little boy named Aaron, who lifted our spirits because he was hilarious and as he says "I ain't been scared since I was one year old".
Brooke
Your trip is shaping up to be a Bill Bryson book, or perhaps the plot of Borat II.
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