Murphysboro, IL > LBL
The home stretch as far as I was concerned, both figuratively and literally. Originally I thought I would bypass Nashville for fear that I wouldn't get back on the road and finish the journey once I got there. But by this point, I had covered way too much distance in way too little time. I needed a break wherever I could find it and my own house seemed pretty idyllic. Not to mention my parents were coming back into town in a few days and I wanted to surprise them since I hadn't been totally faithful in telling them where I was for the past few weeks... two more days!
It was a little bit tougher getting going from Murphysboro since I had an actual room and a bed to leave behind. But I relinquished them both! Just down Hwy 13 towards Carbondale, I stopped at a Gas Mart to get breakfast, which included a chocolate milk, some powered donuts and a few snickers bars. I picked up my requisite Gartorades too. There wasn't much of note in Carbondale as I just rode through another small town out to the fields on the other side. There was a little confusion once I got out of town because the roads weren't really marked and it was difficult to tell where they actually let. I relied on my general sense of direction to help guide me where I needed to go. I came across some medium sized corm farming operations which was cool to see – the big crane things collecting the ears of corn off the stalk and dumping them into awaiting container trucks.
The roads were pretty terrible on the way to Goreville. They were old and had been patched over and over so naturally it was not a very smooth ride. The shoulder, if there was one, was falling apart to and in many place the road was just a little narrow. I stopped at the singular gas station in Goreville and got a big slice of pepperoni pizza. Actually I think I got two of them and snarfed them down while I was standing inside out of the hot. Not else happened until I got to a 6,000 person town called Metropolis, right on the Ohio River, the one that forms this part of the border between Illinois and Kentucky. I stopped at another gas station and grabbed a relatively mediocre and over-priced sandwich, chips, and a chocolate milk. I just need fuel and didn't really care too much about what it looked or tasted like. I watched a guy restock the dairy section of the store while I ate and cooled down again.
The roads were pretty terrible on the way to Goreville. They were old and had been patched over and over so naturally it was not a very smooth ride. The shoulder, if there was one, was falling apart to and in many place the road was just a little narrow. I stopped at the singular gas station in Goreville and got a big slice of pepperoni pizza. Actually I think I got two of them and snarfed them down while I was standing inside out of the hot. Not else happened until I got to a 6,000 person town called Metropolis, right on the Ohio River, the one that forms this part of the border between Illinois and Kentucky. I stopped at another gas station and grabbed a relatively mediocre and over-priced sandwich, chips, and a chocolate milk. I just need fuel and didn't really care too much about what it looked or tasted like. I watched a guy restock the dairy section of the store while I ate and cooled down again.
This is what terrifying looks like on a touring bicycle. A little while later I connected again with Hyw 45 and crossed the Ohio River on the scariest bridge of the trip. I hated being on that bridge. I've included a Google Maps screen shot for your understanding. There were three major problems: 1) It was stupidly narrow. 2) The whole thing was a giant metal grate which kept steering my narrow bicycle tires all over the place AND you could see straight down to the water however many stories below. 3) It was so hot and humid that my hands were sweaty and kept slipping on my handlebars even through my death grip. I knew for sure I was going to hit the deck and get run over. And then I got halfway over the bridge and it angled down. So of course, all this was happening much faster. I was on my brakes almost the whole time because I didn't want to lose control. I was willing myself and my bike over the bridge and the end couldn't come soon enough. You should check on the street view on the map and do it virtually to get the full effect. DO NOT RIDE THIS BRIDGE ON A BIKE.
Paducah, KY was just on the other side of the river and as glad as I was to be off the bridge, I didn't enjoy being there much better. This town seemed really old, tired, and poor. It was the first and maybe only place I had been on my trip that I felt like I might get robbed for my stuff. I kept rehearsing an internal dialog if I got held up at knife point or gun point. Forutnately, that didn't happen and I was relieved to be back in the country side. Eventually I reached the "settlement" of Draffenville and I stopped in the amazingly brand new, very modern McDonalds for dinner. I need something salty after riding through such a hot day. It was definitely night time by now and I had a ways to go before I could stop, another few hours at least.
Paducah, KY was just on the other side of the river and as glad as I was to be off the bridge, I didn't enjoy being there much better. This town seemed really old, tired, and poor. It was the first and maybe only place I had been on my trip that I felt like I might get robbed for my stuff. I kept rehearsing an internal dialog if I got held up at knife point or gun point. Forutnately, that didn't happen and I was relieved to be back in the country side. Eventually I reached the "settlement" of Draffenville and I stopped in the amazingly brand new, very modern McDonalds for dinner. I need something salty after riding through such a hot day. It was definitely night time by now and I had a ways to go before I could stop, another few hours at least.
Mickey D's is going upscale!
I-24. If only I had a car... The night always makes long distances and time seem to stretch even longer. Finally, I reached my campsite at Land Between the Lakes park or LBL as most people call it. I wanted to stop there because I had heard some good things about it from Mechanic Jim when working at the bike shop. I had done a little research as to the layout of the park but I wasn't 100% sure where the campsite I wanted to stop at actually was located. Fortunately it wasn't too far into the park and I found it without much trouble. There wasn't really anyone else around and I had pretty much the entire place to myself. I chose the first campsite as you entered the camping area exclusively because there was some unburned wood in the fire ring. They were pieces of 2x4 from some building project but I wasn't picky. Everything was so humid and damp that there was no way I could have found any viable firewood for myself. Even this stuff was hard to light, but I managed. After it started catching, I figured out that it must have been treated wood because it definitely didn't smell very good. I didn't care though. The fire meant two things: I could get warm that night and I might have a chance to dry out, either myself or some of my clothes. Neither really worked.
I was only one day's ride from home at this point and I tried to get some sleep because I had planned on waking up a few hours before sunrise in order to make it to Nashville before my parents got there. The uncomfortable conditions made sleeping tough and getting up wasn't too rough because I had never really fallen into a deep sleep. I thought I heard some rustling in the night and tried to shoo away whatever creature was there. In the morning I discovered that some raccoons had swiped my breakfast foods and I was piiiiiiissed because I was looking forward to it so much.
I was only one day's ride from home at this point and I tried to get some sleep because I had planned on waking up a few hours before sunrise in order to make it to Nashville before my parents got there. The uncomfortable conditions made sleeping tough and getting up wasn't too rough because I had never really fallen into a deep sleep. I thought I heard some rustling in the night and tried to shoo away whatever creature was there. In the morning I discovered that some raccoons had swiped my breakfast foods and I was piiiiiiissed because I was looking forward to it so much.
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