Friday, September 29, 2000

Madisonville, KY to Lebanon, TN - 131 miles

Today we started out shrouded in fog. We went through field after field of low misty clouds. The sun was slowly burning it off, its yellow shimmer slowly rising up over the hills all around us. Alex, who finishes in the top five everyday, pulled ahead and sat on his wheel. We passed everyone slowly but surely. The first rest stop had just opened and we filled up and got out quick. Up and down we went. The hills were a lot less steep than previous days. As we rounded a corner there was a barn with smoke coming out from under the eaves of the roof. Hmmm, this farmer is about to be minus one barn as soon as this fire gets going good. However up the road, another, and another barn was smoking. We had also seen several non-smoking barns with tobacco leaves hanging from them. The smoke smelled of sweet silky tobacco wafted across the road. The barns were not on fire, they were curing tobacco. We saw these smoky barns all day long. At the second stop we filled up again. Through the town of Elkton we missed a turn and we were lost. Alex got out his map and we cut over to get back on course, but not after adding on seven or so miles. As we pulled into lunch, we still were at the front. Steve and Dave pulled up ten minutes after us, but they commented others got lost too. We had a quick lunch. I had a hot dog, roast beef sandwich, potato salad, chocolate pudding, and a chocolate Zinger. We hammered it to the next rest stop. Larry was just setting up and assured us everyone was well behind. We cut back the pace, as we were the first two into the motel. It felt good to be first in. Alex does this everyday, but I will be taking it easy the next couple of days. We are climbing over the Appalachian Mountains for the next three days, and also doing some big mileage. Five more days and we'll be at the Atlantic Ocean.