Torturous up hill climbing that ended well

     Not only did a woman bring me food last night but as I was riding out of Merriweather Lewis camp ground, one guy shower me with granola bars and another gave me  four liters bottled water. A good nights sleep followed by these two acts of kindness was a good start to the day.  What was to follow was a thirty miles of uphill climbing over three hours.  A wrong turn due to poor signage put me two miles behind  due to lousy signage, which is a frequent occurrence. The road  gradient was manageable  but my speed was reduced dramatically  three to eight MPH.  A few somewhat level areas interspersed but hills were always lurking around the corner. A few very brief stops to eat a few granola bars, drink water and rest my legs helped.  With six miles to Collinsville and over three hours of strenuous riding I had to stop for refueling (lunch) and to give my legs a rest.  During my ride, my back up battery life was almost depleted forcing me to shut my phone off and forego use of my rear flasher and music headset.  Anyways, I sat on the grass thirty feet off the road in the shade with my bike leaning against a cotton wood  tree.  Thirty minutes later I was rolling again having had a decent lunch.  A few miles along, a couple riding the other direction stopped after my inquiring about what was in Collinwood.  More than just a convenient store they gave me the lay of the land, an actual town with a visitors center, restaurants and a park to set up camp, hallelujah! With temperature in the low eights and my energy spent, I walked into the air conditioned center. The volunteers were wonderful, they gave me the key to the shower room, where to eat and that I could sleep at the fire station if I first checked in at city hall just a stone’s throw from the visitors center. The hot shower was utterly divine where I also washed my riding closes.  Feeling domewhat human again, I walked around the corner and had a BLT and both a large glass ice water and sweet ice tea.  Dessert followec in the form of a two scoop ice cream cone at the local Hasti Mart which included a deli and other upscale amenities. Off to the fire station where the door had been left unlocked for me. The woman at city hall had called her daughter who worked there and told her I would be over later in the afternoon.  A/C sleeping quarter, nothing special but a comfortable bed and a TV to entertain myself.  Bed time was several hours  off so I caught up with my emails and call Betsy to give her the lowdown.  Tomorrow, I have thirty miles to ride to reach the Tennessee River and a bicycle only campsite.  Once again, no shower facilities or town but I stocked up on food and my battery and other devises are charged. Not as many hills but seeing is believing.