Wonderful warmershowers hosts, gave me refrigerator rights allowing me to make a killer sandwich avec brownies for lunch. Joselyn drove me to Walmart so I could buy a new headset for listening to music while cycling. With showers predicted, as predicted a deluge of rain commenced just as I was about to leave. With lightning accompanying the rain I settled in for well over an hour waiting for the storm to pass. It gave me a chance to touch base with Betsy and my sister Ellen. Starting just after 10:00 put me a bit behind schedule. Thirty-five mikes to Lebanon would be a challenge given the hills and headwinds. My legs were aching from days of constant climbing so I decided not overdue it climbing the hills. Throughout the day I dismount at least half a dozen times and push the bike up the hill, 2.4 mph but I conserved energy and kept moving forward. Shortly after three miles on a dirt road I had my first flat tire, sn oh s**t moment. Usually the flat is on the rear tire, not this time. Unloaded all the bags, pull out the tire irons and new tube, removed the wheel from the front forks, carefully insert a new tube, re-inflate the tire, refasten the wheel to the forks, load on all the gear and started rolling again. The job took somewhere between thirty and forty-five minutes. Several miles down the road another flat, “ don’t do this to me.” I had the this situation before while riding the C&O canal route in 2015. Probably a truck tire wire had imbedded itself in the tire protruding in the inside of the tire and very difficult to find. I carefully searched but no luck. I carry a spare tire and decided to swap out the tire and another tube. I preformed this repair down a deserted road where an old steel frame bridge was blocked off, a remanent of route 66. After quickly eating the sandwich I assembled this morning, I continue onward. Fifteen miles and my legs were really feeling beat. Aggravating the situation the wind ramped up to at least ten mph. Even when riding down hill I had to pedal to keep from slowing down. I hunkered down and kept moving no matter how slow. Stubbornly the miles clicked away. The road even flattened out somewhat much to my delight. Praise the Almighty I rolled into Lebanon around 4:45. Searching for a motel I found a genuine throwback to the fifties and sixties, The Munger Moss Motel; pink toilet and sink, green tile, old TV box and retro room decoration. A woman in her mid eighties has owned and maintained it for eons. She is recovering from an aneurism but apparently will be back at it in a few weeks. Inexpensive but the motel has tons of charm. After finding dinner I watched a MLB playoff game between the Braves and Phillies on the old box TV. Tomorrow I will take it as it comes and conserve as much energy as possible. My legs need the break.
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