Days 15 and 16 - The Lone Wolf Joins a Pack

Well, I thought I would not run into the guys I met in Hindman until the following evening. Even though they left about an hour before me, I got a racing start to the day and was moving like the wind. I had gone just about 20 miles, saw an Arby's in front of a Wal-Mart, and decided to stop for some food. After roast beef, I rode over to the Wal-Mart and sure enough, Ryan, Terry, and Cooper were parked out front just about to leave after a bit of shopping. We talked a bit and then it started raining. I went in to Wal-Mart and they kept on riding. 

After Wal-Mart, I got back in the saddle and kept going. The rain started really coming down. It was the first time I had been rained on this trip. Also, the portion of the route that I was on during the rainstorm was a fairly busy road with a high speed limit. The road did have wide shoulders to ride on, however, rumble strips took up about a quarter of the width and loads of little rocks interspersed with shards of glass made up the other three fourths. It required quite a bit of concentration to ride on. Especially when I was going 30 mph downhill with the rain, trying to see the shards of glass to avoid a flat tire. 

Terry was unable to avoid a flat. Not long after leaving Wal-Mart, I saw the trio pulled over on the side of the road with Terry pumping up a newly replaced tube. I pulled over and for the rest of the day, rode with them. In fact, I have also ridden with them today and plan to continue to until something changes. 

Here are the other lone wolves:

Terry, Cooper, and Ryan in Booneville, KY.

After two days and nights spent with this crew I have learned more about them. This is actually Terry's first time in the states and has done other bicycle touring trips in Ireland and New Zealand. He has spent much of his career, about 20 years, working with the aboriginal people in Australia. He told us about how aboriginal culture is, including the languages, and the relationships between the members in the communities. He's 59 and has tons of stories to tell. 

Ryan went to school in Newcastle and is, of course, looking forward to the World Cup. England's first came is versus the U.S.A. Upon graduating from the university in Newcastle, where he studied web programming and design, his friends joined him on a car ride across the U.S. He made American friends in California and lived there for a month and a half. After returning to Britain, he got a contracted job for 12 months, that ended, and now he is cycling across the U.S. His friends didn't join him this time because they didn't want to quit their jobs. 

I have to admit it is great riding with a group. After the first day in the state, I did not feel completely safe. Also, there are no bike shops along the route in Kentucky. In a group, we have each other's backs. After lunch today, I noticed my front tire had a very slow leak. Ryan has become quite the tube patch guru and is going to look at it tonight. Also, he has a loose spoke on his rear wheel and so I am going to fix that for him. The meals are full of conversation and we all split a hotel room tonight. I am learning some great British sayings, Ryan and Terry must have their tea in the morning, and both would desperately like a beer after the day's ride. Kentucky has a lot of dry counties and we can't buy a beer anywhere! I asked them if dry counties existed in Australia or Britain. They had a good laugh at the idea of that.

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