This was supposed to be an easy day. 33 miles to Corbin, Kentucky, then lunch, then an easy 21 mile ride to tonight's campground. The first leg was indeed a breeze. I arrived in Corbin at around 1pm (having started late this morning) and stopped by Runner's Sports Shop for some supplies.
As a recumbent rider, I am a novelty. It would be fair to say that 50% of the people that see me watch me pass with gape-mouthed shock. People in cars often slow down. Sometimes they stop, right in the middle of the highway. I always wave at people who take an especially great interest. Sometimes they wave back. A lot of times they just keep staring, all googly-eyed, like they're watching a zebra go by.
I said farewell to Chattanooga at about 8 this morning. The route out of town was supposed to take me along the Chattanooga Riverwalk, but something went wrong and I wound up just suffering through a pretty ugly state highway. The roads were, at least, relatively flat; the weather was agreeable; the miles clicked by with clockwork regularity.
Hey folks — I'm taking suggestions for audio books to digest during the upcoming trip. When I did the Mississippi trip, I listened to Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven a couple days after leaving Navoo, IL, which was a bit surreal. I would have kept my guard up if I'd known.
Anyway, that was a great road book. I think I'd prefer non-fiction, and it should be something pretty lengthy, but not too deep. I was contemplating Picketty's book, but I don't know that I'd be able to hang while laboring up hills in the blazing heat.
So, hit me. Whatcha got?
A number of people have requested a map of the route I followed for my Bitter Southerner piece. Your wish is my (belated) command. Here are two. The first is a period map showing Union and Confederate dispositions on the day of the battle (the interior blue lines represent Union investment of Atlanta following the Confederate retreat in September, I believe). I've superimposed some modern street names, though I should note that Glenwood is pretty much a wild guess.
Apropos my Bitter Southerner piece, I received an email from a friend of a friend detailing the travails of a relative of his who was a Confederate POW, complete with photograph. I love this sort of thing, so I'm posting it here:
Greetings to everyone who read and enjoyed the essay in The Bitter Southerner. A number of people have asked to see my original photographs, so I present them here: The Many Battles Between Me and a Camera. No captions or anything; sorry. If you want more information about a particular photo just drop me an email.
Hi folks — this site has been out of commission for the last year at least. I switched hosting and just never really had the wherewithal to get it running again. But all that's about to change.
On June 27th I'll be starting a new adventure: a nine-day trek up to Fairmont, West Virginia. There I'll be meeting my dad (Rivermeister.com), who is driving up from Texas with his kayak in tow. I'll take his truck and my bike and haul ass back to Atlanta, while he'll drop the kayak into the Ohio River and start off on a two-month trip of his own.
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