50 miles? The generosity of strangers.
The Appalachian Trail keeps working itself into the cracks of my life. At a much needed Dairy Queen ice-cream-a-thon, we met west-bound cyclists, Brock and Kathleen, a funny pair from Chicago. As it turns out, Brock hiked the trail last year, so we had much to discuss over our dairy delights. I keep finding thru hikers out here, I guess we really are a small community of people.
McKinley and I dropped Beast of Burden and Mister Sur off at Carbondale Cycles to get the royal treatment, before heading into the hills of Kentucky; it's the last shop until good ole Virginny, which is several hundred miles away. I must say, our steel steeds have been nothing but reliable for nearly 3,000 miles. Sometimes Beast acts up and gets a little crazy (like tripping gears and making me throw up my middle finger at ahole drivers), but he mostly behaves himself. I love that damn bike.
At the shop, we met Donna, an enthousiatic, energetic woman who's psyched for life. She recently retired from the school system and is making the most of her time not working for the man. After sharing some conversation, she decided we couldn't leave without a fresh $20 in each of our pockets. I'm still astounded by the generosity of strangers. Donna, if you're reading this, thank you - I will report back when I've spent the money so you see where your hard-earned dollars went!
Speaking of generosity, we are staying with Kerry, a cousin of McKinley's friend whom she's never met. Kerry and her children, Kendall and Kerrick, took us in with open arms and fed us a delicious spaghetti dinner. We shared stories and watched the Olympics. I'm a happy girl right now.
Big news: Snoop Dog has converted to a rastafarian and is now Snoop Lion. Whitney is so excited that she shared the joy in passing with some constriction workers. They smiled as we breezed by singing some classic Snoop.
To sum up today in one word: thankful.
Photos: Brock and Kathleen, McKinley and Donna, illegal loitering, and Promise and Whitney with their usual faces
Patrice, you continue to amaze me with your conviction, strength and sense of humor! Love the "biker trash" comment. I'm heading to Delaware for the weekend to visit a friend who has a house near Rehoboth Beach. Jonathan is in Cusco waiting to start his Macchu Pichu trek tomorrow. Looking forward to all catching up!
ReplyDeletePatrice & McKinley, u r amazing young & adventuroous bikers, hiker(Patrice) ladies! I have read ur blog! Wow what an adventure!! UR welcome about the money!! Donna
ReplyDeleteMy friend, Donna, yes i know another Donna, helped get me on to comment!!!! I'll talk later!
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