On to Shiloh!

It’s been 12 days since I left Marco Island and I feel GREAT! I have to be careful about arriving home too soon, because I know Christa is keeping a honey-do list that will be much more taxing than riding a bike.

I was going to take it easy today, but as I took a wrong turn and passed the campground I planned on staying at. The good news: I had a chance to cycle the Nachez Trace Parkway, perhaps one of the most scenic routes of the country. No commercial vehicles are allowed on it and it was well worth the cruise. The bad news: I ended up backtracking ten miles before coming to the Tishomingo State Park campground. I guess it’s not all bad news, because I’ve got a nicer site than we ever had camping at Young State Park.

As I crested a hill, I noticed another cyclist walking his bike in front of me. He decided to ride the Underground Railroad route too, but used his mountain bike instead of a sleek road bicycle like mine. He’s only able to go 40-50 miles a day because of big treaded tires and gear problems. I felt bad for him, but after talking for 15 minutes I had to move on. We were both going to stop at a bicycle shop in Fulton, MS – me to get tubes and him to get his bike fixed. The “bike shop” turned out being an old second hand thrift store; they didn’t even have tubes for my bike and his mechanic needs were out of the question. Then I felt REALLY bad for him! About an hour later I ran into a fellow at a party store who saw my friend in town, still looking for the bike shop. Now I wish I would have gotten his phone number. At least I gave him my blog address. I hope he’s OK. Even though I am the first to admit that I didn’t know what I was doing before my adventure started, I sure made a lot of correct decisions by accident. Sometimes life is like that.

Tomorrow I am staying the night in Shiloh, home of one of the most important battles in the Civil War. If my American History classes are reading this, I will give you extra credit if you can tell me why.

Now, as for the movie, I would like to play myself if it's a musical. Tom Hanks and I are like this (imagine my fingers crossed) and he said that he would do a cameo, but he had enough of that cross country stuff with Forest Gump. Maybe Jim Carrey could play the crazy logging truck driver that tries to run me off the road. (This hasn't happened, but if we're making a movie I can take some creative liberties, can't I?)

One final note: I am getting abut 200 hits a day on my blog, which is awesome. I'm glad so many people are living vicariously through my trip. I know Christa and I have lived vicariously through Adam and Andrea as they are transforming into adults, and it's nice to return the favor. Keep checking out my blog - I hope it's entertaining for you. It sure is fun to write!