Day 21

Friday April 23, 2010. It was warm and muggy this morning. 67 degrees at 6:30. I made a pancake and hot chocolate for breakfast and began packing up camp. A couple in a nearby motorhome brought me a sausage patty, English muffin, and a cup of orange juice, then returned a while later with 2 bananas, 3 apples, half a loaf of bread, a package of cookies, and a bag of chocolate chips. hat added about 6 more lbs to the load on my bike! I did appreciate their generosity and concern for me. It was cloudy and already a strong wind when I pedaled on south. I stopped on a bridge and called Steven and had him check the weather forecast on the computer. He said they were predicting rain and thunderstorms toward evening and overnight, so I got out my map and looked for a place within riding distance that would have motels. The first town was too close, barely 30 miles away, but there was another town, Carthage, that was about 55 miles away. I decided to shoot for that town. I reached the first town by noon, and considered stopping there. The clouds had a dark gray look and were kind of boiling in the sky, and the trees were rolling all over in the wind. But I decided to push on for Carthage, and it began to rain when I was still 5 miles out. When I got to the bypass road I turned and headed for the motel. 3 miles later the rain was pouring and still no sign of a motel. It began thundering and lightening and pouring harder and harder, mixed with hail, and I was soaked and scared. I pulled my bike up on the hillside next to the road, laid it down and pulled out my groundcloth tarp and spread it over my bike. Then I sat down on the wet ground between the seat and handlebars, and pulled the tarp up over me too. I pulled out my cell phone and called 911 and explained my circumstances and asked where in the world the motel was. They sent a deputy out to check on me. Meanwhile I sat huddled under there while water poured down all around me, and the thunder was terrible. Finally the deputy pulled up and I crawled out to talk to him. He wanted to give me a ride to the motel but while we were figuring out what to do about my bike the rain let up. He told me how to get to the motel, and I rode toward it. Passing traffic covered me with gritty mist from the wet road, and there was so much water on the road I was afraid my bike would slip. My hands were so wet I was having trouble holding the handlebars. Unlike Montana, though, it wasn't cold, it seemed almost warmer after it started to rain, but I was shivering anyway. Probably from fright and exhaustion. The deputy pretty much stayed with me, driving up the highway and coming back, making sure I made it to the motel. I checked in and went to my room, and I filled the bathtub with hot water and got in it until I stopped shivering. Wave after wave of terrible storms passed over. It was like a dam burst in the skies, it poured so hard. The wind would blow and practically lay huge trees over on their sides, then it would get so calm you almost felt like you couldn't breathe. The phones and internet went down around 8:00 in the evening, and during the night the power went out. I had a tornado plan: I'd grab my bike helmet and get between the toilet and bathtub in the bathroom. No tornados passed through Carthage that night, though, thank the Lord. Miles ridden today: 63.9. (The last picture above actually goes with tomorrow).