Day 65: 61 miles, Jul 22

This was a great day! The territory is now completely familiar-feeling to me, even though I've never been here before. I don't think the heat rose above 80 degrees today. I ran into a couple of guys from Arizona whom I met back in Missouri, Mike and Devin. They started one day ahead of me in Astoria, so I've been just behind them the whole way. Early on, I remember hearing people telling me I was just a day behind two young guys with beards.

Well, they're a fun pair. They don't usually start riding until noon or later, but they can certainly put on the miles when they need to. Back in Kansas, to cure the boredom, they each bought airguns that fire plastic BB's and are quite fond of shooting each other while riding. Just like cowboys and Indians from third grade! You never know when one of those white dots is going to sail by your ear when riding with these two!

(Don't worry folks, these things are quite harmless, and we all wear sunglasses.)

To top it off, I met five more (!) cyclists when I arrived in Booneville: Tom, George, Edwin, Susan, and John. They each began in slightly different places in Kentucky and are going to Yorktown. We all camped at the Presbyterian Church together. It's really nice to have someone to share the adventure with!

This picture is of the first of the few remaining signs from the inaugural TransAmerica ride (Bikecentennial) in 1976.