Day 17 - Wednesday, May 27

Start - Booneville, KY

End - Berea, KY

Miles (on the route) - 55.5

Miles (total) - 59.65

Avg Spd - 11.9mph

Max Spd - 34.5mph

Total Ride Time - 4:50

A fifty mile day has become somewhat commonplace, so I didn't worry about taking care of a few things in the morning before setting out for Berea, the end of my second map section. I stopped at the local library in Booneville, hoping I could jump on what is probably their only computer and update the blog. Surprise, they have 8 or 9 computers in that library... for a town of 105. On a per capita basis, that would be the equivalent of almost 200,000 computers in the Chicago Library system. I'm not sure, but I think there are less than that. It's good thing for Booneville, just didn't expect it.

I spent the day riding through hilly country. No crazy climbs, just frequent ups and downs. It showered off and on through the afternoon, with the biggest downpour of the trip so far arriving as soon as I got a flat on an old single lane farm road. I could see the wall of water closing in as I hurried to get the tube changed out, but not quick enough. Riding in the rain is not a big deal, and can even be a bit cooling with all the heat and humidity as of late. But it only served to frustrate while I changed the tube.

I rolled into Berea that evening, still damp and needing a shower. All day I thought about maybe just finally spending a couple dollars and getting a place to stay and enjoying a hot shower. But frugality kicks in and I look to keep it cheap. The local fire station was willing to let me camp on the property and even let me shower, so I got what I was looking for anyway without the pricetag. Awesome! It pays to ask around first! And the biggest score of all was finding a chinese buffet in town, the kind with the soft serve machine and everything! Time to cash in! I assure you they lost money that night!