Sunday. Decatur, Indiana.
Great overnight in the 'Shed'. Slept like the proverbial log and awoke to a fantastic homemade breakfast with the Crispin's. Brother Bob asked me if I would like some deer jerky to pack in my bags. Good jerky is a road-doggie's ultimate bicycle cowboy food. The filet mignon of packable trail meat. Sadly, the time to head east had come and as I strode to my trusty aluminum steed, Bob stopped me and handed me a gorgeous, 'Proud to Be a Freemason' pin for my handlebar bag. Another fine, touching moment. Wow. Hated to leave, but was eastward bound around 8:30am.
Rolling along the miles of beautiful farmland on a quiet Sunday morning, the bucolic serenity was shattered by a man's sharp call of, "GET BACK HERE SAM !!" A powerful mixed breed dog...in my estimation around 80+ pounds had broken away and was closing on me at warp speed. Angry barks and snarls filled the air as he triangulated my position and hurtled toward Pigbike. I yelled, "NO...STOP...GO HOME !!", in my angriest voice. It was to no avail. He continued closing, so I swerved into the traffic lane. He had almost chased me clear into the middle of Route 224's two lane, 55 mph highway before finally giving up his pursuit.
Normally when being dog-chased I reach down a grab my water bottle and squirt them square in the puss. They get the funniest look when you blast them and inevitably call off the hunt. Except today as I had broken my waterbottle and was essentially out of anti-dog ammunition. (Note to Self: ALWAYS fix your equipment, and DON'T swerve into two lane highways.)
Arrive in Decatur around 11:30am after a flat, fast, (Avg. speed: 12 mph.), thirty mile run. No head wind. I repeat...NO headwind! Booked in at the very well tended America's Best Value Inn and promptly took an air-conditioned nap. Caught up on yesterday's blog, watched Caddyshack and carbo-loaded for tomorrow's 50+ mile jump into Wapakoneta with a Domino's Cheese Fest.
Cheesy bread, double cheese pizza...you get the picture. Smell-o-vision anyone?
To close, thinking about the two gentlemen yesterday who out of the clear blue offered me money...I did not recognize them for who they are. They too are Road Gods and I missed their message. If people want to support my effort and support the Special Olympians, I must be open to accept their gifts on behalf of the kids. I GET IT NOW. If you want to support my effort and the efforts of our Special Olympians, why not take the pledge.? My final mileage to the Jesse Owens Memorial Coliseum in Columbus will be right around 500 miles. How much per mile is my ride worth? A nickel...quarter...a buck a mile? Please send your generous, tax-deductible contribution payable to, "Ohio State Special Olympics", c/o: Jim "Spudd" Sasak, Lakeshore Lodge 307, P.O. Box 333, Grand River, OH. 44045. You have my word as a Brother that 100% of all monies donated will go to the kids. Think about it. Thank you. Peace
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2 comments:
Thank goodness you're alright!!
Bad Sam! BAD SAM!!
Very gripping narrative and colorful commentary~ your skills as a writer take me by surprise~
It makes up for the lack of photos, oh, did you check out the profile updates?
So far so good here~ I think I'm getting the hang of this.
Save the photos one by one to a file in My Pictures as separate individual selections. Blog prompt says photo URL~ use computer >browse and you can access the shots you want.
Easy enough?
Still of use, CAT
When is your e t a in Columbus?
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