Fijis Across America 2010

But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.” 

-Acts 5:29 

It was a rough night transitioning from my own bed at home to the floor with just a blanket and cold air constantly blowing on your face. I managed the pain however, and awoke fairly early for yet another day of living the dream. We all finally left Alex’s place at around 9ish and rode for Katie Ferriel’s great grandfather who first recognized he had Alzheimer’s after reading an article by Ronald Regan detailing the disease. The first 16 miles seemed strong and refreshing as I left the pack and tried to set my own pace into Perryville (I got the road rage from the Tour de France). Once everybody arrived and since we were in the home of Eddy Montgomery it was only appropiate to blow the speakers full blast and listen Montgomery Gentry, “This is my Town”. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqnDkqCJQVo) For the short bit it was good to get my mind of the road and to relax to some true country music. 

After trudging out another 12 miles or so I arrived in Danville, KY. Danville sure has alot to offer in the historical sense and the grounds of Centre College are practically immaculate. I would say out of all of the cities I have passed Danville has been the best so far. The buffet at Pizza Hut was devastated by my crew of seven, including myself, and I felt really sorry for all of the employees. Ingesting so much pizza in such a short amount caused us all to get a little tired so the majority of us laid our heads down in a nearby booth and took lengthy siesta. Before I started dreaming I had to wake up and hit the road in the dreary heat. The roads to Berea presented themselves to be hilly yet at the same time forgiving. Once arrived in a city park in Berea we were happily met by vuvuzelas many other fraternity members including J.B. Goll, Jessie Hitt, Melany Musick, and Ben Harper who traveled down from IHQ for the day. The time was definitely well spent and it was enjoyable to tell some stories that had developed over the past month or so. 

We slowly departed the park in the Burb and headed near Richmond to stay with fraternity brother Malcolm Lunceford’s house for the night. His parents were extremely hospitable and supper was truly amazing—-meat on a steak with unlimited barbecue sauce. The moments we shared together were memorable and I will never forget Missy the bulldog and her harmonious breathing. Later that night around supper, Luke Gulliam and Katie Hindman visited us from being in St. Louis for a couple of days. Luke has been a major support for all the riders in giving us a daily encouragment via text since day one. He’s actually remarkably only missed a couple of days, but I’ll let it slide. 

Appalachian Mountains are calling!