First, I should point out that while “speeders” rhymes with “cedars,” the parallel kind of collapses when you understand that the good people of this neck of the woods pronounce it “lə-BAN-un,” not “LEB-ə-nun.”
Second, I should point out that the speeders in question were not me and Jon, although we did have a couple of ripping fast descents, especially right at the outset this morning. No, gentle reader, I am instead referring to the super-abundance of diesel-fueled pickup trucks that are “rolling coal” as they pass us at high speeds. In three days and more than 180 miles of biking, we’ve been passed by hundreds of cars and trucks. I can count on three fingers the number of times that someone did it correctly: slow down, make sure the opposite lane is clear of oncoming traffic, then make a nice wide swing around the cyclists, giving at least three feet of clearance.
We awoke this morning to wet pavement and a light drizzle, so we decided to push our departure back at least an hour. We ended up pulling out of the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham at 10:00. We ran into a couple patches of drizzle within the first five miles—enough for Jon to put on a jacket—but by the time we reached Lebanon for lunch, the skies were clearing.
Over breakfast, we had decided that the weather would make this a short day: get into Lebanon, get lunch, then find a hotel, but we made good time getting to Lebanon despite the early rain, the skies were clearing and leaving pleasantly cool temperatures behind, and Marshfield was only 30 miles ahead. So we pressed on. (Tomorrow’s ride into The Other Springfield will be our short day, with a chance to find a laundromat and clean some clothes at the midpoint.)
Tomorrow will also mark the end of brutal climbing. Today had 4700’ of pedaling uphill (net +400’) on top of yesterday’s climbs of 4100’ (net +100’). My legs (and my undercarriage) are ready for some flatness.
Dinner tonight in Marshfield was at Grillo’s, a family restaurant only a short walk away from our hotel. Where we were seated, Jon was deprived of the opportunity to watch Laura Ingraham (with subtitles), but the food was good and inexpensive, and we each got a 10% senior discount without even asking for it. (Our waitress, a nice high-school-aged girl, probably gives the senior discount to anyone who looks older than her grandpa… and since her grandpa is probably only 30 years older than she is, we qualified easily.)
Rideworthy 