Thursday check in

Natchez Trace bridge I rode over

Surprise! A post from me! Yes, I am still alive and still interested in sharing a bit of my life from time to time. This should serve as a bit of check-in. I know it has been a little while, but, hey, it is summer.

We left last Thursday morning for Nashville. We had a luncheon at the Christian Scholars Conference to attend. We got there in plenty of time to get checked in and see a few people. The luncheon was to present a new book in honor of Charles Siburt. It was wonderful experience, packed with good emotion.

The conference was good. I enjoyed it and felt more comfortable than I thought I would. My participation went well. It was great to see some old friends and to make some new ones. The conference ended Saturday midday with lecture by John Dean of Watergate fame. His speech was interesting.

I arrived in Huntsville Saturday afternoon. Kedra went on down to Huntsville on Friday. Rebecca and Luke went down on Saturday morning. It worked out that when I arrived everyone was gone, busy doing various things. Perfect! That meant I could hop on my bike for a quick 25 mile ride without shirking familial responsibilities.

It was supposed to be an easy ride. The day before I had ridden 31 miles on the Natchez Trace Parkway. This road is a cyclist's paradise! There is hardly any motorized traffic and the road, while a bit hilly, is well-maintained. I am beginning to have thoughts of trying the bike all 444 miles of it sometime in the future. I only had time for 31 miles on Friday. The hills allowed speeds of 39 mph, which then were met with the corresponding 8 mph on the way back.  Good workout.

Anyway, back to the 25 mile ride. I was rolling along when I sensed something behind me. I did a triple take, finally realizing another rider was right behind me, sucking wheel. It turned out to be a young man originally from Indiana. He lives in Huntsville and aspires to be an Ironman. He actually signed up for Louisville last year but couldn't do it due to a ruptured appendix. We had a good chat and the pace escalated.

We had a nice day Sunday - church, good food, rest. Monday I rode 80 miles and Tuesday allowed me to get 20 more. I also ran 27 miles while away. No swim. It just wasn't convenient. The time away, while not allowing total disengagement, did give me a bit of a break. I got to read some and write a little.

Now I'm back and digging out. Our trip to Honduras is a major focus right now. We leave 3 weeks from Sunday!