I thought I had heard a lot of jokes because of my last name... A sign just outside of Pulaski, TN

Near Cornersville, TN they have wet T-shirt contests.

I don't understand why the horse trailers are needed for the wet T-shirt contests.

Connie met me for a snack break in Chapel Hill, TN.

The Faithfull (sic) Penticostal (sic) Holiness Church in Lewisburg, TN. Spelling problems in rural Tennessee.

Main street in Eagleville, TN

View of SR 99 near Eagleville, TN. This a low traffic road.

Started from: Pulaski, TN
Ended at: Murfreesboro, TN
Distance traveled today: 109 km (67.7 mi)
Average speed: 20.7 km/h (12.9 mph)
Elapsed Time: 7.14 (hh.mm)
Max speed: 65.2 km/h (40.5 mph)
Staying at: Best Western Chaffin Inn, Murfreesboro, TN 37129 [tel. 615-898-3818]

Distance traveled so far: 201.9 km (125.5 mi)

Last Modified on 6/28/2000 at 16:50:03

Day's Narrative: This morning I left the motel at 6:00 am. I had breakfast at McDonald's since I wasn't willing to attempt breakfast at Burger King again.

There are a succession of four long hills when leaving Pulaski on US 31A towards Lewisburg. I wouldn't call them "mountain grades," but they are definitely hills that can't be ignored.

US 31A has a lot of truck traffic. I have discovered that in the East just because a highway runs near an Interstate doesn't mean that the traffic will be light. Fortunately, most of the 40 miles of US 31A between Pulaski and Chapel Hill, TN has at least a 2 foot wide paved shoulder. Still, I was delighted to reach low-traffic SR 99 at Chapel Hill.

Connie caught up with at Chapel Hill, TN. We had a snack together at a convenience store.

Yesterday a man at a convenience store who struck up a conversation about bicycling. During the exchange he asked me if the "law" stopped me much when I was cycling. What he implied was that he thought bicycling on the highway wasn't legal and he was wondering if the police stopped me much because of that. I explained that it was legal and the police were aware of that. I am convinced that a large fraction of the driving public is unaware that it's legal to bicycle on the highways.

There was rain at Lewisburg, but I only got sprinkled on. Still, the roads were wet and the passing cars and trucks kicked up quite a spray. The sky was cloudy today, but the humidity was so high it was difficult to tell how I got wet, from sweating, from the road spray, or from condensation from the moist air.

Just outside of Murfreesboro the owner of the service station was going out the door to change the price of gasoline on his signs when a customer asked if he was going raise them or lower them. He replied that he was going to raise them and asked the man if he wanted to fill up before he did it. The man replied that he had read in the paper that the prices were going down. The owner laughed and remarked that the prices in town were raised 10 cents a gallon last night, and he was only raising his 7 cents.

I arrived at the motel at 2:00 p.m. as Connie was unloading the van. She had trouble finding the Best Western in the maze of motels and fast food places at exit 78 off Interstate 24.

Connie and I taking tomorrow off in Murfreesboro. Weather permitting, I'll be riding on Thursday. That will be the last day of this trip since we want to be in Chapel Hill, NC on Friday evening.

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