Wrapping Up Loose Threads

Let's see...where were we? Oh yes, there were a couple of threads I should really wrap up.

The secret I mentioned a post or two back? Ah well, time to share! You may remember that Missy M made a job change (and move) in May. She was recruited rather enthusiastically by a couple of companies, and she accepted the offer from Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen's corporate office in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody. From everything she had learned during the interviewing process, she thought her best chances for advancement might be in the Peach State.

She was right. After seven weeks with PLK, she was promoted to manager! Her new official title is Learning Development and Innovation Manager. Yes indeedy, proud as punch! On LinkedIn? Check it out: her profile. Anyway, she has hit the ground running...well, when she has actually been on the ground, that is. She's not really sure which time zone she's in most days. Atlanta to New Orleans to Atlanta to Chicago to Atlanta to Salt Lake City to...

In between her travels, she was home long enough for Mr. T to travel to Lawrenceville (at least for a few more days, I have to be specific with my L'ville references; when her house closes in Louisville next week, we can return to using the apostrophe) last weekend to install a doggie door in her new storm door. Getting ready for her babies to move in, don't you know? (But until her schedule can settle a bit, Dixie and ER will remain with us in NC.)

Funny aside...this funny picture (above) reminds us of a Nana/Momma/Edith memory. Once when we lived in Pickerington, OH, Momma returned home with a friend and realized she'd forgotten her house keys. Not wanting to "disturb us" at work, she decided the easiest way for her to get inside was to crawl through the doggie door. Remarkably, she made it! Never underestimate the power of determination, right?

And now, on to that other hanging thread. This one is going to be a rewind rather than a wrap. Remember my bike ride across the USA to Disneyland? It got stalled in March 526.4 miles from home, near Elkton, Todd County, KY.  Well, I realized in a brief moment of panic recently that I'm running out of year! I'd better get back in the saddle-seat again posthaste. 

And so I have. I rode 11.1 miles today, taking me from Elkton (Todd County) to the west side of Fairview (Christian County), KY. Was it easy to get started again? Actually, I was surprised at how easy it was...kinda like riding a bike...hahahahahaha. No really...it was easy. But I do not remember sweating as much in March as I did today! Whew! I have a long way to go and a short time to get there...but there's no time like the present to get (re-) started.

I did a bit of research and learned that I am riding in a region of Kentucky called the Pennyroyal area. Or, as some are known to say, the Pennyrile. As settlers moved through this area, they noticed an abundance of the herb pennyroyal (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentha_pulegium), a member of the mint family which is touted to be a good mosquito and tick repellant. I don't have any pennyroyal but have heard the same about lemon balm, which I do have. I hope it served them better than my lemon balm serves me. Ahem. 

Fairview, the town where my ride ended today, is described as a census-designated location (no longer a real town?), known as the birthplace of Jefferson Davis. There is a "351-foot obelisk (which) marks the birth place of...the elected president of the Confederate States of America, the group of 11 southern states that seceded from the Union at the start of the Civil War." There are 19 acres, a museum, a gift shop, picnic shelters, playground, and an elevator to top of obelisk. I have arrived too late for the annual Jefferson Davis Birthday (June 3, 1808) Celebration. 

I'm not the first to remark on the fact that two of the major players in the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, were born in the same state: Lincoln in Hodgenville and Davis in Fairview, Christian (now Todd) County, Kentucky. Lincoln eventually settled in Illinois, becoming more connected with the Prairie state than the Bluegrass state. Likewise, Davis moved early in life to the Mississippi Delta, becoming thereafter linked to the Magnolia State. Still, they began their lives just 155 miles apart. Plus, a third member of the two couples at the head of states, Mary Todd...who would become Mrs. A. Lincoln...was born in Lexington, KY. (Varina Howell Davis was born in Natchez, MS.) Interesting, don't you think?

So, to wrap up this wrap up, as we head into the last full month of the Summer, Missy M is off and running. And I am off and riding. It's all good!

Cheers!

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* Bike Ride Footnote: To bring you up-to-date, in case you are just joining me...

My plan to get/keep in shape for gardening this year is to ride my stationary bike. Because I always need a reason to do something...or at least to continue doing something, I have decided on a program based on a distance of 2600 miles...which is the distance from our house to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, as Google-mapped using the (beta) Bike function. I started 1/3/2014...stopped for a 4-month extended break...and am continuing the saga today. 

BTW, I am tagging all the posts about my ride "Where in the USA is Patricia" on my blog, and #WhereintheUSAisPatricia on Twitter. While I won't be blogging about my ride on a daily basis, you can check my Twitter Feed over there in the right column for daily updates on my ride and location.

Happy pedaling!

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I Brake for Gardening

There I was, rolling right along on my pretend bike ride* across the USA, when what should happen but sunshine, blue skies, and temps above 50! So I stopped my trip to work in my garden here at home last weekend, which you can read all about in my latest post on our gardening blog, Gardening With Giants. Click here to go there.

And you know? That's as it should be, really. Remember, the whole purpose behind this ride was to get/keep me in shape for gardening 2014. Guess what? It has worked! We put in 10-12 hours outside this past weekend, and the aches and pains were minimal...mostly in my upper arms, which don't get worked out on the bike. No worries...I sure made up for that oversight while prepping (6) potato Grow Bags! 40 pound bags of Top Soil and Mushroom Compost still weigh 4-0 pounds!!

On to my latest Ride Report!

When I left you, I had made it to Gainesboro, TN, and chalked up 429 miles. Now, if I were riding for real, I would have had to stay in town a little bit longer than I did, due to a a Winter weather "event," as reported to me by Cuz HFC from nearby Mt. Juliet:

Good grief! So glad I can pretend ride in pretend good weather, from coast-to-coast. Do hope all is well in Jackson County once again.

Moving on...

2/21/14: 9.3 miles, riding northwest of Cordell Hull Reservoir in Macon County, near Defeated Creek State Park. What a funny name...Defeated Creek, not Cordell Hull...:-). I'm not having a whole lot of success in researching the origins of the name, as it seems to have been called that as far back as the skirmish there in 1786, as is mentioned in this 1909 "Early History of Middle Tennessee" by Edward Albright: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tnsumner/early27.htm. Interesting.

Cordell Hull: native Tennessean; longest serving Secretary of State, over 11 years under FDR; known as the Father of the United Nations; received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945. OK, so he's more important than the name of some obscure creek. I'm easily distracted sometimes...:-)

 

[2/22-24/14: 0 miles. Beautiful weekend...worked in the garden back home. Told you about that already. Then, through the wonder of magic, I popped back on my bike and picked up my journey West, right where I'd left off. To quote Harry Potter:"I love magic!"

2/25/14: 12.0 miles to Lafayette, on Hwy 262. This town, like many counterparts throughout the USA, was named to honor the Revolutionary hero, Marquis de La Fayette, whose reputation is more polished in the US, albeit somewhat tarnished in his native France. And it comes oh-so-close to the French pronunciation (just kidding...:-): 

Lafayette, Tennessee

Population (2000 Census): 3,885

Population (2010 Census): 4,474

Lafayette is pronounced luh-FAY-et.

2/26/14: 12.0 miles to west of Eulia, crossing into Sumner County on Hwy 52. I'm in an old part of the state now, since Sumner County was created in 1786, ten years before Tennessee became a state, and named for Jethro Sumner a Revolutionary War hero. But long before the long hunters ever ventured into the area by following the Indian paths, the Mound Builders were here, leaving the evidence in nearby Castallian Springs.

BTW, Sumner has a "local" connection to me, if you can follow the thread: originally from Warrenton, NC, he served under General Nathanael Greene (hero of the Battle of Guilford County Courthouse). As Wikipedia tells the story:

He was originally buried approximately eight miles outside of Warrenton, but in 1891 his remains were moved to the Guilford Courthouse Battlefield (in Greensboro, NC), where they were interred under a monument intended as part of a "shrine to patriots". In March 2012, a driver struck Sumner's monument after going off-road to avoid hitting a deer, nearly destroying the stone structure. The monument was restored by May 2012, and Sumner was reburied in a public ceremony.

Shall I say it or will you? It's a small world after all.

2/27/14: 10.2 miles, to outskirts of Westmoreland on Old Hwy 52.

Look what I found nearby:

The Little Tunnel

Built in 1886, this tunnel was part of a Chesapeake & Nashville Railroad line connecting Gallatin to Scottsville, Kentucky. It was known as the “"shortest railroad tunnel in the U.S.,"” measuring just 46 feet and 6 inches in length, 13 inches shorter than the famous Bee Rock tunnel in Virginia.

2/28/14: 10.5 miles, arriving at the home of my Portland cousins. How exciting! As I've said in a previous post, I have family and friends in almost every state of my journey across the USA, and the L's are the only ones on my entire route to Disneyland. Better make the most of my visit!

Of course, it is fitting that I should visit these cousins on my way to Disneyland. You see, when I was a tot, Momma, Daddy, and I went to CA, visiting the LA area where the L family was living then (Brothers W and W were mere teens). We spent a day at Disneyland, where older Cuz W took me to ride the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups. I hope he has forgotten how loudly I screamed. Hated going round and round then; hate it more now. Sigh. I'm sure there's an old black and white pic of the evidence somewhere in this house.

Portland is a place that is going on my "visit this one for real, one day." Again, from my "Ring of Fire" guidebook:

Portland

This town is perched on the Highland Rim, an area known for its rich soil. Like many of the towns on the Ring of Fire, the climate and soil were perfect for growing dark-fired tobacco. In the 1920s, Portland was gaining a reputation for a different crop, with its farmers providing about 20 percent of the national market for strawberries. The town celebrates its strawberry heritage every May with a popular festival.

When I was growing up in West Tennessee, if the words "Strawberry Festival" were used in a sentence, thoughts turned to Humboldt (not Portland). Looking at the promotional material on the vying websites, it appears the West Tennessee version edges out the Middle Tennessee version by a couple of years (Humboldt's 75 years to Portland's 73). Sounds like they both know what they are doing, though.

So, let's add it all up: 429+9.3+12+12+10.2+10.5=483 miles! Hurrah!!

Next up: a new month...a new state...and more miles. Stay tuned!

Cheers!

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* Bike Ride Footnote: To bring you up-to-date, in case you are just joining me...

My plan to get/keep in shape for gardening this year is to ride my stationary bike. Because I always need a reason to do something...or at least to continue doing something, I have decided on a program based on a distance of 2600 miles...which is the distance from our house to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, as Google-mapped using the (beta) Bike function. I started 1/3/2014...and am continuing the saga today. 

BTW, I am tagging all the posts about my ride "Where in the USA is Patricia" on my blog, and #WhereintheUSAisPatricia on Twitter. While I won't be blogging about my ride on a daily basis, you can check my Twitter Feed over there in the right column for daily updates on my ride and location.

Happy pedaling!

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Riding the Rim

After my extended rest, I have come back with more energy and more enthusiasm, both for my ride and for life in general. I just have to wake up first...;-). (Yeah...climbing the ladder to a higher dose of the nerve med, gabapentin continues...slowly, slowly. Fortunately, 600 MG seems to be managing my jaw pain and the muscle spasms like a charm. Hurrah!)

Anyway...how about a bike ride* report?

Let's see, as of the last report I had made it to Monterey, TN, in Putnam County, and had recorded 387.4 miles. Let's ride!

2/15/14: 10.7 miles, heading into Cookeville on Buck Mountain Road. This would be a lovely ride...if I were really doing it, of course. My route is taking me along the Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail, where historical patterns are preserved and displayed on barns and roadside buildings. Much better than the "See Rock City" signs, eh? See...there's the Star of Bethlehem on Buck Mountain Are, Cookeville!

2/16/14: Rest Day. Actually, I missed my ride and thought about ditching RD altogether. Seems like I am enjoying this experience...and the benefits of the exercise. If it EVER clears up outdoors, it'll be fun to see how much I've gained in gardening-related strength. I can happily report that I've lost 8 pounds...without too terribly much effort. No diet, remember. Just recording everything I'm eating...and riding to Disneyland, of course.

2/17/14: 10.1 miles in 48 minutes, bumping the Resistance Level up to 3. I know, I know...I said I was going to ride as if the USA were flat as a pancake, but I began reading about this region I'm riding through and tried the "Hill Climbing Workouts" that are resident on my NordicTrack bike. Heheheheh. Not ready for that! So, I took a baby step by increasing the resistance by 2 ticks for 2 miles. That should help me with my leg muscles...which are used in gardening activities almost as much as arms are. 

So, what was I saying about this region? Here's a great visual from the website www.tnhistoryforkids.org, overlaid with a pointer for my approximate location:

As you see, it's called the Highland Rim, surrounding the Central Basin, where Nashville is found. Actually I'm on the portion known as the Eastern Highland Rim. Here's a good bit of info from http://www.tnhistoryforkids.org/geography/a_3:

2/18/14: 9.8 miles in 45 minutes, putting me in Gainesboro, the county seat of Jackson County, and one of the oldest towns in Tennessee.

My ride today took me by Cummins Falls State Park, Tennessee's newest. I love waterfalls, and I have been to nearby (if you have a car...:-) Burgess Falls. I am putting Cummins on my list of "Want to See For Real."

2/19/14: 11 miles in 55 minutes, crossing the Cumberland River west of Gainesboro on my way to Lafayette on Hwy 262.

The Cumberland River was the "highway" that late in the 18th century brought first the long hunters, then the brave-hearted early pioneers to Tennessee, including my Sparkman, Barnett, Cummings, Hunter, and Smiley ancestors. From its headwaters in Harlan County, Kentucky, to its confluence with the Ohio in Paducah, the Cumberland makes a giant loop, dipping deep into the heart of Middle Tennessee. While a key player in the settlement of the West (of the Alleghenies), it has at times been treacherous and sports several dams and man-made reservoirs, like the nearby lake named for native son and former Secretary of State, Cordell Hull. Most recently, in 2010, the Cumberland defied all the good intentions of the Corps of Engineers and TVA and jumped its banks, devastating great portions of downtown Nashville, including the building...and all the essential printing equipment...where Brother J works.

2/20/14: Rest Day. And time for a celebration! My total today is...drum roll, please...429 miles! I've achieved my 4th century! Double hurrah!

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that I rode into Gainesboro on TN Hwy 56. That very same highway, if you followed it south, goes through Smithville, TN, county seat of Dekalb County.

Smithville

The city of Smithville was founded in 1838 as the seat of DeKalb County. It was located on 50 acres donated by Bernard Richardson and named Smithville by the general assembly in honor of Samuel Granville Smith of Jackson County, a state senator and Tennessee's secretary of state. (Learn more from "The Promised Land Trail" on Tennessee Trails and Byways: http://tntrailsandbyways.com/trail/7/promised-land/?p=5)

Smithville is a darling place near the beautiful Center Hill Lake, where several Country Music stars have homes, and near the Joe L. Evins Appalachian Center for Craft, which is on my list of "Things To Do When We Retire." Like North Carolina's John C. Campbell Folk School, another one on that list, the Appalachian Craft Center offers weekend, half-week, and week-long classes in a host of arts and crafts (including fibers...yea!). Being affiliated with Tennessee Tech University also allows Ap. Craft to offer degreed programs, too. I'm here a bit too early for the big do in April, though you can read more about here:  http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/celebration/

Smithville has the requisite town square around the courthouse, where you can get a great cup of coffee at Webb's Drug Store and where, every first weekend in July since 1972, you will find the fabulous Fiddlers' Jamboree and Crafts Festival, which reportedly attracts 100,000 folks...give or take...:-)

Smithville is also where my parents retired in 1985, buying the house that my Aunt Christine and Uncle Walt had purchased as their retirement home a few years before. Even though they lived there for just five years (until Daddy died in 1990), it was probably the happiest time of their lives. And I have every hope of visiting there again.

Of course, I've discovered something interesting happening this very weekend, south on 56, too. The DelMonaco Winery in Baxter is hosting a Wine, Shine, and Stein tour. We all know where I would be, now don't we? Celebrating that big 400, of course. Heheheheh. 

Cheers!

++++++++++++++++++++

* Bike Ride Footnote: To bring you up-to-date, in case you are just joining me...

My plan to get/keep in shape for gardening this year is to ride my stationary bike. Because I always need a reason to do something...or at least to continue doing something, I have decided on a program based on a distance of 2600 miles...which is the distance from our house to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, as Google-mapped using the (beta) Bike function. I started 1/3/2014...and am continuing the saga today. 

BTW, I am tagging all the posts about my ride "Where in the USA is Patricia" on my blog, and #WhereintheUSAisPatricia on Twitter. While I won't be blogging about my ride on a daily basis, you can check my Twitter Feed over there in the right column for daily updates on my ride and location.

Happy pedaling!

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A New Ride Post and An Old Nemesis

Good news: after a rest day 2/12/14, I'm back on the bike* again, starting on my next half-century (more on that in a minute). The bad news? I had to spend part of my Tuesday at my Dr's office, because I was in a good deal of pain, with (of all things), recurring muscle contractions in my left jaw. Spasms that locked my jaw. They just came in waves...very painful waves. Had to do something.

Of course, when I mentioned "my left jaw," I imagine many of you were already clued in to where this strange malady was originating. If you said "uh oh...Bell's Palsy," you would be on the right track. It seems that the recent URI/virus I was battling has "negatively affected" good ol' Cranial Nerve VII...AKA "the facial nerve," and the one that got pinched during my bout with Bell's Palsy. (If you are new to my blog...or simply slept through my posts in 2012, here's the beginning of that long, sad tale...which has had a mixed, but mostly happy near-ending:
There's Good News and Bad News). Here's a link to some medical mumbo-jumbo about what's happening: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3070467/.  Bottom line? Blame it on a long-term complication of Bell's called synkenesis.

What to do? For starters, I've been given another round of a nerve pain drug called gabapentin...in a much higher dose. Much, much higher. 1200 MG per day vs. 100 MG. This stuff puts me to sleep at 100...can you imagine what 1200 can do?! I am working my way up the dosage ladder and thankfully building up my tolerance to the higher dosage. I'm up to 600 MG per day now...and I can stay awake during the day without too much trouble. Yea!

But the best news is that it is working! I have had NO MORE FACIAL MUSCLE SPASMS since Wednesday. None! And the left jaw pain has subsided to almost none. An added benefit is that gabapentin works equally well on any/all nerve pain in the body, so my back hasn't felt this good in years!! Double yea!!! Now, if I can make it all the way up the dosage ladder to 1200...and still drive my car...that will be the equivalent of grabbing the brass ring.

[To be clear, the gabapentin works to relieve the nerve pain. It can't relieve or remove the synkenesis. I have four options with that: live with it (which I have chosen by default), facial muscle retraining, Botox injections, or surgery. The last two terrify me, frankly. "Living with it" is the easiest, but will require me to take gabapentin for the rest of my life (hopefully at a lower dose). Retraining sounds like a nice alternative, but there is a major hitch: it requires a specially-trained physical therapist who works with facial paralysis patients. And at last count, there is ONE in North Carolina...at Duke in Durham. Read that last sentence again. My doctor's office is trying to get me an appointment, but I'm not holding my breath.]

Ok, so I may not be safe to be driving on our snow-covered (posted some pics of our latest SNOW on Flickr, which you can check out in the slideshow in the right column)streets yet, but I can ride a stationary bicycle! Here's the latest half-century (50 mile) report:

2/10/14:  11.2 miles today, putting me west of Deer Lodge, in the middle of Morgan County. Crossing from Eastern Time Zone to Central Time Zone ("the good time," as Mr. T and I call it, since we both grew up watching prime time programs beginning at 7:00) officially moves me from East Tennessee to Middle Tennessee. And that's about all I have to say about today's ride.

2/11/14:  10.2 miles today...remarkable because I spent this morning in pain and this afternoon in the doctor's office. Took just one 300 mg gabapentin after supper...and that made me so loopy that I couldn't recognize pain or fatigue if either slapped me silly. "Might as well ride my bike," sounded perfectly appropriate to me at the time. Mr. T walked in the door, after driving home from Maryland (!), saw me on my bike trying mightily to ride while also watching the TV (which seemed a lot more difficult to do than usual), and said: "That's the LAST place I expected to find you when I got home!"

Anyway...

I'm in Fentress County now, home to Sergeant Alvin C. York (one of the most-decorated WWI soldiers and a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient). This is beautiful country, some of it remaining wild and free. If I weren't following this Google-mapped route, I'd turn my bike to the north and ride through the county seat of Jamestown to Pall Mall to visit:

Sergeant Alvin C. York State Historic Park

This site is the homeplace of one of the most decorated war heroes of WWI. Stop at the general store and visitors center to find memorabilia and souvenirs, historical photos and newspaper clippings, and don't miss the 15-minute video history in the back. Explore the 1880s gristmill that York operated for years, and tour the family home, farm and burial site. Get your feet wet, enjoy the playground and have a picnic along the Wolf River. (from the TN Vacation website)

2/12/14: REST DAY...and boy did I need one! I'm also glad to have added another half-century to my totals!!! Actually, in my haze, it seems I totally missed counting a day (2/1/14), so my "half-century" is really 61 miles. That brings my ride total to (drum-roll, please): 366.4 miles!

If I were really riding through this part of Tennessee...and really taking a break "right here," I would find some way to get to nearby Rugby, Tennessee. Granted, I would have to cross back over into Eastern Time Zone, so I would technically be returning to East Tennessee from Middle Tennessee...but you won't tell, will you?

I have blogged before about a day trip Momma and I once took to Rugby (what a fun day that was!), where we came back to Smithville (where Momma and Daddy were living in their retirement) with fond memories, good intentions and a mostly-empty bag of apple fritters for Daddy and Mr. T. Still brings a smile to my face. Here's a bit more about Rugby from the TN Vacation website:

Church
in Rugby

Rugby

Nestled between the Big South Fork National Recreation Area and the Rugby State Natural Area, the town of Rugby is a rare example of a rural community with its original blueprint still intact. Perfectly preserved and restored to the utopian vision of its founder...it is one of the most authentically preserved historic villages in America. The town is perched at the top the Cumberland Plateau, founded in 1880 by British author and social reformer Thomas Hughes as a cooperative, class-free, agricultural community for younger sons of English gentry and others wishing to start life anew in America. His pilgrimage to the U.S. was in response to a combination of Britain's economic depression, and the policy that first-born sons inherited entire estates, while younger siblings were left with nothing. Hughes and other younger sons set sail for the Cumberland Plateau, and the resulting experiment brought a unique blend of British Isles to the area. Today, as a result of painstaking restoration and strict preservation, 20 original buildings still stand in this picturesque, Victorian community in the hills of East Tennessee.

2/13/14:  11 miles in 50 minutes. Feeling sooooooooo much better! Overshot my goal of 10.2 miles today before I even knew it (I was watching an episode of Salvage Dawgs, if you must know...:-). I'm getting stronger every day, increasing my MPH (started with a wimpy 9 mph; up to averaging about 12.5 mph!) and decreasing the amount of time it takes me to reach my goal for the day. I'm currently riding on a 21-mile stretch of TN Hwy 62 between Clarkrange and Monterey, so a mile here-or-there is OK. Crossed from Fentress County into Putnam County.

2/14/14: 10 miles in 45 minutes. Made it to Monterey. Woo hoo! I know from personal experience that there were more hills than valleys in my ride today, because we always said "the top of Monterey mountain" whenever we spoke about a trip through this part of Tennessee. "Monterey" is supposed to mean "King of the Mountain." Once known as Standing Stone, for the Native American landmark that once stood here on top of the Cumberland Plateau, this part of Tennessee became a refuge from the oppressive summertime-heat of the cities. From the TN Vacation Website: During the early 1900s, Monterey became a resort town that boasted seven hotels and drew summer guests who came to enjoy the cool temperatures and mountain scenery."

More recently, however, Monterey is near the site of my brother J and SIL J's wedding as the last century came to a close. They were married in an outdoor ceremony at The Garden Inn at Bee Rock, a beautiful setting a few minutes south of here. As a matter of fact, if you follow that link to their website and scroll down, you will see a quote from none other than Edith Lunn (imagine my own surprise at seeing that!). Go ahead and check it out...I'll wait.

Back again, eh? Well, I'm headed to the showers after my ride. Even though we have had snow on the ground for three days now, we are hoping to grill some steaks out and open a nice bottle of wine, back here in Reality...AKA High Point. It is, after all, Valentine's Day.

Cheers!

++++++++++++++++++++

* Bike Ride Footnote: To bring you up-to-date, in case you are just joining me...

My plan to get/keep in shape for gardening this year is to ride my stationary bike. Because I always need a reason to do something...or at least to continue doing something, I have decided on a program based on a distance of 2600 miles...which is the distance from our house to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, as Google-mapped using the (beta) Bike function. I started 1/3/2014...and am continuing the saga today. 

BTW, I am tagging all the posts about my ride "Where in the USA is Patricia" on my blog, and #WhereintheUSAisPatricia on Twitter. While I won't be blogging about my ride on a daily basis, you can check my Twitter Feed over there in the right column for daily updates on my ride and location.

Happy pedaling!

++++++++++++++++++++

A Restart in Two Parts

Found it! If you are looking for a lost virus, look no more...'cause I think I found what you lost. Or what someone "lost." Have been doing battle with some kind of upper respiration invader for a few days now. Was the fever the worst part? Nah. Definitely the sore throat and hoarseness...meant I can't talk as much as I usually do. Ahem.

Took more than my usual one rest day from my bike ride*...and the other activities in my life...to encourage a speedy return to good health. Not all the way back yet, but I'm tired of being sick. And bored with "recovery." So, it's back in the saddle (seat) again...hitting the RESTART button. Mindful of my body's need to take it a little easier than usual, I did divide today's ride into two parts...but, hang on...I'm jumping ahead of myself.

Where were we? Oh yeah, I had ridden 305.4 miles total by the end of January, took a Rest Day on the 1st, and then added 10.2 miles on 2/2, to get me all the way to the outskirts of Oak Ridge, TN. Let's pick up the travelogue there.

2/3/14: Completed 10.1 miles in 47 minutes, riding through Oliver Springs, crossing into Morgan County near Coalfield. Here's a nifty note from the Tennessee Vacation website:  

Back Valley Public Library: The Smallest Library in the USA located in Coalfield...

"This 1956 building measures just six feet by five feet, and served as the town’s library for many years. Founder Dot Byrd used the $200 courtesy check she received as a guest on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson to start a bank account for the construction of the library, opened in 1994. Today, it sits in the shadow of a newer facility. Stop in to learn the entire story of the famous little library here."

Coalfield is just what the name sounds like it is...in the middle of coal-mining country. What? You didn't realize Tennessee had coal to mine? Yes indeed-y. And I'm riding through an area that was once a coal battleground.

Ever hear of the Coal Creek War? That's the phrase used to describe the armed conflict that took place in the early 1890's right here, when coal mine owners in the Coal Creek Watershed, looking for a source of low-cost labor, decided to use state-leased convicts to replace "free" miners. Although the miners ended up in nearby Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, it was the beginning of the end of the convict leasing era by Tennessee. It was also the beginning of what came to be known as "The Appalachian Coal Mining Protest Music," one of the earliest examples of which was "Coal Creek March." Without that, there may never have been a "Sixteen Tons" for Tennessee Ernie Ford to cover!

And today? There are still strip mines in this area, and much ado about mountain top mining, where explosives are used to blast the "tops" off mountains to get at the coal "inside." But, what I find most encouraging is that the Coal Creek area is known for another brand of energy: windmills! There are "18 windmills standing 260 feet tall along two miles of ridgeline atop Buffalo Mountain. As the 135-foot-long blades spin, they provide 29 megawatts of green energy and power for 3,780 homes." Here's a picture I found on Google:

Wait a minute! Did you say State Penitentiary?! Yes, yes I did. When I was growing up, Brushy Mountain...or "Big Brushy," as it was sometimes called...located in nearby Petros, was one of three Tennessee state prisons, this one serving the Eastern part of the state. There was Tennessee State Pen. in Nashville (Middle Tennessee), and of course, the West Tennessee State Pen., which we in Lauderdale County just called "Fort Pillow." Daddy (like Papaw before him) carried the mail to the prison; used to get his hair cut by the prisoners and love to eat a steak raised on the penal farm that he could buy for $1; and once "captured" an escaped prisoner in Henning. [The man was hiding in a 55-gallon drum that was used as a trash can by the Johnsons' Gulf station. Daddy had stopped for a fill-up and a snack and was throwing a candy wrapper away when he heard the "can" say: "Please mister, don't shoot me!" (What with, I wonder...a Hershey bar?)]

Brushy Mountain was (it is no longer in service) considered "escape-proof," due to its isolation in such a wild, untamed part of the Cumberland Mountains. I wonder if you remember who was sentenced there...and who did, in fact, manage to escape...for a couple of days, at least? And the answer is: James Earl Ray, the man who confessed to killing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis in 1968.

2/4/14: Did 9.2 miles in 42 minutes, making a right turn on Hwy 27/29 near Wartburg, county seat of Morgan County.  Here's some info from the Tennessee Vacation website:

Wartburg

Founded in 1845 by 15 families of German-Swiss settlers, the town is named for the Wartburg Castle in Germany. Many area residents still hold the dream of replicating that famous castle here on a hilltop overlooking the city.

This ride took me past some of the most beautiful areas in the state, IMHO. The nearby Frozen Head State Park would be worth a stop...if I were there in person. Check it out here: http://tnstateparks.com/parks/contact/frozen-head

Frozen Head State Park

These 24,000 acres contain some of the richest wildflower areas in the state, as well as one of the highest peaks in the state at 3,324 feet. In the winter, Frozen Head is often covered with snow or ice, even though the sun may be shining. Stroll or hike over 50 miles of foot trails with waterfalls and rock shelters, bring a picnic, or plan for camping. Events throughout the year include Wildflower Walks in April; the Echo in the Mountain Bluegrass Festival in May and Heritage Days in August celebrating traditional Appalachian music and crafts. This is an access point for the Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail, a 300-mile linear State Park.

2/5-2/8/14: prolonged Rest Days, trying to recover from this URI. Better now, thank you.

2/9/14: Today's ride of 11.2 miles (done in two sessions) moved me west of Wartburg, into the middle of Morgan County. I was happy to be back on my bike...and to be making some progress again.

If all goes well tomorrow, I'll gain an hour as I cross over into the Central Time Zone. Looking forward to it!

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* Bike Ride Footnote: To bring you up-to-date, in case you are just joining me...

My plan to get/keep in shape for gardening this year is to ride my stationary bike. Because I always need a reason to do something...or at least to continue doing something, I have decided on a program based on a distance of 2600 miles...which is the distance from our house to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, as Google-mapped using the (beta) Bike function. I started 1/3/2014...and am continuing the saga today. 

BTW, I am tagging all the posts about my ride "Where in the USA is Patricia" on my blog, and #WhereintheUSAisPatricia on Twitter. While I won't be blogging about my ride on a daily basis, you can check my Twitter Feed over there in the right column for daily updates on my ride and location. Happy pedaling! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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Pauline Would Be Proud of this Pilgrim

Bike Ride* Post ahead, I promise! Keep reading!!

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres.
--Julius Caesar

.
Translation:
"All Gaul is divided into three parts. From De Bello Gallico Book I, Ch. 1; these are the first words of De Bello Gallico, the whole sentence is 'All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in ours Gauls, the third.'" At least according to Wikiquote.

Right. What has that got to do with your bike ride, Patricia? Have you gone around the bend...no pun intended?

Those words were the beginning lines of  Mrs. Pauline Thomas' Latin II classes when I was a sophomore in Ripley (Tennessee) High School, and I remember it like it was yesterday. Or maybe last year. OK, actually that's not exactly how I remember the Latin at all. "Omnia Gallia est divisa in tres partes" is what my mind keeps mumbling, over and over during my ride through this part of Tennessee. I may have the words in a jumble, but the reasoning is crystal clear...to me at least. Because...

All Tennessee is divided into three parts, people. And I'm in the Eastern part, for sure. The orange part. Never seen so much orange in my life. Not my favorite color by any stretch of the imagination.

Reminds me of another quote, this time from a favorite movie:

"We are pilgrims in an unholy land."
-- Dr. Henry Jones, Sr.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Right.

So, why are you wearing orange today then, Patricia? Since the Panthers aren't playing in the Super Bowl, I dug out my one and only orange sweater to wear to show my support for Coach John Fox, whom I have admired since he coached Carolina, and for Peyton Manning, who is a class act wearing a quarterback's number.

And, you better believe I'm wearing blue pants to complete the outfit. True blue. Tiger blue. The color some of those Celts supposedly painted their bodies in battle. Or, so said Caesar.

OK, on to the Bike Ride! I am pleased as punch to report I completed my third century by the end of January! 305.4 miles, to be exact. Woo hoo! Something to celebrate.

Let's see, where was I at the end of my last report?

1/20/14: Rest day. I have learned the best schedule for my body is 3 days on, 1 day off. And, I now know that my daily limit on the bike is about 1 hour. I had been aiming for 16.7 mile/day on average, but that was keeping me on the bike for nearly 90 minutes...and creating a problem with my lower back, making my left leg and foot numb. Not. Good. So, I nipped it back to 10-12 miles per day, which will keep me in the "under an hour" ride range, as long as I am averaging at least 12 mph.  Live and learn, right?

1/21/14: 9.0 miles, putting me on Main Street in Greeneville, county seat of Greene County. Greeneville is a beautiful place, and many are choosing to retire here, attracted by the vistas as well as the lack of personal income taxes. I downloaded their Tourism Board's brochure on retiring to Greene County (find it here: http://www.growingreene.com/images/uploads/2009%20Retiree%20Brochure%20proof%20(6).pdf) and was favorably impressed. I also had to chuckle because it reminded me of something I haven't seen since we left TN in 1988: wheel tax. Yep, I had to learn all about ad valorem taxes, etc., when I left my home state. In TN, we just called it what we saw it: not personal property but wheels!

1/22/14: 10.5 miles, outside of Greenville riding on Andrew Johnson Highway.

1/23/14: 10.2 miles, taking me into Hamblen County, headed on Stagecoach Road toward Morristown. 

1/24/14: Rest day

1/25/14: 9.7 miles putting me in Morristown, county seat of Hamblen County. 

1/26/14: 11.7 miles, crossing into Jefferson County, on Hicks Road on the outskirts of Jefferson City. As you can see in the map above, my ride is taking me close to Cherokee Lake, one of the TVA lakes. From TVA.gov: "Construction of Cherokee Dam (named for the Native Americans test lived here) began in August 1, 1940, and was completed on a crash schedule on December 5, 1941. The reservoir has nearly 400 miles of winding shoreline and about 28,780 acres of water surface...(and) a flood-storage capacity of 749,400 acre-feet...Cherokee Dam is a hydroelectric facility. It has four generating units with a net dependable capacity of 148 megawatts." Oh, how I miss living in TVA territory!

1/27/14: 10.3 miles, putting me on the edge of Strawberry Plains.

1/28/14: Rest day

1/29/14: 11.4 miles, crossing into Knox County, on E. Magnolia in Knoxville...at Chilhowee Park, where the Knoxville Zoo is located.

 
1/30/14: 10.2 miles, riding through the streets of Knoxville, turning onto the Clinton Highway. You are correct if you have noticed I'm avoiding The Hill on my ride. If you want to learn more about the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, you're on your own. Momma, who attended UT for one year in the late 30's (and was miserable the entire time she was there), liked to come to Gatlinburg in the Smokies annually, and we often combined a trip to the mountains with a football weekend. Growing up, that was fun. After the reception we (Tiger Fans) received a few years ago, I have no desire to leave another nickel of my tourist dollar in this county. Moving on.

1/31/14: 9.5 miles, putting me on the west side of Knoxville, making a turn onto TN 170W toward Oak Ridge. This is near the part of Knoxville where my great-Uncle James (brother of my grandmother Margaret) and Aunt Billie Stewart lived. They are both long gone, but I remember visiting them as a child, stopping by whenever we came "east." 

Total for the month: (Previously reported) 213.5+9.0+10.5+10.2+9.1+11.7+10.3+11.4+10.2+9.5 = 305.4 miles for January. High five, everybody!

2/1/14: Rest Day

2/2/14: 10.2 miles, crossing the Clinch River, putting me on Ingraham Lane in Oak Ridge. This made-up city, which didn't exist until WWII, straddles Roane and Anderson Counties. It has a fascinating history, which you can read about here: http://oakridgevisitor.com/history/oak-ridge-story/. I think this war-era picture speaks volumes, don't you?

Yep, I have done my ride for today, earning some extra calories to spend on those Super Bowl snacks. 

Tomorrow will be a full month of riding, and I'll fill you in on some changes I'm seeing...giving full credit to this experience. Stay tuned for my next update!

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* Footnote: To bring you up-to-date, in case you are just joining me...

My plan to get/keep in shape for gardening this year is to ride my stationary bike. Because I always need a reason to do something...or at least to continue doing something, I have decided on a program based on a distance of 2600 miles...which is the distance from our house to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, as Google-mapped using the (beta) Bike function. I started 1/3/2014...and am continuing the saga today. 

BTW, I am tagging all the posts about my ride "Where in the USA is Patricia" on my blog, and #WhereintheUSAisPatricia on Twitter. While I won't be blogging about my ride on a daily basis, you can check my Twitter Feed over there in the right column for daily updates on my ride and location. Happy pedaling! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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500 Miles Away from Home

Three more rides...another half-century...time to report on my trip again! *

1/16/2014: A rest day, just over the state line in Tennessee. "Oh, good...you're home," say those that know I'm from Tennessee. Uh...yes, but no. I'm "in" East TENNessee. I'm from WEST TennesSEE. World's apart, longitudinally as well as linguistically. Geographically and by state law, Tennessee is divided into three distinct regions: East, Middle, and West...each with a star on the state flag. And I'm a long, long way from Memphis, in West Tennessee. Five hundred miles away...give or take.

Speaking of Memphis, a cuz recently asked on Facebook if my ride was going to bring me through the city of my birth. Sad to say, it isn't. Although Google keeps changing the exact route it maps for my bike ride across the USA, neither of the most commonly recurring routes has me crossing the Mississippi at Memphis. One of the routes takes me all the way up to St. Louis for a crossing from IL to MO at Alton on the beautiful Clarke Bridge (been there, done that). A shorter route (by about 100 miles) has me crossing the River from KY to MO on a ferry. I've decided to go with...Route Number Two!

This route will take me through ten states: NC, TN, KY, MO, OK, TX, NM, AZ, NV, and CA. And, as far as I can tell, I will ride through only one city or town where I have family and/or friends: Portland, TN. So, Cousins W&I L, W L, and S McC...get ready, 'cause here I come...virtually!

Just one, you ask? Actually, I am astounded at that...because I know folks in all but two of those states...have lived in four of them myself. Forget Disney's version...it's a BIG World, after all; it's a BIG, BIG WORLD!

1/17/2014: Today's ride took me 17.6 miles in 1:34. On the map, I rode from about Buck Creek Road near Roan Mountain (elevation 6285'), TN, to a right turn from Simerly Creek Rd to TN 107 W, near Erwin, TN...from Carter County to Unicoi County. 

If this had been the third weekend in June when I was making this ride, I would have taken a detour for Roan Mountain State Park, to view the explosion of color that is the Rhododendron Festival (www.roanmountain.org). Momma and I came to the festival a number of years ago, when it was still held on the mountain top...which was ablaze in color. Alas, other than the mountain vistas, there are few destination-stops in this area, especially in the dead of Winter.

If, however, I had packed my genealogy research, I would be in hog heaven: you can't swing a bicycle chain around here without hitting a family cemetery. They are well-marked on my Google-map, and when I investigated further online, I discovered...

To my knowledge, I don't have any lines in this area, since my Lunn and Holland lines seem to have arrived on the Cumberland Plateau (Middle Tennessee) via river rather than coming over the mountains (although I did discover that a Sparkman line came from NC, possibly passing through?); my Stewart line came to West Tennessee from Elyton (Birmingham), AL (and before that...SC, maybe?); my Currie and my Ivie ancestors, originally from PA, migrated to Caswell County, NC, but seemed to have gone from there straight to West Tennessee, to claim and settle their land grants; my Cummings clan came to Middle Tennessee with the rest of the Scottish-Irish migration from PA; and the jury is still out on where the Keatons were before Woodbury, TN in the 1850s. Who did I leave out? Oh yeah...Garnets and Farrises...from VA, if I recall correctly. 

Still, I've been known to spend an afternoon strolling through an "unrelated" cemetery, looking at headstones, just for the fun of it. (Immediate family members and close friends are rolling their eyes after reading that 'cause they know me; friends, relatives, and casual acquaintances are probably worried for my mental health; and other genealogists are nodding their heads in understanding and solidarity. You know which category you fall.)

Moving on...

1/18/2014: Today's ride was 17.7 miles in 1:32, taking me through Erwin, TN, over the Nolichucky River (for the first time) and plopping me into Washington County...turning onto Gov. John Sevier Highway heading toward Greeneville. 

Here is a picture I found on Wikipedia that purports to be taken near Erwin, looking toward the Nolichucky. Looks to be taken in the dead of Winter, too. Appropriate. 

Quick! In what state was David Crockett (he never called himself Davy...why should we?) born? Hint: he was born in 1786. If you said, "Tennessee" because you saw that highway marker (which clearly called the man Davy) back there on TN 107W, you would be wrong. Tennessee didn't become a state until 1796 (as most Tennessee school children learn in history class). If you said "North Carolina" (because the land that eventually became TN was formerly part of the colony of North Carolina), you would be wrong again...technically. No, David Crockett was born near present day Limestone, TN, smack dab in the middle of the Lost State of Franklin.

John Sevier, an Indian fighter and Revoluntionary War hero of the Battle of Kings Mountain, was the (1) first and only governor of the State of "Frankland," as the original petition for the 14th state to the Continental Congress was written, and then (2) the first and only executive of the independent State of Franklin. (Hence, the reason there's a highway named after him, along with a county, a city, and more than a few children.) The state capital was Greeneville (named for Nathanael Greene, another Revolutionary hero...and namesake of Greensboro, NC). The eight counties briefly returned to North Carolina's rule (more or less), then became a part of the 16th State.

Thus endeth the Tennessee history lesson for today. WARNING: expect more of the same. Love history. Can't help myself. Read at your own risk!

1/19/2014: Today's ride of 17.0 miles in 1:28 put me in a little rest area off the Erwin Highway (don't you just love the satellite view on Google maps? I can see the spot...and the nearby rapids on the river!), looking at the Nolichucky (again), heading west (more or less) out of Erwin to "near" Tusculum, TN, in Greene County, elevation 1495'. 

Tusculum is home to the oldest college in the state, Tusculum College, laying claim to the city motto: "First in Education." This area is also the old stomping grounds for one of Tennessee's three "native soil" presidents: Andrew Johnson. A tailor by trade in nearby Greeneville (where his modest brick home and shop are preserved as a National Historic site and worth a visit), he honed his oratory skills by often walking the five miles to Tusculum College to participate in debates on the topics of the day. (Not sure where he learned to drink more than he should have. Ahem.) While his political fortunes rose higher than he ever expected, he is mainly remembered for having been impeached...and acquited. Still, his life had a happy ending...he was elected as a Senator, returning to Washington and making a speech denouncing President Grant's  Reconstruction .policies.  He held to his beliefs, even when faced with overwhelming odds. Time has been kinder than his contemporaries were.

Told you...I can't help myself.

OK! Drum roll please! Total so far: 161.2+17.6+17.7+17= 213.5 miles. 

Time for another Day of Rest! Which is good because I think the weather tomorrow (Monday) just might permit doing a little work in the garden...which is, after all, what I am doing all this riding for in the first place!

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* Footnote: To bring you up-to-date, in case you are just joining me...

My plan to get/keep in shape for gardening this year is to ride my stationary bike. Because I always need a reason to do something...or at least to continue doing something, I have decided on a program based on a distance of 2600 miles...which is the distance from our house to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, as Google-mapped using the (beta) Bike function. I started 1/3/2014...and am continuing the saga today. 

BTW, I am tagging all the posts about my ride "Where in the USA is Patricia" on my blog, and #WhereintheUSAisPatricia on Twitter. While I won't be blogging about my ride on a daily basis, you can check my Twitter Feed over there in the right column for daily updates on my ride and location. Happy pedaling! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Back on my bike after a rest day. Here's my report on the next half-century (50-mile ride, give or take).*

1/13/2014: Made it 17.6 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, from the Mile Post 276.4 to Mile Post 294. That put me at the door step of the Moses Cone Manor House, located in the similarly-named park just outside of the downtown area of Blowing Rock, NC. Fortunately there is a craft shop run by the Southern Highland Craft Guild located here. How fortunate, indeed!

I feel a connection with this place, both because of the celebration and preservation of Mountain arts and crafts, and also because the builder and namesake of this Manor made his fortune in Greensboro, and left a legacy of a fine hospital system (where I once worked as a Trainer with the fledgling Clinical Informatics group...early-early days of the digital record.) Way to go, Moses Cone!

1/14/2014: Today's ride was 18 miles, taking me from Mile Post 294 to Mile Post 305.2, where I left the BRP, taking 221 to Linville, home of one of the oldest and best known Highland Games venues in the USA.

Just before reaching my exit, I traveled over the Linn Cove Viaduct...an engineering marvel that wraps the Parkway around Grandfather Mountain. Here's a bit more about it from the website www.blueridgeparkway.org, where you will find lots of great information. 

I know this ride is only happening in the dimension of my imagination (and on Google Maps), but this is part of this ride that we have done in real life...albeit in a car not, on a bike. Here are some photos from a real-life trip we took in November 2011, including a shot we took looking back at the Viaduct; a snap of Mr. T posing at the parking lot of (nearby) Linville Falls; and then a pic of the Falls themselves.

Did I mention Grandfather Mountain? 

Oh yeah. My elevation has gone from 1006 ft in High Point to 3665 ft in Linville. Thank heavens I'm on a stationary bike! I could NEVER do this for real. As I told Missy M the other day, I'm on a pretend ride, so I can pretend that the USA is as flat as a pancake, from sea to shining sea.

1/15/2014: I left Linville behind and pedaled 15.1 miles in 1 hour, 20 minutes. That means I've added 50.7 more miles to my total, bringing it to 161.2 miles. That also means that I am now in Carter County, Tennessee, less than 13 miles from Roan Mountain. Goody, another mountain!

Ah well...that also means I've earned another Day of Rest. And what a beautiful spot for that to happen, too!

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* Footnote about my ride: To bring you up-to-date, in case you are just joining me...

My plan to get/keep in shape for gardening this year is to ride my stationary bike. Because I always need a reason to do something...or at least to continue doing something, I have decided on a program based on a distance of 2600 miles...which is the distance from our house to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, as Google-mapped using the (beta) Bike function. I started 1/3/2014...and am continuing the saga today. 

BTW, I am tagging all the posts about my ride "Where in the USA is Patricia" on my blog, and #WhereintheUSAisPatricia on Twitter. While I won't be blogging about my ride on a daily basis, you can check my Twitter Feed over there in the right column for daily updates on my ride and location. Happy pedaling! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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