Day 38 of riding

Taking our time this morning, we got up at 7:00 am, ate breakfast and drove back to the Baptist Church parking lot where we left off yesterday on Hwy 62 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Russ was pedaling away just after 8:00 am under clear skies, the temperature was 75 degrees and a bit humid.  The two lane road had little or no shoulder with busy morning traffic.  After a mile or less, we pulled off and let lots of cars pass.  We soon came to a construction zone which narrowed the road even more, there were barrels on the shoulder which limited where we could pull off.  The speed limit through most of the construction area was 30 mph and Russ was zooming along at 18-25 mph.  After a bit, the line of impatient cars began to grow behind us and the honking began.  They weren't really sounding like friendly honks to me!  We pulled off at the next possible area and the irritated drivers passed some honked, one pickup pulling a trailer even blew a huge cloud of exhaust right on Russ as he passed.  After the traffic passed, we began again. Once again, the traffic piled up behind us but with no where to pull off, we just forged ahead.  As soon as the construction ended and the road widened, we moved over to the right side, relieved to let traffic pass.  A police car came up beside me, the officer whistled at me and shouted, "you've got to move off the road and let the traffic pass!!!!" Even though we'd had nowhere to go, I didn't argue, just answered "yes, sir!" and went on.  That made my heart pound a bit, it was our first encounter with an angry officer in our travels.  Last year and this year all other officers we've come in contact with have been friendly, encouraging and helpful at times.

 Now we were getting into Knoxville on a four lane street, much better!

 As we headed through Knoxville, we knew the highway we needed to be on, had made a plan and had three turns written down.  Russ always says for me to honk if he is missing a turn.  Well, I honked and honked, but he didn't hear me! I had committed to a left turn lane and he was going straight...we thought we saw him stop at the top of the hill as we turned.  We made a couple of turns and headed to where we thought we saw him stop...no Russ! Well, after a lot of praying and a little looking around and eventually going back to our planned route, we found him no more than 15 minutes later.  He'd found his way on a different street and in a big city we made our way back together.  Coincidence?  Nope!  God answers prayer and He guides us!

After we found our way to highway 11E and were on the east side of Knoxville, we could see the pretty hills in the distance.

 A barn had a beautifully painted "quilt block" as a decoration.

 We saw our first field of tobacco today.

As we took a roadside break after an hour and a half, a kind person drove over and stopped to make sure we weren't having trouble.  That happens quite often, people are kind and caring.

We took another break at Burger King in Jefferson City.  Stopping to "fuel up", cool off and use the facilities is always a good thing!  The highway was 4 lane with a wide shoulder, sometimes a bit bumpy, but for the most part okay. We stopped in Morristown just to check our route, a turn was coming up soon.  We turned north on US 25 , the highway was BUSY but we had a GREAT shoulder!  The surroundings were beautiful! 

We stopped shortly after this picture was taken at 1:00.  By this time it was beautifully sunny, 95 degrees and we'd had favorable winds all day!  Russ had ridden 61 miles and our motel was a few miles back in Morristown, Tennessee.  After checking in at the Comfort Suites, we cooled off in the pool and have spent the rest of the afternoon and evening just relaxing. 

Today was no different than others, we spotted several church signs and crosses.

With the impatient, angry drivers at the start of the day, the early morning was rather discouraging.  It's never our intent to cause delays, to irritate or upset people.  Once again, it made me contemplate patience and what an important attitude it is in our lives.  Sometimes when things don't go as we wish or expect, we can explode, shout or even "blow smoke" (like our pickup truck friend) on others.  On other days, some drivers have shown frustration by roaring around us and purposely swerving very close to Russ.  Really, what good does that do?  What good then does it do us when we "lose our cool" at times when we should really be patient and understanding?  

Then came the blessings!  Several people drove by during the morning with "happy honks", waves, and thumbs up.  Some people purposely drive by slowly making sure you see their happy smiles and waves of excitement and encouragement.  You can always tell those that truly recognize the cross and what it means to them.  Today was no different, Russ was a popular photo opportunity!  I even captured a couple of gals who drove ahead, stopped at a gas station, and ran to the road to get his picture as he pedalled by!

Scripture encouraged us as we began our journey,

 "This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!!

Jim & Melinda personalized it further in their note of encouragement:
"Neither flat tires, nor stormy weather, nor steep hills, nor unexpected delays, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!"
AMEN!! 
Not even grouchy people!
Thank you for your prayers & ENCOURAGEMENT!!!  Until tomorrow,
Russ & Carol