"Bolivar? That's where we send crazy people..." (Bolivar, TN)

Sorry it's been awhile since my last journal. I've had a lot of trouble finding internet access recently, and now I only have it for a few minutes. Everything's going great, though, and we've had some good days of rolling hills and met a lot of interesting Tennessee people. Here are a few pictures for now, and I'll try to catch up with journals soon.

**NEW POST!**
Today we had another good ride into Bolivar, TN—which, according to the cashiers at the Savannah Piggly Wiggly, is only known for mental institution. I was happy to find that it’s actually a big, friendly town with a cool downtown coffee shop and wireless—both of which have been hard to come by of late. I’m excited to find that I pretty fresh at the end of my rides these days, even the hilly ones—hopefully that means that we’re all getting stronger and really comfortable in the saddle. Some of the guys in the group have started losing weight, although I feel about the same as ever. We were hosted tonight by the Bolivar National Guard Armory, and had dinner served by the local alumni association of a fraternity and sorority (Greek letters confuse me when they aren’t in physics equations). Dinner was great and our hosts were really friendly; we were glad to have a good night of rest.

Bike odometer: 1105 miles

Tennessee River and me













We stopped at a cool local fast-food restaurant on Hwy 64 for milkshakes and hush puppies. Have I mentioned that I'm always hungry on this trip? (Chris C, Caitlyn, Jen)













I love church marquees. We must pass a dozen of them a day, and I love them. Sometimes they're light and silly ("Fathers' Day: A Tribute to Men Gone Dad"; "It's Better to be Humbly Grateful than Grumbly Hateful"), other times kind of disturbing ("Friends Don't Let Friends Go to Hell"), and sometimes--like this one--a mixture of both. But they're always great.