Madisonville, KY to Harrisburg, IL
82.27 mi, 2,497 ft elevation
Every 8 days or so, we trade in our trusty bikes and become the Spokes Designated Driver. And that happens to be my role today. So we’re switching up the blog content for the day -- here’s a day in the life of a Spokes van driver!
As a driver, you get to relish in a personal rest day, but as a driver, you’re also responsible for the well-being of the entire team. Meaning that you need to be on call for any emergencies, get groceries, prep for water stops if needed, prep for lunch, contact hosts, etc. I’ve barely driven before Spokes (extremely unusual for a Southern Californian), so I’m already an anxious driver as it is. I also oddly experience fomo when I’m not on the bike. Especially because we were crossing into Illinois today. Basically, I have mixed feelings on my driving days.
I slept in for an extra 30 minutes (perks of a driving day) while some of the bikers got ready. JD -- who was unfortunately still under the weather -- was going to be my driving buddy.
The bikers headed out, and we started packing the van with all of our food, camping gear, and luggage. About an hour into packing, I get a call from Sophia. There was a thunderstorm and she had the team’s camera on her, which couldn’t get wet. So JD and I halted the packing, and I jumped into the van and zoomed off to save our beloved camera.
It started raining even harder as I was driving, and I met Sophia on a backroad. She was huddled under a tree, which provided some refuge from the rain. I grabbed the camera from her, and she headed off. I was slightly relieved not to be biking today as I've had my fair share of biking in the rain before. As I headed back to the church, I ran into Amulya. Her chain was stuck -- we tried to pry it back into place, but didn’t have the necessary tools with us (the toolbox was back at the church). So we put her bike on the back of the van and sped back. We got gas, which is extremely important to note because this was the second time I've done that in my life.
JD ended up fixing Amulya’s bike (yay JD!), and so she was on her way.
It was still raining at this point, but JD and I finished packing up the van, cleaned up, and went to get groceries at Kroger! We were very efficient with our list (tomatoes, bagels, deli meat, tofurkey, cheese, cucumbers, and canned meat- per requests from JD and Cleo), and jumped back into the car.
The car ride itself to the lunch stop was pleasant. Slow rolling hills, air conditioning, Red by Taylor Swift, JD and I sharing personal lore. What a time.
And we crossed into Illinois!
We met the crew at the lunch stop next to a cute little tavern and set out all the food for everyone. Amulya still needed to reach the spot, so while we waited for her, JD and I took a nap in the car. It was the hottest nap I've ever taken -- I felt like I was being cooked alive. But eventually she arrived!!! We made sure she was well fueled, and then we packed the van once more after she left.
After some more driving, we finally made it to our hosts for the night, Sherie and Brad! We all exchanged stories from the day -- there was a lot of headwind and some more dog chasing (story of our lives, even in Illinois).
We chatted for a bit, and then I attacked my next mission of the day as driver: organizing the van. I am not someone that thrives well in mess and chaos (Spokes is definitely forcing me to change that), so I set off to organize our food and unpack/repack the van in its entirety with help from the team. It was hot and sweaty work, but we got it done!
We ended the night by eating a yummy dinner and listening to amazing bikepacking anecdotes by Sherie and Brad. They also bikepacked across America, so it was fascinating to hear about their experience and get some tips.
I went to sleep thinking about distance. About how much I thought about it on the bike and how little I thought about it driving the car. And about how it feels like we covered so much, yet still had much more to go. A happy but sad thought at the same time.
