Hardinsburg: Century of the Week

"The longer I live the

more beautiful life becomes."

Frank Lloyd Wright

 

Today's century is the Hardinsburg Century, one of if not  my favorite of all my route creations.  When I originally put this route together, my intent was to have Hardinsburg at the half way point and eat there, but when I arrived I found that  not only would I have to add miles to have lunch there for it would be too early in the ride, but that there was no place to eat or even to get a drink.  There was an old Dairy Bar still open, but it was so filthy that even the thought of consuming something that came out of that building turned my stomach.  And so I rode on and the lunch stop became Livonia.  Today Hardinsburg has a rather nice gas station and what looks to be a clean, quaint restaurant.  Things change.

 

When I first reached Livonia, there was a gas station that appeared old enough to serve the first automobile and Little Twirl, an ice cream shop.  Not too many trips afterward, when I arrived the gas station was closed never to be re-opened.  Then Little Twirl was joined by a Mennonite Store that served sandwiches made from manna.  It, however, closed right before or at the start of the Pandemic.  Little Twirl remains though it is no longer open year round as it was when I first saw this town on my bicycle. 

 

I wonder who, if anyone, will show to ride today.   It turns out to be a rather small but pleasant  crowd:  Jon Wineland, Larry Preble, and Dave King.   Dave is running late and says to start without him despite my offer of waiting and so we do.  He catches us at the first store stop.  It is good to see him.  Dave and I have so many memories together, have traveled so many miles together over the years, that even though we are not really close in some ways, it is almost like being with family. 

 

The store in this town also has changed from when I first began riding here.  The original gas station closed when this one opened.  Dave reminds me that there was an old grocery store where the current gas station store stop is now located.  I had forgotten this but remember now and how when I was working I saw it had caved in shortly after the store closed. 

This route has a nice mix of farm land and forested areas.  Despite the drought, everything is green.  Corn is tassled and ears appear to be abundant.  I feel blessed to live in a country that has the ability to produce such crops.  Occasionally we pass family gardens and I think how I miss gardening, not enough to pick it back up at this point.  Maybe I miss the shared  labor.  There is something about sharing a chore that I almost always treasured.   Until the last few years, it was something that Lloyd and I shared together.  I think I have always appreciated the bucolic scenery on this route, but I do find that as I get older the scenery and life itself becomes more beautiful, more precious.  Perhaps this is because it also becomes more finite, this realization honed to a finer point by the growing list of loss that is part of life.  Whatever the reason, despite the fact I notice less while riding in company than I do on solitary excursions, today I am aware enough to soak it in.  I wish I could discuss with Mr. Wright his thoughts as to why, but obviously that is not going to happen, at least in this life.

How precious it is to have company on the ride.  How lucky we riders are to have the health that we do.  And yes, while we can attribute some of it to our own efforts, some is genetic and just the luck of the draw.  And how blessed we are to have these lightly traveled roads that are bordered by trees and fields bursting with bounty and the freedom and time to explore them.  

The road we take from Hardinsburg to Little Twirl brings back memories of many winter centuries for it always seems a rather hard road to me for some reason.  A ride with Steve Sexton comes into my mind, the wind raging, the others ahead of the two of us as our legs challenged the hills and the wind and the cold.  Today the road is not so challenging eased along by company and the lack of cold.  Indeed, today the humidity is the enemy.  It is eased by the wind and the cooler temperatures, but I do notice some rubbing in my shorts from constant dampness and know I will suffer a somewhat sore bottom this evening, something very unusual for me.  

At lunch we sit outside and meet an interesting woman and her partner.  She has two herding dogs that are exceptionally well behaved.  We chat a bit about dogs on rides and horses on rides as she also is an equestrian. It is refreshing to hear a dog owner express the opinion that it is the owners fault if dogs pursue riders in the road. This is my second trip to Little Twirl this year and yet again someone (Larry) buys my lunch and I think how fortunate I am to have such friends and how my riding friendship circle has expanded far from what it once was.  

 

The second half of the ride is challenging to legs that are already tired.  The pace is slower than what we have been riding during recent centuries, but there are more hills.  And my legs ache and complain at what is being asked of them.   If I were alone, I would ease my pace, but since I am the weak link in this group of riders I push myself a bit  knowing I will be a tired woman at the end of the ride.  

 

At the Red Barn, there is a group of men, including Amos, sitting outside.  They laugh when I say something about being a woman and getting chocolate telling me his candy bars are expired.  Of course, with aging eyes I can't read the fine print without the readers I don't carry on rides, so I buy the candy bar anyway and later find it was not expired.  They tease Amos about it.  

 

It is good knowing the worst of the climbs are over after the Red Barn, but still I know there are rollers ahead:  lots of rollers.  Larry and Jon ride ahead, but Dave hangs back with me until Little York when Jon hangs back and Larry and Dave ride ahead.  A ride which has been challenging for me has been easy for them, even Dave who says he is not in century shape.  But still they allow me to ride with them, and that in itself is precious and meaningful.  And it is over leaving me tired and longing for a  nice soak and treatment for some raw skin, but still life is beautiful and I feel certain my dreams will be filled with the green bounty of August and the warmth of friendship and bicycles, always and forever, bicycles.