by the fireplace in white

its been about a week (ah!) since we last updated, so this is going to be a long one, full of funny details and terrifying tribulations. picking up the last update, we hung out in lexington, ky all day, due to forecasted thunderstorms and an acoustic show schedule at the shrieking shack, where we were staying. we spent the day around town, went back to the starbucks where we had befriended the local baristas. after milling around there for several hours, they gave us a bag of 9 pastries (!!!) that we soon decided would be todays snack and tomorrows breakfast. we went back to the house around 6 or so to catch the show. we caught zephaniah bostow, jack cofer, good night good morning (?), misty lyn and the big beautiful, ap swearenger, and matt jones. it was a great show, and a lot of people sort of joked about our riding so far on bike just to catch them play. hah! so we got up early the next morning, found that all but 2 of our starbucks pastries had been eaten. we each ate one (a modest breakfast!) and left to go down tate's creek rd to 25 south through kentucky. after eating free all day (!!!) we made it to just outside of corbin, ky. we had ridden about 60 miles, which was great progress! we definitely felt really refreshed after the 2 days off in lexington. the sun was going down, and we were getting really tired, frantically looking for a place to stay. i asked a lady i saw in a pizza shop parking lot if she knew a place for us to set up a tent nearby. she asked our story, we delivered, and after telling us we were crazy, she called her boyfriend to see if we could sleep on their farm. though nervous, he conceded, and he picked us up a half hour later in a pick up truck full of mulch. we definitely smelled alcohol on his breath, and he checked both of our school IDs to make sure that we were legit. he was a big military man (a colonel somewhere) and played hardball with us to try to put us in our place. we backtracked about 3 miles to his farm, where they let us shower and gave us some leftover pizza. we chatted for a while, drank some beers with them, and they sent us to bed with an amber bock each. it was pretty awesome to lay down in the tent with a cold beer, sore body, and a full belly! the next morning, the lady (ilsa!) didnt seem to care for us much, so we were pretty quick to leave. the next day was pretty grueling -- lots of hills and the beginnings of mountains in southern kentucky. another day of free food (good for biking on a budget!) and it was getting dark when we were just in london. we pulled into a state park and the ranger told us it was $21 to camp. $21 to set up a tent on a small plot near loaded campers and trailers. no thanks! it wasnt even a pleasant environment. i asked, "we're kind of on a budget -- do you know anywhere around here for free?" to which he replied with a sneer, "you will find nothing for free." of course this fired me up to the point of having to prove him wrong, so kyle and i begrudgingly backtracked a few miles to a great field he'd seen. it turned out to be the side yard of a giant cookie factory! they wouldnt let us stay there because they had overnight operations. slightly dismayed with our luck and the setting sun, we got back on 25 south. i saw a nice house with a perfect yard, so i went to the door on a whim to see if we could set up tent. after a few knocks without answers, a man came to the side door and i timidly told him our situation, asking if we could maybe put up a tent near his side yard. he asked "are you honest people?" and after our answer yes, he told us we could stay. he was a very nice man! we asked if he preferred us to stay in the back or the side yard, and he told us he preferred wherever we'd be happy. awesome! we set up in the back yard. he asked if we wanted a pepsi or anything to drink, and we said yes, so he invited us into his kitchen. inside, he filled up a big container with cheese puffs, another with pretzels, gave us two bags of m&ms, four packs of peanut butter crackers (which we're still eating), four bottles of ale8, and a big bag of ghirardelli dark chocolate. we were in awe! he then said he was going out to dinner with his friend donnie leonard (kyles 2nd favorite personage on the trip, more details to follow), and invited us out with them. we declined, and he said he'd be back later, but to take full use of his patio, to make ourselves at home. did we ever! we set up our tent and loafed on his patio, charging our cell phones, calling friends, eating like kings (junk food dinner!), and reading. all was well, we left the next morning with full bellies, full bags of food on our bikes, and renewed energy. we wrote him a very kind thank you card, put it on his table, and went our way (thanks so much steve!). the next day, we did the dirty -- crossed our now haggard bicycles into jellico, TN. arriving in town, we saw a ferris wheel peeking its head over one of the hills. curious, we turned in and saw that we arrived just in time for the jellico city fair! a grand total of 3 rides, 3 games, 1 concession stand, and 1 below average cover band! we watched them play skewed covers of metallica, alice cooper (cause im 18!), and black sabbath. after snapping a few photos, we continued south on 25. unfortunately, it started to rain -- it had been ominous all day. pulling up to a hardee's for shelter, we immediately saw some girls working in there who were smiling at us. we went in, and kyle told them our story while i called my aunt marguerite. the girls were completely impressed! they said our story was like something out of a movie, that things like that never happen in jellico. they were very friendly, and started sneaking us food. twas a glorious evening! nice guy that i am, i helped them take out the trash. i talked a lot to one of the girls, whose name was kayla. she was so nice, and her accent was adorable (hi kayla! email me at joshuadaraja@gmail.com!). she even gave us half of her hershey's bar. not very democratic of me, but i ate the whole thing. anyways, aunt marguerite soon arrived to drive us over the mountains (thankfully!). we stayed the night and spent the next day at her house. she cooked us amazing breakfasts (i cant even describe it) and hung out with us all day. i spent a lot of time playing with her dog coco (so cute!) and reading. kyle did the same, charging our cell phones, reading, and playing with the dogs (she has 6). we went up to visit my dads cousin brandy and her husband david, where we ate homemade spaghetti and had homegrown cherries and plums. awesome! we got back to marguerites where we slept like babies. we were leaving early the next morning, and marguerite offered us a ride to caryville. dont mind if we do! she dropped us off, seeming a bit sad at seeing us go. assuring her that we were fine, we took off. we rode about 30 miles to oak ridge, where some burger king workers overheard our talking about our trip. evidently they were impressed, as they gave us some food! while eating, one worker, brenda (kyles #1 personage of the trip) came up and told us that everyone in the back was talking about us, and that she thought what we were doing was amazing, and that she'd love to buy us some apple pies. no problem! after eating them, she came up and said to us, "i dont know if y'all partake.. but how is the weed in ohio?" which sealed her officially in kyle's leger of local legends. riding on further, we came to kingston, where we stopped for some free taco bell. 6 burritos, thats fine with us! yes, thats plenty! we got up to leave, and after stretching, saw that my front tire was flat. the first one of the trip! we quickly patched the tube (about 15 minutes) and hit the road. we went another 20-30 miles down 95, 116, and 58. the sun was beginning to go down, and we were looking for a place to stay. a local cyclist (REB) pulled over and told us to take a right on gordon hollow, and left on river road, saying that TN 58 is too dangerous for biking, and that there was a big public access lake on river rd where we could surely sleep. after riding through some questionable routes, we arrived at the lake, only to find that it was all people's yards and private marinas. slightly disheartened, we stopped to ask a man in his driveway if he knew a place for us to set up a tent. he said the marinas have camping, but they would charge us, and that we could camp in his yard. awesome! his son got on his 4 wheeler and took us back to a spot by the lake (10 ft away, absolutely gorgeous!). i got a tick on my leg, which we took off with a military issue can opener (i love it!) and set up the tent. jared, the man's son, caught a turtle to show us, and then took us behind the shed to show us his pet chickens. cute! we went up to the garage to hang out with him and his dad for a while. his dad was a really cool guy, and we ended up chatting with him for a while. he said that he would kick dinner for us (perfect after all that riding!) and then let us showed. after eating, he gave us some miller lite. after relaxing for a few, he took us into his house and let kyle and i shower. while he was leading kyle to the shower, he asked us if we drank spring water. naively, we asked "spring water..?" as he took out a mason jar of homemade whiskey, screwed off the top, and took a sip. we passed it around, and it was the best whiskey we'd had! we told him so, and he said that he'd get us a jar to take with us. score! after showering and having a few more sips of the spring water, we hung out in his garage and chatted and listened to rolling stones. he was heading to bed, so he gave us a bag of chips and the mason jar of spring water and sent us to the tent. we walked to the lake and down to the edge of the docks, where we could see all the stars in the sky and the moon reflecting on the water, which had fog rising off the top of it. we dipped our feet in the shallow water, which was warm from being in the sun all day, and ate chips and drank spring water. it was probably my favorite moment of the trip, being clean and full, sitting in a beautiful environment with a great friend and drinking homemade whiskey from a mason jar. we went to bed and got up early the next morning only to find that my front tire was flat again! we took it off and reinflated it, and found that there wasn't even a leak! we reinflated it and havent had any problems since (knock on wood?). we rode all day, getting in another 50 miles. we stopped at a gas station where they gave us free sandwiches and a big bag of homegrown apples. yum! one lady even bought us a bag of spicy cheetos. awesome. they directed us to a cafe across the street where we could relax for a while before continuing on. after sitting there for about 20 minutes, the pigs (file under cops, tennessee's finest) show up at our table and begin questioning us. there were 2, one of which playing the hardass with an ugly sneer, and the other playing the happy go lucky, with a dopey smiley on his face. they took our IDs, questioned us for 20 minutes (why dont you just drive? you mean to tell me youre riding all the way from ohio to atlanta?). the pig with the dopey ass smile on his face came back with our IDs (that they had no right to take) and said "i really cant get anything on them.." to the dismay of his evil brethren. we were wrong to think itd end there! they then told us we had to leave now (despite our being paying customers) for causing a 'scene.' if anyone caused a scene, it was the cops, and i figured they should be the ones to leave! unfortunately, theres no reasoning with small men with vested power, so we conceded and took our sweet time to get out of there. outside, we heard them talking about their arrest quotas, both of whom were doing poor. they started buddying up to us, but we weren't interested in any of it. they told us to be careful out there, and i totally thought, "and you do the opposite." yada yada! we left and continued our trip. we rode another 10-15 miles, pretty mad at the situation. it turned out that customers had called the cops on us for 'looking suspicious.' dummies! the sun was giong down, so we pulled up behind a church to set up camp for the night. we ate the rest of our apples, called friends, and read until bedtime. we drank some spring water and went to bed around 10. we woke up early the next morning for the 30 mile ride to chattanooga. we got here, found a starbucks, and used the last of our gift card (woe is me!). we're now in the library on broad st, relaxing and emailing friends. tonight we're going to stay at a heather's house, where there are some punk/crust bands from minneapolis playing. we're leaving early tomorrow morning, and atlanta is only 90 miles away. we're planning on getting there in two days. awesome! we cant upload any pictures since we're at a library, but its okay. we'll put them up as soon as we get to atlanta. take care and please email us!