Day 12 - Stop! Do Not Ask to Borrow Anything

Behind the door with a sign that reads, 'Stop! Do not ask to borrow anything' lives one of the nicest couples we have ever met.

We spent the last night in a motel due to a fire that had started in Mountain Home.  Scott and Ben, the two cross-country bikers we had met the day before (thankfully!!!... Much more about them later), had stayed in the same motel and were waiting to bike out with us.

We rolled out this morning much later than we had planned due to Jonathon being completely dehydrated and vomiting.

Since we got such a late start, we decided to stop by the local bike shop, as it might be days or even weeks before we hit a town with one open. After buying supplies and getting directions, we all took off.... only to find a few miles up the road that we were headed in the wrong direction. We promptly stopped for food and then took off in the other direction, even stopping a local sheriff to be sure we were on the right road.

All 6 of us left town forming a long draft line. With an amazing tailwind, we set out at about 20 mph, easily spinning away the miles.

Suddenly, Jay, who was in the lead called out gravel and slowed down. Jonathon quickly braked, Catey followed, but I was not so fortunate. I hit my brakes too late and got caught up in Catey's rear panniers.  And, as anyone who has worn clip-in pedals before knows, I promptly hit the road and slid.

I immediately jumped up and yanked my biked out of the way of an oncoming truck (thankfully it was far enough back to do so), and surveyed the damage. Pain and blood, as suspected, but thankfully only ripped up gloves, the shorts were intact.

As we were beginning to dress the wounds, a gentleman in a white pickup asked if I needed any help. I said I'd be okay. He jumped put of the truck and came over. He told me that he lived right there and then turned me around to go in and get cleaned up.

As I walked with the gentleman (Oscar), I noticed a sign on their door that read, 'Stop, do not even bother asking to borrow anything'... Oh no, what had I gotten myself into, I thought.

Oscar opened the door and inside sat BB, who was busy taking care of the cutest little kittens you had ever seen. Oscar told her what happened and BB set straight to work cleaning me up and tending to my wounds.

BB told me about the work she and Oscar did, rescuing baby animals and bottle feeding them.  They take on all the costs and then once they are 8 1/2-12 weeks old they find them homes (of course this is after they've had their shots and are healthy).

While all this was occurring, Scott took a phone call from his dad (who had been following him via an iPhone app).  His father asked him where he was going, since we were again headed in the wrong direction. This meant we had now travelled over 14 miles the wrong way.

When Oscar heard this, he immediately offered to drive us back to town where we could begin again.

Since there were so many of us, Oscar and BB took 2 separate vehicles and drove us into town. We were beyond grateful, as yet again, we had found amazing people along our journey who welcomed us in with open arms, in spite of the forbidding sign upon their door.  You may not be able to 'borrow' anything, but hospitality and kindness are freely given.

BB had handed me her card and asked us to drop her a line when we made it back to New York. On the card, it explains what she and Oscar do for stray/rescued animals. If you are interested in donating to their cause, drop me a line and I'll send you their contact info.