Berea was exactly the rest stop I needed after a difficult couple of days. I was forced to pitch my tent at the Lincoln Homestead State Park after the bike's chain jumped the third ring while I was powering up a hill. The force bent the chaninring and by the time the problem was fixed there wasn't enough daylight left to continue. Other highlights, or lowlights I should say, included my speedometer committing suicide, the frame pump lock breaking off and twisting my right ankle when I couldn't break out fast enough. What magnified the difficulty was the heat.

The heat sucks the life out of everything and the hills! These hills are killing me. I would make a little progress and would have to rest for a few minutes and the cycle would begin again. I started to wonder why I was doing this and I was reminded of the old joke about how does one get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. I will be traversing countless hills and mountains to come in places like Wales, the Pyrenees and the Caucasus.

Arriving at the campground I was in a hurry to pitch my tent and lapse into a well deserved light coma when Mike Hall ambled over, manhattan in hand, to introduce himself. He and his wife Sherry converted a race car hauler into a lavish home away from home. The hauler was partitioned in two; the back carried whatever show car he chose to bring and the front was the living quarters. They had Amish woodcrafters to build the quarters, and it was nothing less than jaw dropping. It was a complete home with everything you would need. The Halls went above and beyond their fellow campers managing to not only bring their home but their garage as well. The car in back was a beautiful Ford Fairlane convertible. Even the most testosterone deprived would have drooled at the sight.

Before I could bid him a fond farewell he uttered sweet music to this cyclist's ears; "Would you like to have dinner with us?" he asked. In no time Sherry cooked up cheeseburgers and potatoes which I topped with Mike's own salsa. We had lively discussion about every topic imaginable and I capped it off with bourbon and a cigar.

The next morning I checked into a hotel and explored Berea's many arts and crafts shops. The quality of the crafts is outstanding especially the quilts. It took me back to a time when I would help my mother make quilts. She would like it here. You name the art or craft and it's here; blown glass, candles, even wooden dog statues with goatees.

Berea is much more than an arts and crafts capital, it's an idea. It's a beautiful idea. Students that go to Berea college pay no tuition. They work 15-20 hours a week and carry a full load and that pretty much covers it. It allows everyone to receive an education.

Like the students who come here I have had a hard road. Also like those students I am receiving my own education. There is kindness all around in Berea.