Day 23 - Mishaps Foils Jeremy's Ride

Day 23, April 14th: This was not a good day. About six miles outside of Kountz Jeremy took a nasty spill. He has a saddle on his right pedal to keep his foot in place while riding. However, do to some coordination and slow reaction problems he just has a plain pedal on the left side. As he stood up to peddle harder his left foot slipped off the left peddle throwing his body over the handle bars onto the road landing on his left shoulder. He was in a lot of pain. Joyce took him into Silsbree to see a doctor and I continue the ride into Silsbree. The problem was, no doctor would see Jeremy in Silsbree because he was not a local. Joyce then drove him to Beaumount to a minor injury care center and I rode my bike down to Beaumount. It appears Jeremy may have a hairline fracture in the bone on top of the shoulder. The doctor said he would be unable to ride for at least two or three weeks. That means we had to stop the ride, load up our gear and head back to Huntington. It is my intent to continue the ride when Jeremy is able later this fall or next April. There is not any doubt in my mind that Jeremy has the strength and determination to complete this ride. I believe the most physically and mentally challenging part of the ride is over. The land ahead is very flat, but the wind and weather pose additional challenges. We were about 65 miles from Louisiana when this all happened.