Packed up our campsite early at Cave In Rock on the Ohio river to beat the impending rain.
The town had painted bikes on almost every corner honoring those fighting cancer. Each color represented a different type of cancer experienced by someone in the community.
It rained for the next hour and a half, but we couldn’t complain because our weather has been so amazing.
We stopped to dry off and have breakfast at this little restaurant.
We had omelettes and the biggest pancake you’ve ever seen. The owner, William, told how his body and health are broken from working in the coal mines but also how his second career as a Restaurant owner is now broken by the demise of those same mines. He was sad and tired. All we could do was listen. Such complicated problems to solve.
I asked if I could take his picture and it was the only smile he cracked the whole time we were there.
Still in our wet clothes, we got back on the road. This is when the dump truck driver honked and threw trash out his window. I thought what kind of jerk heckles and litters?! it’s like he wanted me to see him throw the trash.” Then I was like “wait a minute…” I crossed the road to see what he threw and discovered it was a cold bottle of orange Gatorade. I threw my hand in the air in thanks as he was slowing before cresting a hill and he gunned it over the hill in acknowledgment. I choked up a bit. I think the combination of listening to William’s hardships and understandably dejected view of society today, in combination with being cold and wet, tired, and facing 30 miles before the next store made that moment of connection really special. I reminded myself to always give people the benefit of the doubt. Otherwise you might miss the gifts life sends your way.
After that, the miles just flowed under me. We are back in the hills (but not mountains).
There are still dogs. Here are two of the eight that confronted me on this corner where I was waiting for Deidre. It wasn’t too scary because I backed off and they just waited and watched.
On a break, I layed out my shoes and socks to dry.
I’ve never been to Illinois before. They have horses too!
It was a beautiful sky all day. With waves of showers coming through. This is the walk to Barbara’s camp (her backyard) where we stayed.
Her property is beautiful. With this deck.
And an outdoor shower.
Lots to think about this first full day in Illinois!
We came to this town called Clay. It was teeny with only a few open stores.
It also had a sign that said “welcome to the town of Clay.” I thought that was funny, like it was a town made of clay.
We were looking for Cave In State Park but didn’t have to go far before a local was giving us directions and a fellow cyclist was greeting us and showing us the way.
Arnold greeted me at the roadside with cold water. He used to own a grocery store where cyclists would camp. He said they used to feed everyone dinner. I sure could have gone for a home cooked meal tonight! I didn’t ask why they don’t do it anymore. I could see the store was closed, so assumed they hit hard times.
We are camping at a county park tonight. It’s a strange place, both providing electricity, bathrooms and showers but in a curious state of disrepair. The power is in a room off the pavilion that is full of trash, with scattered books about Jesus nestled in what looks to be a mouse nest. You’d think the whole place had been abandoned, but then the outlets work! We won’t complain.
After lunch, it was endless fields of corn and wheat.
Day 23: 60 miles
Days 22
Day 27: 62 miles. Sebree KY to cave in rock, IL
I thought no more cow pics, but then this guy came along.
Yard bomb in Dixon Kentucky.
The town of Dixon.
I thought this barn looked like the wicked witch of the west melting into the ground.
.
But I had to admire its optimism. They had three gazebos were people could hang out.
And even this broken down store front had positive graffiti— celebrating a D3 athlete and a sign asking what you are thankful for.
It also had a sign that said “welcome to the town of Clay.” I thought that was funny, like it was a town made of clay.
I continue to admired of resilience and community efforts of these small towns.
Then it got flat.
And then not as much.
In Marion, we met another cyclist Ryan who joined us for dinner. He is a middle school, teacher: language arts and social studies. So he uses his summer for extended bike ride vacations.
After dinner, we still had 11 miles to ride until we reach the ferry for Illinois. Some final Kentucky cows on the way.
Then it was time to cross the Ohio River into Illinois! We were so excited—we took all kinds of dorky pics.
Goodbye Kentucky!
On the other side, there was no Welcome to Illinois sign so we settled for this Illinois Route 1 sign.
We were looking for Cave In State Park but didn’t have to go far before a local was giving us directions and a fellow cyclist was greeting us and showing us the way.
Mario rode from Nova Scotia across Canada, and then down the coast of California to Arizona where he met John. The two of them have ridden 2700 miles since then and are continuing on to Virginia. John has only 5 gears on his bike. 😱
When we were unpacking, I noticed my bike rack was missing a screw and was half detached from my bike. Mario found a screw that would fit and helped me reattach it. Lesson of the day: regularly check all connections on the bike to be sure they haven’t come loose.
We got here just in time to beat the rain so now I am in my tent looking out at the Ohio river, dry and cozy for the night.
I almost forgot— this marks the completion of my bike ride in Kentucky. So I’ve now ridden my bike in 21 states (plus DC).
Day 26: 51 miles
We woke to another sunny day. 😀☀️☀️
That only got better after I stopped at this family grocery for a Gatorade.
They had gobs of homemade bakery that couldn’t be passed up. I got German chocolate cake and a piece of peanut butter fudge.
Locals were sitting around in there shooting the shit and pretty soon we were too. Met a guy planning to hike the Appalachian trail then go hike across Scotland.
I later met these happy folks. Gail reminded of me of my late aunt Beth—she had the same great laugh. 😀💜 Her husband earl (left) picked a cucumber out of his garden for me. I ate it whole—still garden warm—amazing.
Five miles down the road, another local market. I didn’t need anything but bought a few drinks anyway. I try to give these places business—I’m sure the ever-present Dollar Generals make it hard for them. While sitting outside I noticed this little horseshoe in the cement in front of the door and asked about it. The clerk said she didn’t know how it got there but that it had been there all 19 years she had worked there and for the 40 her mother had worked there. Then she showed me the hitching posts held over from horsy times.
Deidre imitating a tarantula she once saw crossing the road.
We arrived in the town of Sebree, Kentucky.
We stayed at Sebree First Baptist Church, which turned out to be popular.
Neil (left) was an English world traveler who is a marine engineer, so he travels around making yachts. He only drinks coors light (no water). 😵💫. He also got attacked by 4 dogs in VA, bitten 3 times. Yikes. Glad I didn’t know about that earlier. On the right is Sean, a New Yorker ex-CFO who is taking a break to ride the trans am, then the north coast 500 loop around Scotland, then the ring road around Iceland. See, and you folks thought I was crazy!
When we were walking back from dinner, Henry showed up—doing the race across America. He said he was 80 miles behind the leader, so would be napping for a few hours before heading back out! That is crazy!
Day 25: 56 miles
We saw fewer and fewer horses today. We still have 2 days of Kentucky left, but I could feel the landscape changing. Hillier at the end, fewer farms, more small residential properties. But still some scenic moments.
I’m still compelled to take pics of these endless fields of corn. How many of these do we need to see!? 😂
This sign made me miss home and the farmers markets and fresh food I would normally be eating instead of the double decker little Debbie oatmeal pie I had after dinner tonight. Although I can say I had no complaints while eating it!
Crossing Rough River lake.
Although I don’t plan to make this long lonely walk to the bathrooms in the middle of the night!
Dinner in camp? I splurged and cooked up dehydrated coconut black beans and rice. And ate that oatmeal pie, of course.
Day 24: 41 miles
Folks have asked what I eat. Most days start with a bowl of oatmeal with a few nuts on it—maybe a little sugar if I’ve pilfered some from a restaurant. This morning we camped next to a grocery store so I had the luxury of adding yogurt and leaving the oatmeal raw. It was a treat. And we didn’t have to fire up the stove!
There is a lot of junk food eating, so I’m on a never-satisfied quest for green stuff. I order veggies whenever I can in restaurants, but for now, that usually means bacon too. Bacon in green beans. Bacon in broccoli salad (!). Bacon in cooked greens. So I’ve taken to also buying raw veggies when we find a grocery. They will usually last about two days.
Today was another pleasant ride. Just 41 miles, rolling hills, sunshine. Although it did get a little hot. At least we didn’t wake up cold! We’ve been doing that most mornings, which has been unseasonable and unwelcome.
I’m a little surprised by how flat this part of KY is.
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| “Big Lick” road, which I took a pic of because I’m a child. Thankfully, I didn’t expect this store to be open. But it’s always a little sad to come on the site of a no-longer-existing business. This little old gas station actually made me think of the movie Thelma and Louise—the kind of place they would have stopped at except, of course, those places are always open in the movies. |
Celebratory selfie when Deidre and I realized at lunchtime that we had passed the 900 mile mark—can’t believe we’ve ridden that far already.
After lunch, it was endless fields of corn and wheat.
And a random little mini ghost town. Aspects of the town were still there, but this little strip was definitively dead.
More farms and fields.
And then our refuge. I’m really learning to appreciate these signs!
We camped out in the firehouse kitchen so we were out of the way if they had to “make a run” in the middle of the night.
It stayed quiet, although I have to admit, it would have been kinda cool to see them in action!
We continue onward into western Kentucky. Today was just a pleasure all around. Rolling fields, horses, cows, sunshine. Also, I listened to the new playlist Steve made me while he was in town. I can’t say how smiley it makes me to bike to music. It’s like a happy drug. I also listened to my book Daemon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. We rode almost 60 miles, but it felt so much easier with a friendlier terrain.
I met this guy, James. Who was riding from Texas to Massachusetts to see his daughter. Third solo guy I’ve met. Second to be riding towards a daughter.
By the end of the day, I was tired of sitting in the saddle more than I was tired of peddling. We are staying in New Haven Kentucky. We could not find a campground so we asked if we could camp in the city park which is also a train museum. Deidre and I got dinner in town at the Sherwood Inn, which was pretty good.
Hopefully I will not have to pee in the middle of the night because there are a lot of lights on this park and I don’t want to walk to the Gas station!
Pics of the day:
I think this was a bourbon operation. That’s a lotta brown wine!!
Everybody loves a bicycle!
I’ll take pictures of camp in the morning… but while we were setting, up all kinds of people walked by asking where we were from and how far we were going. Even a group of teens got interested in the trip. When they realized we were going across country, they said “why are you stopping here? This place is terrible!” That made me feel bad for them— to have that view of home.
We camped in Simms park, which was next to a train museum/fair ground type area. Lots of trains.
It was an interesting night as a truck came several times to spin donuts in the parking lot. Not the kind of donuts I was looking for on this trip! 😂
We took a break on Tuesday and hung out in Harrodsburg, KY at the Beaumont Inn. We were just over an hour from Louisville, so Steve flew in for work and drove down to spend the day. We had a great time being lazy. Walked around town (Harrodsburg claims a substantial pioneer history complete with a primitive cemetery, and it had a clear economic boom in the 1880s—1900s, as evidenced by the many elaborate Queen-Anne-style homes on Main Street).
The day got off with a bang when we finally got our donuts!!
They were exceptional. Thank you king donuts!
Our Inn was fancy.
I tried to lie down when I arrived, and then realized my legs were covered with bike grease, so I hopped up and looked for a better place to put myself down.
The primitive cemetery
This child’s stone looked like a mummy!
Town
Dinner
Deidre was there too! We just didn’t take pics.
Saying goodbye in the morning.
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