Will's Bicycle Adventure
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Day 73-Thursday, August 7th, 2008
Mood:  don't ask
Now Playing: Is this going to be another day of climb, climb climb?

My experience in Hazard, KY, so far, was not a particularly pleasurable one.  The town was tucked in a low area surrounded by high hills that I would have to climb over in order to get back onto my route.  The rain seemed to have stopped, although the cloud cover was low, and the threat of rain always present.

This morning I discovered that I had forgotten something.  I had left the "Our Daily Bread" devotion book back at the B&B in Booneville.  Maybe I could pick up another one, or something similar, in Hindman.  Morning devotions were a ritual that I did not want to stop, and the booklet gave the devotions some structure.

There was no place serving breakfast, but I had a danish from yesterday.  I waited a little for things to get little lighter.  The cloud cover was low, but not hindering visibility, so I took off.   The climbing started.  A convenience store on the right was an opportunity to eat a little more.  Then more climbing.

Maybe it is just my imagination, but it did not seem that it took near as long as I expected to get back onto the main highway.  The highway did have a nice wide shoulder of 6-8'.  The road was fairly straight, but up and down.  I would go as fast as I could safely go on the downhill, then start downshifting as I climbed the opposing hill.  Before long I would be creeping along at 3.5-4 mph, but a sustainable cadence, not one that would exhaust me.   The route called for me to exit onto a little used road about 14 miles out of Hindman.  It surprised me that this side road had no hills, but followed a stream that passed through Hindman.  It started to rain.  By 11 AM, I was at a drug store counter in Hindman, awaiting a cheeseburger.

This short day would also give me time to catch up with my journal. 

I have found the most interesting place to spend the night.  There is a B&B in downtown Hindman that is tucked back on the hillside behind the commercial district, and it specializes in bicyclers.  The house is under renovation so there is a two room tent that they rent out.  It comes with mattress and sleeping bags.  The owner of the B&B is the Knott County Historical Society.

Tomorrow will be interesting.  I expect it to be more exhausting than yesterday was, and about 10 miles longer.  David, the caretaker of the B&B, says the actual mileage is 71 miles.  He also says it will be grueling.  So I will start early, eat regularly, hydrate well, and rest often.  The weather is supposed to be in my favor, with high projected temperatures of 80 degrees.  I can't remember when high temperatures have been that low.

I may take a day of rest there.  It will likely be several days before I can update this journal again.

Will McMahan


Posted by willmcmahan at 9:59 AM PDT
Updated: Wednesday, 13 August 2008 5:38 AM PDT
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Day 72-Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: 45 miles doesn't sound so bad.

I left the B&B shortly after 8 AM.  The owner was very pleasant, and made my stay wonderful.  It had rained last night, and was threatening thunderstorms today, so I put raincovers on all the panniers.

The ride into Boonevile was pleasant because it was all downhill.  The downside of that, of course, is that once I pass through Boonevile, it is all uphill again.  And steep.  I hoped this wasn't what the whole day was going to be like, and it wasn't.  It was what most of the whole day was like, but not all of it.  There was probably 15 miles that weren't hard.

The climbs actually took me, a number a of times, into my lowest gear on the bicycle.  This is a gear that I had only been in three times up to this point--once  at the start of Loup Loup, once for 20' in Spokane, and once near the top of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.  None of these today were as steep as the little 1/4 mile hill yesterday, but they were steeper than any of the mountain passes that I had traversed so far. 

I had lunch at Buckhorn, and was told that after a few hills the road leveled out some.  This ended up being true, but those few hills were exhausting.  Taking a break 1.5 hours after lunch, I had only made an additional 9 miles.  During one climb, I looked out through the trees expecting to see another hill in the distance, and was astonished to see that I was above the treeline.  Is that possible?  No, it must be something else.  I decided, correctly it turned out, that I was looking at the backside of a denuded hilside that was hiding mining activity on the other side of it.  Soon I could hear the mining activity.  This area is full of coal mining and coal trucks.

Finally I saw a sign that showed where the turnoff was to the town of Hazard.  I hoped the motel was close.  It wasn't.  In fact the road went downhill seemingly forever before turning near the motel.   Good Lord, I would have one heck of a climb first thing tomorrow just to get back to the trail route.

Once checked in, there were no discernible restaurants nearby.   I was directed me to the VFW, which, apparently served meals, and then there was a KFC not too much further.  Both were within easy walking distance.

The only way I can describe the VFW is that being there was like sitting in an ashtray surrounded by a bunch of alcoholics.  I left.

The KFC was a bit further than anticipated, but it felt good to walk and stretch the legs a bit.  After eating, I sat awhile sending and replying to emails.  I thought I saw a flash outside.  Was that lightning?  Maybe I had better be getting back.  Stepping outside, it was starting to rain, so I went back inside, to see how long the rain would last.  Then it started to pour and pour.  It was a furious thunderstorm that must have dropped 1-2" of water.  The side streets, all going uphill, were solid water flowing out onto the main highway.  It began to look like I might be at KFC for quite a while.  Then suddenly it stopped raining.  Everything outside was soaked.  The side streets still had water flowing down them onto the main drag.  There were massive accumulations of water on the main street, so that when walking back I had to make sure that I was not near one as traffic passed by.  But I got back unscathed and dry.

It might be wise to check the Weather Channel to see what tomorrow weather would be like.  Unfortunately, the lightning had knocked out cable TV for the area.  Tomorrow would be what tomorrow would be.

Sleep has been coming easily, unlike at the start of this journey.  I seldom am not asleep by 9 PM EST.

Tomorrow I will be going on a short ride to a town called Hindman, followed by a long, hard ride on Friday to Elkhorn City.  Dividing up the rides in this manner makes the ride to Elkhorn City managable.  Otherwise it would have been an 80+ mile day to Elkhorn City.  The noteworthy fact about Elkhorn City is that it is on the Virginia/Kentucky border.  The rides in Virginia will also be hard, but, at least I will be out of Kentucky and into another state.  It is likely that I will take a day of rest before tackling Virginia.

Will McMahan


Posted by willmcmahan at 9:37 AM PDT
Updated: Wednesday, 13 August 2008 5:39 AM PDT
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Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Day 71-Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: What will today bring?

Today started with trepidation.  I have a long ride into an area devoid of services, with difficult terrain.  There will be no replenishment of food or water until I reach Booneville, 55 or 56 miles away.  While the temperatures were only supposed to reach 92 degrees (original forecast said 100), the heat index (factoring in the humidity) was going to be in the triple digits.

To set the stage, let me quote verbatim some of the trail notes written by the people that developed this route:  "The Appalachians may not be as tall as the Rockies, but they are much harder to cycle than the mountains of the West. It is because the gentle inclines of the Rockies are not nearly as tiring as the steep, roller-coaster grades of the Appalachians.   For most of the up-and-down ride through Appalachia, the roads are narrow two-laners with no shoulders.  There is lots of broken pavement, gravel and occasional low-water bridges.......The area around Pippa Passes and Elkhorn City is very hilly, with lots of curves.  At the Breaks, there is a sharp drop into the canyon on the right.  The road surface is very poor in sections.....the road is very curvy with dense vegetation, making it very hard to see approaching cars from either direction.....Several stretches have moderate to heavy coal truck traffic and coal sometimes fall off these rigs, so be prepared.  Also watch out for potholes, particularly on the downhills, and ride cautiously.  In Appalachia summer fogs may cling to the highlands until quite late in the morning.  In an area with heavy traffic or coal trucks, the wise cyclist will either not ride until the fog clears or leave the road whenever a vehicle approaches."   Not a terribly positive outlook on what I have ahead of me.

Yesterday, the bike mechanic drove to Berea to fix my disk brakes.  This was his day off, and his shop was 15 miles away, so I was deeply appreciative of his willingness to help.  He drove 30 miles to meet me, replaced the disk brake pads, re-oiled my chain, and cleaned my brake and shifting cables.  He presented me with a bill for $36.  I gave him $60.  Even that may not have been sufficient.  We talked about my concerns of this route that the maps were directing me to go.  I was thinking about taking two major highways that actually had towns along them.   He studied the route mapped out, and said that he thought it was a great route.  He strongly discouraged me from taking the major highways.  He said that they were still two lanes with little or no shoulders, just as steep, and had tons of fast moving truck traffic.  I decided to stick with the more remote route.  He warned me about the increasing steepness of the hills, and gave me some wisdom.  In the worst case scenario, if it is too steep to pedal, just get off and walk the bike.  There is no shame in it.  The furtherest you might have to walk is a mile.

As usual, I wanted an early start.  Breakfast was provided at Cracker Barrel at 6 AM.   By 6:30 AM, I was on the road heading out of Berea.  There was a bit of traffic heading into town, but little going my direction.  I hit a convenience store 6 miles out of Berea and stopped to drink a small Gatorade.  Then back on the road.

When pioneers first settled into these valleys, they needed as much farmland in crops as possible, so the roads were always put on the side of the valley.  So, commonly, there would be an open view of the fields on one side of my bike, and a hillside on the other.  But the terrain was not nearly as bad as I expected.  Actually, the first 30-35 miles were fairly easy, and the scenery was beautiful. 

Once again I got lost.  I can't blame the map.  I missed a turn and wandered off for several miles before getting set back on course.  Another time I even turned right when the directions specifically said to turn left.  That was corrected quickly, but not before working my way past three protective dogs before knocking on a farmhouse door. 

There were more loose dogs taking an interest in driving me away from their territory.  Today the number was either 7 or 8 (not including the little coward that barked from underneathe a truck, coming out only after I had passed).  One German Shepard made a beeline for me all the way through the meadow and ran along side of me barking furiously.  It still had a tennis ball in its mouth from playing fetch with its owner.  I figured that it wouldn't bite as long as it had the ball in its mouth.  I used my soothing talk technique on it.  It dropped the ball and barked harder.  My technique seemed to not be working well, but it finally tired of the chase.   Keep in mind that on my recumbent, my feet are 3' off the ground, not next to the ground like on upright bicycles, so dogs are a little perplexed as to where to bite.  Maybe they are just joyfully admiring my bike.

The latter portion of the ride was more what I had expected  from the start.  Several long steep climbs reminded me of the climbs I did in the North Cascades, such as Washington Pass, etc.  The most difficult one, ironically was probably no longer than 1/4 mile, but it was very very steep--the kind of steepness that if it were any steeper I would be pedalling upside down.  That little hill was amazingly hard, but I managed to get over it without walking. 

My lodging for the night was another Bed and Breakfast.  My last experience hadn't gone so well.  This owner, however, did not have such an overblown sense of self-importance.  I almost missed her sign several miles before Booneville, but managed to stop and walk the bike up the drive. 

I made it!  The ride wasn't near as bad as I feared. 

Since the B&B, by definition, provides breakfast only, I would have to ride downhill into town, and back up hill again to the B&B.  The owner, however, had a policy of driving bicyclers into town to eat.   She would putter around, then pick them back up and take them back tothe B&B.  She also laundered my dirty, smelly clothes.  It was a wonderful experience.

There were two homes on the property.  There was the one she lived in, which was a converted Schoolhouse/Church, and another small house, that the one-time teacher/pastor lived in.  She and her husband restored the schoolhouse/church into a very nice, and somewhat funky, Victorian home, with 13' ceilings.  The hardwood floors were the originals from 100 years ago.  There were lots of bird feeders, and a half dozen hummingbird feeders.  At any given moment there were at least 10 hummingbirds flying around and normally quite a few more.  They are so territorial, they are fun to watch.

Since breakfast won't be ready until 7:30 AM, I'll be leaving a bit later than usual tomorrow.  My goal is to reach a town called Hazard.  It is 43-45 miles away through hilly country.  Still an 8 AM start will be fine.

The weather report had a 30-40% probablity of thunderstorms tomorrow.  I've avoided rain for awhile now.  I'm probably due.

Will McMahan


Posted by willmcmahan at 12:01 AM PDT
Updated: Wednesday, 13 August 2008 5:40 AM PDT
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Sunday, 3 August 2008
Day 69-Sunday, August 3rd, 2008
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: I'm not lost. I just don't know where I am.

Last night I fell asleep prior to 9 PM, and slept well all night.  I kept waking, feeling fully rested, at ridiculously early hours.  I woke at 4 AM, then 4:30 AM and finally got up at 4:45 AM.  When I turned on the lights, I saw that the actual time was 5:45 Am.  I hadn't adjusted my wristwatch to EST.  So I hurried to get ready, and was out the door, fully loaded by 6:15 AM.  The only place that I knew would be open for breakfast this early on a Sunday, was Dairy Queen.  Who, besides myself, would be crazy enough to be up that early on a Sunday morning?  A lot of people, apparently.  It was very busy. 

The road, however, was not. 

There was little traffic and the countryside was almost bewitching in its beauty.  The directions on my map, however, were befuddling.  "Cross the Middle Fork River Bridge and turn left on John Taylor Rd (a single lane road).  Turn right on unmarked Hwy 563"  You get the idea.  After a bit of this, thinking I was lost, then finding out that I wasn't, I made a fatal error.  I turned right when I was directed to turn left.  Soon I was wandering around some pretty remote areas trying to figure out if I was lost or not.  I stopped at several houses for directions.  At the second one, someone was home.  Yes, I was lost.  I go back the direction I came from and turn right, then right again, then right again, then left, and that will take me into Berea.  Easy for her to say. 

An hour later, I stopped by a gentleman who looked like he needed a break from mowing the lawn.  He had me backtrack an mile, but he put me out on a wonderful wide road.  It was only two lanes, but it had 8' shoulders.  The last ten miles were up and down, and then I was in town.

But not before having a few more run-ins with dogs.  The first two, just like yesterday, I was going downhill.  The last one, however, I was going uphill, fairly slowly, and there were four dogs lying next to the road that decided to give chase, two of them Doberman Pinchers.  Fortunately, they were not that interested, and I talked gently to them.  I guess that mathmatically speaking, since I came across 2 dogs yesterday, and six today, then I will have 18 on Tuesday, 54 on Wednesday, etc.  Not.

Despite all my concerns of not getting there until late, I rode in a little after noon.  Getting to Wendy's for lunch was like taking one's life in one's hands.  I walked the bike amidst very congested traffic.  Within two hours, I was joined by both relatives with their families.  It was an experience to treasure.

Monday is a Rest Day.  Primarily, a owner of a bike store is going to come to the motel, on his day off, to replace my disk brakes.  I will need them on the steep hills of eastern Kentucky.  Then I want to look around town, and prepare myself for one of the more difficult days of cycling.

I will be riding on Tuesday to Booneville, KY.  It is 55-60 miles, but there are no services, no conveneince stores, no restaurants.  The road is narrow, curvy, steep and hard to ride.  It will be a long day.  I will probably be out of internet range for several days.

Will McMahan


Posted by willmcmahan at 12:01 AM PDT
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Saturday, 2 August 2008
Day 68-Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: This must be the start of Dog Country

For some reason, the shorter rides seem harder, at times, than the longer ones.  The ride today, a short 26 miles to Harrodsburg, should avail enough time to catch up on odds and ends.  But if I leave early then I'll be there in the morning, so I planned to leave mid to late morning, get there a little after noon, have lunch, settle in, and see the town.

It was around 10:30-10:45 AM when I started rolling.  One problem with starting then is that it is starting to heat up with the humidity.  I guess if I were riding  longer mileage it would still be the same, but I think the body adjusts through the morning better than when it is thrust out into the heat.  It still seemed to take forever.

This was a typical ride:  beautiful country, lots of up and down hills, some of them steep.  The main difference is that, for the first time, I was chased by some serious dogs.  Prior to today, all of the dogs have been confined--either fenced in, in kennels, or tied/chained up.  As I was rounding a corner, I spotted a dog on a porch.  It lifted its head in attention, flatend its ears, and took off like a shot out of a cannon towards me.  Because I was going downhill, I easily shot past it before it got to the road, and left it in the dust.  A similar thing happened later.  Maybe this will be a sign of things to come.  I expect that to be the case.

Harrodsburg is a very attractive town, with lots of beautifully maintained historical homes and buildings.  It is just stunning to see a string of victorian homes in impeccable condition.  Since I like museums, I headed for theirs, after checking into a motel.  It was long on books and research, but short on substance for the casual viewer like myself.

With my overall mileage passing the 3,400 mark, I am starting to tire of the lack of people to chat with.  For some reason, it seemed easier in the western part of the United States.  Maybe if I camped more, that would change, but I had sent back my tent in order to lighten my load.  At any rate I have always missed Karen a lot, but we talk a couple of times a day.  However, now I am starting to miss the companionship of friends also.  Oh well, the trip won't be too much longer, and I will be seeing more family and friends on the way.

Tomorrow will be a special treat!  My niece, Emily Kregor, with her husband Jon, and my nephew, Matthew McMahan, with his wife Jennifer and two children, Caroline and Ana, will be traveling from Cincinati and Louisville, respectively, to visit with me.  I haven't seen Matthew or Jennifer since their  wedding, and it has been a couple of years since I saw Emily and Jon.

We will be meeting in the town of Berea, KY, home of Berea College.  It should be a nice place to get together. I am looking forward to it.  Of course this is predicated on the roads not being so difficult that I can get there in a reasonable hour.  I'll leave early just to make sure.

Will McMahan


Posted by willmcmahan at 12:01 AM PDT
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Friday, 1 August 2008
Day 67-Friday. August 1st, 2008
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Back in the saddle again.

It rained, often hard, on the morning that W.T. and I visited Mammoth Caves yesterday.  The good news is that I didn't have to ride in it.  And I knew that a weather front was going to push it out of the way so that I would not have to contend with it today.

My goal for the day was to reach Springfield, KY.  My map from the American Cycling Association had it measured at 59 miles, and they are normally spot on.  As I was studying the map, however, I noticed that there was a highway that was shown but was not the recommended route.  It was clearly shorter but must have more traffic than the planned route.  The idea of knocking 4-5 miles off the day's total mileage won the day. 

As usual I awoke around 5 AM.  the odd thing is that this is only my second morning in EST zone, yet the body seemed to adjusted to it.  After performing all of the needed functions, I was packed and ready to go at 6 AM.  There was a problem, however---it was still dark out.  I debated whether to wait until it got lighter, then finally decided to get on the four lane road and ride hard for 1/2 mile at which place a wide shoulder appeared, and I could get out of everyone's way.  I have reflective tape on the panniers and on the triangular caution sign on the rear.  In addition, I turned on my flashing lights.  Waiting for a long break in traffic going my direction, I took off.  As the first car approached, it moved over in to the passing lane, as did the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth cars.  At that point, I got to the point with the shoulder and knew I would be safe until I got to McDonald's, the designated breakfast place for today.  When I finished eating, at 6:30 AM, it was light outside, thus safe for bicycling.

The new route took me right through Hodgenville and into the country.  Traffic was light at first.  The scenery was very pretty with rolling hills.  None of the hills were back breakers, so the morning was progressing smoothly.  I arrived in the town of New Haven for breakfast #2, and couldn't find an open restaurant, but did make use of the convenience store in the middle of town. 

My next town, Bardstown, about 13 miles away, was going to provide lunch, I decided, then it was only 25 miles to Springfield.  On the way, I encountered several touring bicyclers, unusual in that I was off of the prescribed route, and the third one pulled over to chat.  We exchanged information.  My primary contribution was the different ways to cross Washington to get to Seattle.  He gave me a much shorter way to get to Springfield.  He said that the road was busy out of Bardstown, but the shoulder widened after a while and it was much shorter.  In fact it ended up being 8 miles shorter.

I have ridden many busy roads, but this one was one of the most uncomfortable rides because there was no shoulder, and when I was barely moving up the hills, traffic started to back up significantly.  Several times, I pulled off the road into a driveway and stopped in order for the traffic behind to clear.  I try to always watch approaching traffic behind me and today I was watching a semi truck coming up behind (and not slowing down) and there were two semis coming down the hill.  It was obviously going to be a tight squeeze so I pulled off the pavement into the grass, in order to give everyone comfortable room to go forward.  That is a seldom used maneuver, but I will not hesitate to use it if things start to look a little dicey on the road.

Ironically, for the most part, I am not the one that is worried about the car and truck drivers.  They, as a whole, have been extraordinarily courteous.  However, sometimes when they pass me they give me plenty of clearance but cut it awfully close to the oncoming car or truck.  they should be worried about each other.

That having been said, I have not taken so much evasive action as I have today.  Perhaps the other route would have been safer, but I still like having ridden 12-13 less miles to get to the same place.

Tomorrow will be a very short riding day, only 26 miles.  i'll be stopping in Harrodsburg.  It is a good sized town of around 8,000 people.

Again, no mishaps today.  As I crossed a bridge, the bridge was 1 1/2-2" higher than the shoulder, resulting in a jarring blow to the bike, bouncing it up in the air (and me along with it) but there was no damage to the bike, and I was able to retain control.  The blow was so hard that the water bottle, for the first time this trip, popped right out of its holder.  Somehow as it was bouncing around, I pinched it between my elbow and my ribs.  It stayed there until I stopped.

Will McMahan


Posted by willmcmahan at 11:36 AM PDT
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Wednesday, 30 July 2008
St. Louis and on to the east
Mood:  celebratory
what a fine time sharing the "eastern MO" part of Wil's great bike adventure.  Wil and I left about 9 on Thursday morning, I from our home in South St. Louis City, headed west to meet Wil who was riding in from Augusta, which is almost equi-distance in the west and he rode East!  We met at the TRailhead brewery for a huge lunch - I rode thru some light drizzle but by the time we finished eating (great onion rings!) the roads were mostly dry.  We enjoyed a nice ride (some light rain!) through Creve Couer Park, then for 7 miles on Midland boulevard into Forest Park and then finished up the 30 miles to our home across the street from Tower Grove Park!  Early Friday morning Jim and I escorted Wil into the downtown traffic and halfway across the Mississippi river where we parted ways, very grateful to have shared the "good journey" for a bit!  We are inspired to dream of our own trip in the near future!  Thanks, Wil - safe miles and good people...

Posted by dianaomo at 7:17 PM PDT
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Day 65-Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: Another pleasant day in Kentucky.

In order to get to the motel near Mammoth Caves before W.T. arrived, I would need to leave early.  Not only was I uncertain as to the terrain, but it was supposed to rain later.  Additionally, I was crossing over into Eastern Standard Time, so I would lose an hour.

I ate breakfast at 6 AM, then hit the road, wondering what the hills would be like today.  In the first hour, I had three hard climbs that left me gasping for breath.  This was going to be a long day.  I passed another restaurant and stopped for breakfast #2.  Yes, I am gaining back some of the weight that had been lost earlier.  Right after this meal, I dipped into a hollow that was so steep that I wasn't sure the brakes would slow me enough to negotiate the curves.  The climb out was torturous and very slow.  But I made it.  This did not bode well for the day, but, fortunately, the worst was over.  There were no more hills this bad for the rest of the day.  Those are apparently being saved for eastern Kentucky.

Not too long after the second breakfast, I passed a grocery, and picked up a cheeseburger for lunch.  Just as Jack and I had done on Sunday, I found a nice shady cemetery to enjoy the sandwich.

It didn't seem like too much later that I entered the town of Sonora.  I was only 12-14 miles to the hotel. I stopped for a bowl of soup and a number of large glasses of iced tea.  It is just amazing how much fluids one consumes.  On the bike I drink but generally don't feel thirsty.  Once I stop for food, I seldom drink less than three large glasses of tea or water.

The road was nice.  I still hadn't been chased by any dogs with serious intent.  Life was good!  A rain drop touched my face.  I started pedalling faster.  It was just a few miles to go!  But there was no way I would make it dry.  I pulled under some cover and tried to quickly put the rain covers on the panniers.  Additionally I donned my rain sponge jacket (that's my new name for it).  It had been raining hard, but by the time I was all situated, the rain started to ease off.  Soon the sun was out, it was still in the high 80's, and I was starting to swelter in the jacket. 

Feeling reatively certain that I had preceeded W.T. in getting here, I ducked into an ice cream store in order to cool off both inside and out.

Our room at the Cruise Inn wasn't bad for as little as they charged.  It had two beds and room for all of our gear (mostly mine) and the bicycle.

W.T., who reminds me of an absent minded professor, called on his cell phone. He had taken a wrong turn somewhere and was on a parkway leading the wrong direction with no exits in sight.  I assured him that I was in no hurry.  He showed up a little bit later.

Before eating, we drove down to Abraham Lincoln's birthplace, about ywo miles down the road.  After seeing a short film on Lincoln's life here (he moved when he was seven) we toured the grounds, which were the actual grounds of the original farm.  The spring still produced water.  A cabin, similar to the one Lincoln lived in was on display.  It was an incredibly poor (economically) start for someone who secured such greatness.

We dined at a steak house in a town nearby, then retired to the room and resurrect memories of brothers, many of whom haven't been seen for decades.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Mammoth Caves.  They have numerous tours.  After we have gone to the tour of our choice, W.T. will drop me back off at the motel, then he will be off to New Albany, Indiana, to the home of a childhood friend.

I am so pleased that he chose to drive all this way just to visit.  He is just as smart and funny and wise as always. 

Will McMahan


Posted by willmcmahan at 12:01 AM PDT
Updated: Friday, 1 August 2008 10:43 AM PDT
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Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Day 65-Tuesday, July 29th
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: A good day. Ooh, that pool feels great!

Jack left the evening before last, and I had all of yesterday to relax and prepare for today.  The most important issue was to have my brakes checked at the local bike store.  My brakes are starting to fail, and the brake pads need replacing.  Unfortunately, the local bike shop had neither the proper parts or time for installation, so they gave some quick adjustments, advised that I have them replaced prior to traversing eastern Kentucky (which, I gather, is supposed to be very steep) and sent me on my way.

My room at the Ramada was a joke at any price, least of all the $100 that I was paying.  The phone didn't work.  The internet computer didn't work.  The entire facility was under renovation.  My room was nice, but when I stepped outside the door, the concrete hallway was dirty, and had rebar showing through the holes in the concrete.  I started calling around.  Comfort Inn: All full. Days Inn:  All full. They were all full.  Wait a minute, what is this?  Budget Inn:  yes they have a room for $39.  I took it.  And, yes, the phone worked. 

Today, I was to leave Owensboro and try to get to an area called the Rough River Dam.  There is a state park there, and several motels.  I missed the turn onto Highway 54 and had to backtrack to find it.

As the hills started to add up, I pulled into a little post office in Deaneville.  From there, I took items off my bike that I doubted I would need, and mailed them back home.  One item was my tent.  I kept the ground cloth, pillow and two sleeping bag liners, so I could sleep outside (if it was not raining).

The miles started adding up.  The hills were tiring but I could do them.  Ironically, an email that I received from someone in Granite Falls helped.  This gentleman had been reading my journal and felt inspired by my trip.  He had lost weight through his bicycling workouts.  It is seldom that we have the opportunity to inspire anyone, and this gave me energy on even the longest hills.

As is common, I had eaten three times before I arrived at the motel around 2 PM.  They had a small but nice swimming pool, and for the first time since leaving home, I put on my swim trunks and took a dip.  It was fantastic!  It was just the right temperature to feel cooling, yet the water was warm enough that one didn't need to tiptoe into it.  I lay in the shade, listening to Ivanhoe on the MP3 player, taking occasional dips.  This was definitely heaven.  The outdoor temperature was in the mid-90's.

Tomorrow was going to be exciting.  The ride was not going to be exceedingly long, 58 miles, and I was to meet one of my fraternity brothers, W.T. Wrege, and we were going to visit the area, especially Mammoth Caves.  I wanted to be at the motel first if at all possible.

Speaking of possibilities, I had no accidents of any kind today.  This shouldn't be newsworthy, but, after riding over 3,000 miles without any mishaps, the last several days have made me a little more conscious of how easy it is to fall.  Maybe it was the day of rest in Owensboro, or maybe it was just the increased focus while riding.  Whatever, it made for a good day.

Will McMahan


Posted by willmcmahan at 12:01 AM PDT
Updated: Friday, 1 August 2008 7:23 AM PDT
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Monday, 28 July 2008
you are looking good
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: did G-D really say that about Kentucky!!!!
just a hug and a hello to you from us....we continue to be impressed with your determination and spunk.  continue having fun....hugs, j & c

Posted by boulderbuddies at 7:42 PM PDT
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