4/24 We are so tired from the last two days, and finding a place to sleep has been difficult. So we contacted a Bed and Breakfast about 12 miles from Springfield and they have a a room available! On the way out of town, we saw this beautiful cathedral.
4/24 In fact, we are suddenly in a Catholic part of Kentucky. In Loretto we found a retirement community of nuns, a St Francis of Assisi day care center, and other such indicators that Baptists are not the only church in town.
4/24 We are staying at the Hill House Bed and Breakfast. It is a beautiful old house built in the mid 1800’s right in Loretto, KY. It is on The Bourbon Trail and about 2 miles from the Makers Mark Distillery. We also saw these 5 giant black boxes where they store the whiskey.
4/24 We arrived at 1 pm, lolled on the patio, walked around town, then lolled some more. Rudy the dog and Henry the cat joined us. We had wine and cheese at 5, then walked to the nearby tavern where we had more libations. Paul had his choice of Budweiser in a bottle or a can.
4/25 My friend Diane tracked down the answers to my questions about Kentucky. The fences were painted black because the legislature passed a law. evolutiamade.com/latest-pr… Black fences needing paint look better.
4/25 And the quilt squares mark Kentucky Quilt Trails providing guidance to arts and crafts throughout the state. artscouncil.ky.gov/KAC/Vibra… They sure like “trails” around here: Bourbon, Music, Quilts , etc. lots of opportunities for tourists.
2023-04-26
4/25 We had the most marvelous breakfast, made by Pam, our hostess. She made us feel so pampered and welcomed. Rudy and Henry did, too.
4/25 Now it’s time to buck up and start pedaling. We said goodbye to Loretto with its huge bourbon storage complex As we ride west, cattle are giving way to an agricultural area. I think it’s winter wheat and the silos that hold it that we can see everywhere.
4/25 We ended the day at the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln near Hodgenville. They have built a large memorial building around the log cabin where the 16th president was born. It is an amazing and peaceful place to visit. The words on the black plaque are carved into the building.
4/25 We enjoyed the Visitors Center and had a heart to heart with Abe himself. Then we walked the grounds for a while.
4/25 We stayed at the Lincoln Lodge across the street. We cooked our dinner on a picnic table at the campsite of the very first TransAm bicycle rider we have met so far. Olivier is from Switzerland and started his journey in New York.
4/26 Today is going to be our longest one yet at 56 miles. We started early with a few grumbles from Stig. But the weather cooperated with a light tailwind, warmer temperatures, and sunny skies all day. We ran into our first mosquitoes and admonitions at the river lunch stop.
4/26 Saw a round house in the middle of agriculture land. The roads were rolling hills, but suddenly hit a very steep grade and had to push the bikes. Paul invented a new wrap with a tortilla, peanut butter, cream cheese, and prunes. Stig approved.
4/26 Crossed into Breckinridge County and we are in the Central Time Zone. No sign or other indication of the time change, but our map says so and our phones automatically updated the time. Also, we noticed that there is no rhyme or reason to mileposts and Mile 1 is the default.
4/26 We ate our second lunch at a picnic pavilion behind a church. The sign out front said “Love One Another”, but on closer inspection we noticed the words “United Methodist” had been removed from the name on the building. Makes you wonder why.
2023-04-27 4/26 We arrived at the Rough River State Resort Park at 3:30, having made great time thanks to the time change. We enjoyed visiting with our new friend, Olivier and dining in the resort restaurant.
2023-04-27 4/27 Just watched the video shown at the Lincoln Birthplace Visitor Center. Thought you might enjoy watching it, too. ket.org/program/l…
4/27 We made reservations at Rough River Dam for two nights because the weather prediction was that it would 1 1/2 inches all day today starting at noon. Turns out it didn’t start until about 5 and we could have ridden. Oh, well. It was a good rest day.
4/28 It is finally time to move on. We packed up and headed for Utica. Rode through a lot of farmland. The hills today wore me out!
4/28 Paul signed us up on WarmShowers, a website that links bicyclists with people willing to put them up for a night. We stayed with Anjelica and Jo at Utica. Our friend Olivier from Switzerland and Jack from Chicago were there, too. We went to Owensboro for dinner and music.
4/29 Olivier and Jack slept in a separate building called the bunkhouse, while Paul and I slept on the couch. In the morning Anjelica took pictures of us all as we left in the rain.
4/29 More crops and cattle as we pedaled through western Kentucky. We had lunch at a diner in Fordsville the day before, and a market/ sandwich shop in Beech Grove today. These places were full of people and gave us a chance to chat with the locals.
2023-05-01 4/29 We stayed at the First Baptist Church in Sebree. It was deluxe accommodations with a full kitchen, shower, private rooms and entertainment.
4/30 We got up early and left before people started arriving for church. A man stopped us and offered a prayer for us before we left. We needed it because the weather was against us today. Headwinds of 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph, rain, hail made it hard to keep moving forward.
2023-05-01
4/30 In these pictures you can see we had to take refuge behind some grain silos. The rain was thrown sideways so we stayed dry on the south side while the north side was drenched. Also had to take advantage of someone’s carport for another deluge.
4/30 We were very happy to reach our final destination at the United Methodist Church in Marion. Pastor James let us in and explained the setup. Paul had to listen while James and Rhe discussed the state of the church. This church had bunkbeds made by the Scouts for cyclists!
4/3 It’s time for our mileage update: Monday, 13.6; Tuesday, 36.8; Wednesday, 57.5; Thursday, 0; Friday, 44.4; Saturday, 27.2; Sunday, 43.9. Total miles: 1,197.6. 🚴♀️🚴🏼♂️ As of 4/30, we have ridden 1,031.7 miles on the TransAm and have completed 24.5% of the ride.
2023-05-01
