Part 2, Day 3, Rough River to Sebree KY

76 miles, 6:10 riding time, about 10.5 hrs clock time, 12.3 mph average, 3465 ft of ascent

It had just rained before we came to the Axtel campground last night, so everything was wet and the air was sticky humid.  We had eaten dinner on the way to the campground, so we only had to set up camp and get cleaned up.  Luckily it did not rain overnight, although nothing dried in the humid air.  I did laundry in the washroom sink and set up my “rolling clothesline”, which is a mesh bag attached to the back of my bike.  

We managed to get an earlier start today, at 0615.  We decided to get 22 miles behind us before we stopped for breakfast at a diner in Fordsville.  On the way there I saw another variation on the traditional barn quilt.

I also saw more of the “Just be kind” signs.

There was a similar initiative in Columbia Maryland where I used to live where they gave out “Choose Civility” car trunk magnets.  This was not a fund raiser, but an effort to promote better interactions between people.

The drivers in this part of KY are very courteous to bicyclists.  The roads are winding and there are humps that lead to blind corners and hills.  Most of the drivers will wait until they have a clear view down the road, even if it means following behind me a 4 mph as I climb a steep grade.  

I saw a lot of butterflies today.  This one had a wingspan of about 5-inches.

I came across a Eastbound TransAm cyclist named Mitch.  He is originally from North Dakota but is currently working as a missionary in Manila.  He  started his journey from Oregon in early May and ran into cold weather and even snow in Yellowstone.  With all his cold-weather clothing and cooking gear, his bike weighed in at 134 pounds.  By the time he reached KY he had sent stuff home to reduce his load to 112 pounds, which is still quite heavy; my bike weighs in at about 80 lbs fully loaded.

I. only came across a few dogs today and they were all Type I, running towards me barking with their tails wagging.

The terrain today changed dramatically from rolling with short, steep hills to long, straight nearly flat roads.  

When riding my road bike I try to carry my momentum into a hill by delaying down-shifting as long a I can.  A loaded touring bike has a lot of air drag.  Consequently the top speed on level ground is about 17 mph and it loses momentum very quickly when approaching a hill.  This makes shifting challenging because it is hard to down-shift quickly enough through so many gears.  Consequently I find myself grinding gears way too often.  

Our destination today was a Cyclist hotel hosted by the First Baptist Church in Sebree.  The final 8 miles was on a flat, straight road with a tailwind. (Woo-hooo!)

We arrived at about 1630 and called Bob, who welcomes bicyclists and gets them situated.  Duane and I chatted with Bob for awhile and then Bob received a call from his wife Violet inviting us to dinner.  Their house was just across the road from the church.  They served us a delicious dinner and shared stories about all the cyclists they had met and assisted. They are incredibly generous and helping people that have gone out of their way to help traveling cyclists.  I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet them and hear their stories.