Yup, lots of farms…and not much else. It’s a nice break from the mountains though, and I’m certainly enjoying the landscape, the people, and the easy riding. But I have to say; the mountains definitely whipped my butt into shape. There have been a few times where I had to ask for directions, and the ensuing conversation would go like:
Me: “Hey, can you tell me how to get to this road?”
Helpful Person: “Sure, it’s right up there on the right…you might not want to go that way though, pretty hilly over there”
Me: “Uh, that’s alright, I’m sure I’ll be fine”
And the hills? Nowhere to be found. Of course, Colorado will probably have something a little different in store for me. Until then, ignorance is bliss.
But anyway, I have successfully navigated my way into Kentucky and I’m about 30 miles from reconnecting with the Adventure Cycling TransAmerica route. Kiss the desolate Tennessee abandoned farmland goodbye, hello established cross-country bike route! Oh, and it’s my birthd...today is a good day.
So where am I?
Leitchfield, Kentucky. It’s a nice town, not too quiet and definitely beats some of the run-down places I’ve ridden through in the past few days. I’m staying at the very lovely Hatfield Inn, which has just about everything I could ever ask for – delicious free breakfast, spacious rooms, a computer, and a helpful staff. I could definitely stay here for a while...
But there’s always a downside – I’m in a dry county. Looks like Kentucky isn’t the alcohol-ridden state which rumors make it out to be. I should probably just stick to water anyway though...
But I know you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to, so here are a few more cheerful anecdotes from the road:
Day 23, part II:
One note about Central Time – it doesn’t actually mean the sun sets an hour later (well, not when you’re 30 miles into it, at least). So, when the sun started setting at 7:00, it sort of took me by surprise. Out of options, I pulled into a very unfriendly neighborhood, in which I got a denied safe place to stay about 10 times. Finally I convinced a guy that I wouldn’t touch anything, would stay out of the way, and would be out of his hair by early morning. By this point it was actually dark out, so I scrambled to throw some food on the stove, set up camp, and get to bed. Wait…no trees!
Being forced on the ground for second time, I was subjected to the worst night’s sleep I’ve had in a while. With humidity at about 5,000%, I woke up spastically throughout the night covered in water, freezing cold. Eventually around 6:00 I just got up, packed my things, and rode into Cookville, TN.
Miles Covered: 75
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Day 24:
The upside to starting the morning really early? Cookville is actually an established town...with a bike shop! Finally, I could restock my dwindling stash of bike supplies. Given the store didn’t open until 10:00 though; I found a Laundromat and a café and bided my time until the doors opened.
After conveying my distress and frustration over flat tires and broken tubes, the owner of Caney Fork Cycles hooked me up with a tubeless set-up (something I should have done from the start given I’m riding tubes rims...yes Nick, you were right).
Departing the shop at 11:00, I started riding pretty quick to try and make up for a slow start. Given the flat-ish landscape (remember, I just got off the mountains), and the fact that there were absolutely zero distractions (I was riding through nothing…and I almost ran out of water because of it), I was able to fly. I finally crossed the Tennessee boarder into Kentucky and hit a town called Gamaliel where I was able to refuel...and pick up a $1.50 box of Pop Tarts.
What I decided to do next may or may not have been a good decision, but it did work out quite well. Starting around 5:30, I continued to ride on to Glasgow, KY knowing that I would be in the middle of nowhere. This is also assuming that:
1. The sun will set at 7:30
2. There are wild dogs in Kentucky
3. 30 more miles of riding will put me at 100 for the day
So off I went…FAST. 7:28 on the dot I crossed the Glasgow boarder, relieved, exhausted, and proud. My first century and I did it in less than nine hours...booyah.
What’s more? No more than 30 seconds upon entering the town a guy named Howard flagged me down and started talking to me. Being a biker himself, he told me about some of the trips he’s done, and invited me to camp out at his house...something I think is the single most miraculous thing that has happened to me thus far. Before heading out to the house though, I decided to treat myself to dinner at a local restaurant called A Little Taste of Texas.
Let me prefix this next part by saying that small towns are quite possibly the best places in the world. Nothing beats the people, the atmosphere, and the culture.
I sat down for a huge hamburger dinner and made friends with basically everyone that crossed my path. The guy sitting behind me gave me $20 to pay for the meal, and my nice and lovely waitress gave me a double serving of cheesecake for dessert. THAT was a fantastic way to end an awesome day.
Finally I rode out to Howard’s house, set my hammock up, and even took a (cold) shower with my portable shower setup (that sounds much more glorified than it actually is...)
In an effort to be completely honest, I should mention the one bad thing that did happen today. About 10 miles after leaving Cookville, I headed into the country and took a left on a road that went about 5 miles into the middle of nowhere. Before turning onto my next road, a guy came walking towards me saying something about a bridge being out...fancy that. So I unfortunately had to retrace the last 5 miles to a different road, and then continued on. No sweat.
Miles Covered: 100!
PROOF:
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Day 25:
One more thing about Howard – he’s awesome. He put me in touch with his friend Mark who rode the TransAmerica route in the past. Anyway, Mark drove down to the town and met up with me to touch base with how I was doing. Not only did he give me a better route to get up to Mammoth Cave (my next stop), but he gave me a much better route navigating Kentucky and bringing me back onto the TransAmerica route (including a place to stay the night after I got out of Leitchfield). So thank you so much Mark and Howard, you’ve been incredibly helpful and made the trip a lot easier!
So up to Mammoth Cave I went. I took the tour (which was awesome), and met a girl named Nina (this one was not Norwegian) during it. She started talking to me after seeing my Ithaca bike Jersey, and I found out that she lived in Ithaca for a year (small world, eh?) After the tour she treated me to lunch, and we went our separate ways.
Here’s a glimpse into the amazing Mammoth Cave:
Well, that’s about all I have to report. Today is my second official rest day, and the most I’ve biked was about a half mile to the grocery store and back. I’ll be off to Sebree, KY tomorrow...and it’s look like it’ll be a hot one.
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