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Good day today. I woke up at 5:45 and had a breakfast of apple, belvita, protein shake, and nuts. I got dressed and packed as quickly as possible, but it was still 7 by the time I got last night’s post uploaded and got on the road. Today marked my first full day in Kentucky and I wanted to make the most of it. It was a cool morning but the humidity was high from light rains the night before. The most striking feature was a mist through many of the valleys. 

I passed a share the road sign with a motorcycle on it. There are occasionally share the road signs for bikes but not super frequently.

There seem to be two types of scenery here: dark wet forests

And wide open fields

Rain was threatened for most of the morning but it stayed dry. I passed through the town of Clay without stopping, there was very little there. As I left I saw a road closed sign.

There was a detour offered, but detours are always sketchy: you never know if they’ll dump you on the interstate or something else. I decided to take the detour rather than keep going on the closed road, hoping I could get through. It turned out to be fine, and it deposited me back on route in the town of Dixon. There was some somewhat busy main street riding but nothing unbearable. I stopped at a convenience store and talked with the nice owner about crime in town. She said it was mostly related to drugs, meth primarily. We talked about that and bikes when another customer came in. She asked where I was from. I said California and she whistled and said ‘boy you got some legs on you’. I laughed hard, and said goodbye and got back to riding. Back on the route it was pretty deserted and I made good progress and enjoyed the open bits of scenery. 

As I approached the town of Sebree the rain started to look more imminent. 

I rode in to town I passed a bike hostel I’d heard about. It looked fantastic, but I was trying for a warmshowers further ahead.

Rain started to come down so I ducked into a dairy bar, my first ever. It seems like just a diner tbh. The rain started to come down hard and I was glad I was inside. I got some hot food and ice cream (during a rain storm) and used their free wifi. One patron impressed me with his bike knowledge by asking if I had road slicks on (tires made for going fast, with poor grip in rain) and I said no. He wished me luck. The rain stopped not too long after and I got back to riding. Out of Sebree I rode a busy road that had a wide but often debris and dirt covered shoulder. Eventually that shoulder ended altogether and I had to contend with heavy traffic. Luckily that didn’t last too long before traffic settled down.
I passed a mile marker 0, which I haven’t seen yet

Immediately after I passed over the Green River

Coming from the opposite way I saw my first westbound rider in a while. He told me his name was Eric and he was doing the trans am route through most of Missouri then headed onto the route 66 bike route. We talked about dogs and lodging, and lots of other stuff. I talked his ear off I was so happy to see someone coming the opposite way. We parted ways and I rode the shirt distance to Beech Grove. I stopped at a store and got snacks and enjoyed ac. It was crazy humid and my jersey was soaked most of the day. It made stops a bit unpleasant as the ac would get the wet jersey freezing cold, much colder than I needed to be. I also went next door to dollar general for shower caps: I use them to cover my bike seat when it rains, I ran out. 
I left Beech Grove and there was little traffic. This segment was about 20 miles until my finish in Utica, but I just relaxed and rode slowly. The heat was increasing for sure, so I just enjoyed scenery.

The road surface at first was atrocious through here, but then I reached a brand new paved segment. I think they may have paved it like yesterday, tar was sleeping out of the road still.

 Once the newly paved section ended the road got bad again for a bit. Once I crossed into a new county it was fine. I climbed one last hill and arrived in Utica and went to a Shell station. I tried to text my hosts for the night, Angelica and Jo but I had no service. I got a freel shake and walked around the parking lot trying to find some. A woman asked if I was trying to get in contact with them and I said yes. I think she was about to offer me her phone when I got some service and let them know I’d arrived. They gave me directions. I rode a half mile on a very busy, narrow, shoulderless highway and thanked my lucky stars when I arrived. Jo welcomed me and showed me to the air conditioned barn room they open to cyclists.
It’s super cute and has a real bed, tv, and even an Xbox. They had a hose set up outside to shower in and let me play with their many cats. I mentioned I was hungry and Jo drove me up to get fast food in Owensboro. We came back and chatted, talked about life and watched paranormal activity shows on tv. Later, for desert Jo drove me down to the gas station for candy and soda. We sat around a bit more then I played video games with their son, Noe for several hours. It was an awesome night and they were fabulous hosts. Joni’s going through a very difficult period in her life right now with a sick family member so send your good thoughts her way. 
I need to sleep for another early day. Night!
Distance: 70

Consumption:

  • Protein shake
  • Belvita
  • Apple
  • Nuts
  • Coffee cake
  • Soda
  • Patty melt
  • Ice cream fries
  • Soda
  • Ice cream sandwich
  • Freel
  • Double cheese burger
  • Fries
  • Pineapple shake
  • Candy
  • Soda
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