Month: September 2017

9/30/17

Lewisport, KY > Jeffersonville, IN

Miles Ridden – 113.0

Mileage to date – 2,965.4

John crossed the mighty Ohio river at Brandenburg, KY and entered Indiana today. Apparently, Abraham Lincoln spent much of his boyhood in Indiana –

John already crossed the Ohio river to reach Kentucky from Illinois 2 days ago. He will cross the Ohio 2 more times in the next couple of days. Tomorrow he will cross the Ohio back into Kentucky. Confused yet? I know I am. The state boundaries are a little tricky to follow in these parts.

It was another long day on the bike for John but it sounds like a nice day –

“The temperature was really great today for riding. There was a bit of wind requiring greater power output but it helped keep things comfortable all day. Once again, the ACA route provided an unforgettable day on the bicycle. I travelled along these 2 ridges for over 20 miles and it was just so great. The stuff in the AM along the river was great also. The day began and ended riding next to the river. Crossing the river was a bit sketchy as the bridge is under construction and there was only one lane open”.

Tonight John is in Jeffersonville, IN which is directly across the river from Louisville ,KY. Jeffersonville is known locally as “Jeff” which sounds like a great name!

Pictures from today –

9/29/17

Sebree, KY > Lewisport, KY

Miles Ridden – 61.9

Mileage to date – 2,852.4

Perhaps this post should be titled “And There Was One”. Today was John’s 1st riding solo since the trip began on Aug. 24. John has been riding with Jaime and Heather since I left. They will continue on the TransAmerica bicycle route until Yorktown, Virginia. John left the TransAmerica today and picked up a route called the Underground Railroad. He is headed towards Erie, PA. I think he probably has around 1300 miles left.

John will really riding with Jaime and Heather. They are two of the nicest folks you will ever meet. I enjoyed the two days I rode with them as well. It seems like it was only yesterday when we spotted their bikes outside a restaurant in Austin, NV and first met them. I wish them the best of luck.

John decided to make today an easy day since they have been really piling on the miles in the last 10 days or so. When I spoke with him today he did say he felt great.

9/28/17

Tunnel Hill, Il > Sebree, KY

Miles Ridden – 103.6

Mileage to date – 2,790.5

I got a chance to talk to John on the phone today. We had not talked since I last saw him in Utah. The events of yesterday warranted a phone call as opposed to our usual text communication. The plan for yesterday was to ride to Sebree, KY and stay at a cycling hostel that was affiliated with a church. It is 104 mile ride from Tunnel Hill where they had camped out the night before. On a typical day, John will usually average about 12-13 miles per hour. At that pace a 100 mile day usually involves a minimum of 8 hours on the bike which is a long day.

John, Heather and Jaime started out as the sun was rising. John noticed that early in the day Jaime’s rear wheel was out of true and was wobbling so badly that the rim was hitting the brake caliper. It kept getting worse as the day wore on. It really impacted how fast Jaime could ride. To make matters worse there are no bike shops in that area of Illinois and Kentucky. At one point, they stopped at gas station and a local started talking to them. John said he was a bit of a redneck but a really nice. This guy mentions to them that he bought his son a road bike and he never uses it. So Jaime half jokingly asks him “well why don’t you let me use his rear wheel”? The guy replies “I guess I could do that”. The next thing John knows Jaime and Heather are in this guy’s truck riding to retrieve the rear wheel. Jaime promises to mail the wheel back to him when he reaches Virginia. I will spare you all the details but Jaime couldn’t switch the real wheel without some help from a bike shop so he strapped his borrowed wheel on his trailer and gutted out the last 20 plus miles.

By this time it was getting late, John rode on ahead looking for the church. It was pitch black and he was a bit nervous because there are no hotels in the county. Sure enough he saw a church with a sign that said “cyclist hostel”. There was an older gentlemen who introduced himself as the retired pastor and he asked John “I hope you don’t mind but we made dinner for you guys”. John said said “I absolutely do not mind!” Due to the late hour John had assumed he would be eating a freeze dried meal. Needless to say he was very happy.

Jaime and Heather showed up shortly afterwards and they all had a delicious dinner with the pastor and his wife. The pastor asked John if he would like some maple syrup with his meal. He pulled a jug from Stowe, Vermont! A friend had brought it to them recently. The pastor and his wife have been at that location since 1979 and have been helping and hosting cyclists ever since. They offered to drive Jaime to a bike shop this morning to get his wheel sorted out.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy states: The term “trail magic” was coined by long-distance hikers to describe an unexpected occurrence that lifts a hiker’s spirits and inspires awe or gratitude. There is no doubt that John, Jaime and Heather experienced some trail magic yesterday through the kindness of strangers.

9/26/17

Ellington, MO > Chester, IL

Miles Ridden – 110.4

Mileage to date – 2,597.9

Another big milestone today for John and team. They have crossed the Mississippi and made it to Chester, Illinois (pop. 8,586). Chester is best known as the birthplace of the creator ( E.C. Segar)of Popeye the Sailor which was one of my favorite cartoons as a child.

Despite climbing over 5,900 feet today John said he felt good riding all day. Also from John – “We decided to call ourselves team heatwave given the temperature seems to approach 90 degrees everyday we ride……it was a beautiful ride, it was like cycling in the Berkshires with wider roads.”

They are staying in another cyclist hostel tonight.

Some photos from today –