A Blog To Be Named Later

10/3/17

Mt Orab, OH > London, OH

Miles Ridden – 112.9

Mileage to date – 3,298.4

Yesterday’s destination was London… Ohio.  What does the song from the Clash in 1979 have to do with London, OH?  Nothing, but it was a cool song back in the day.

John spent 80 miles of his riding on bike paths yesterday which is good and bad.  The good – no cars, flat and little chance of a wrong turn.  The bad – a bit monotonous and sometimes sparse services.  He spent the night in a hostel.  London is about 30 miles east of Columbus Ohio.  It is happens to be the birthplace of Dick Lebeau who is the assistant head coach of the Tennessee Titans.

Today’s destination is Mifflin, OH (pop. 137)

10/2/17

Dry Ridge, KY > Mt Orab, OH

Miles Ridden – 116.3

Mileage to date – 3,185.5

Or better yet, another day another century. What’s a “century” you ask? In the bicycling world, a century is 100 miles of riding. Try it sometime. It’s not easy. Next try loading 60 lbs or so of gear on your bike and riding a century. Once you have that under your belt then try doing 3 consecutive days of century rides with a bike full of gear. I am getting tired just typing that!

John crossed the Ohio river today for the final time. He followed the ACA route which is a rather circuitous route around Cincinnati. He is spending the night in Mt Orab, OH which per its Wikipedia page seems to be a totally unremarkable place. He is about 40 miles

easy of Cincinnati. Yesterday John was debating whether he should do a shorter (75 miles) or a longer ride (105 miles) today. He opted for even longer ride by getting lost for a while –

“I spooked a large bird this morning who in turn spooked me and I rode off the shoulder into soft grass. Shortly after, I missed a turn in Concord, KY that added 9 miles to my ride. That’s when I decided to have lunch and evaluate my performance. Fortunately, after eating things improved and I crossed the Ohio river without incident. Overall, the ride today was really beautiful.”

John also reported that –

“Lots of deer and rebel flags today. Not to mention dogs chasing me down the street.”

Sounds fun!

Without further adieu let’s get to the photos –

How could anyone get lost with such clear signage?-

I have ridden 300 miles in 3 days, that looks pretty nice-

10/1/17

Jeffersonville, IN > Dry Ridge, KY

Miles Ridden – 103.8

Mileage to date – 3,069.2

John ushered in the month of October with a return to the eastern time zone. After 39 days away, it is a good sign of the progress that he has made to date. John also surpassed the 3,000 mile mark today for his tour today.

Today’s destination was Dry Ridge, KY (2,191) which is about 35 miles south of Cincinnati. Dry Ridge was the birthplace of country singer Skeeter Davis. “Who the heck is he?” is what my lovely bride asked when informed of this fact. Well it turns out that Skeeter was a she!

Tomorrow, John should make it to Ohio. The bike route that he is following is called the Underground Railroad and per the the Adventure Cycling Association(ACA) it “memorializes the Underground Railroad, a network of clandestine routes by which African freedom seekers attempted to escape slavery before and during the Civil War”.

John’s account of the day – “I started in Jeffersonville IN before sunrise today and it was cold until late morning. I’m officially in the eastern time zone and it only stands to reason the outside temperature was exactly what one should expect in the east in October. The ride followed the Ohio river for about 10 miles and it was a great place to see the sunrise. Once the route separated from the river navigation became more difficult due to missing street signs and discrepancies with road names. Fortunately, thanks to my iPhone and a little patience I was able to find my way back to Kentucky. After passing through the wonderful town of Madison IN, I crossed the Ohio river again. Once in KY, the ride was pretty straight forward keeping me on 2 state routes for 51 miles. I will say there was a mile long climb at 10% grade with 9 miles left in the route that made me think about skiing.”

John also said that “Madison IN reminded me of Woodstock, VT”.

Photos from today –

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.