Day 18: back on route and into Harrodsburg

May 30, 2023

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I got up nice and early and started getting packed up. It's always amazing how long it can take to get ready even without a tent to pack up.

I headed down to get my morning coffee from the lobby and collect my laundry I'd left in a bag in the laundry while dropping Natalie at the airport yesterday. That was a mistake, since now the bag wasn't there. It was before 6am so I asked the night auditor if it had been put into a lost and found but she said to come back after 7 once housekeeping arrived.

I finished packing up and wheeled my bike down at about 7:30 but they hadn't found my bag and suspected it had been stolen. Not a huge problem, it only had a rag, my UV protection shirt and a thermal buff. Unfortunately my shirt was pretty useful, especially with the sunburn on my arms. But I can survive without any of those for a while.

I started riding out towards Harrodsburg, the nearest major town westward on the TransAm. As I started rolling, I realised my brake pads were really starting to lose power. So I tightened them a little and made a note to replace at least the front ones at camp.

Very quickly I was on the main road to Harrodsburg, a multi lane expressway. This wasn't a problem when there was a two metre shoulder but that disappeared without warning so I had to find some alternate routes. I traced my way through some winding suburbs and a park, weaving back and forth for a long time.

Eventually this led me back to the expressway but with a very wide shoulder again and I only had to ride a few km before going down a side road that ended in a cycle-only pathway. This kept me going for a long time until I got to low traffic roads.

Unfortunately, the direct route to Harrodsburg had a road closure to improve some rock faces, so I had to turn off route. You can see the big detour I had to take on the map.

This took me down very quiet country roads, some barely wide enough to fit a car. I even had to do my first river crossing of the trip, luckily the rivers are very low right now.

The nice little road with the river crossing

Some huge coal power plant or such that I circled from a distance

On one of the minor roads off the main highway a driver pulled beside me and chatted about which direction I was going and asking all about the trip. He was familiar with the route but must have mainly encountered eastbound cyclists.

Just a few km along that road I ran into Camp Nelson State Park. I didn't know anything about this piece of Civil War history, and learnt all about the fort sat along the cliffs bordering the Kentucky River.

I ended up riding across the river on the shoulder of the highway and was impressed how much limestone the river had carved out.

It wasn't long before I was back on the TransAm route in Buena Vista. I had to stop under the shade of the first tree I saw because Kentucky is hot, and there's not many chances to stop in shade. I carried on up to Burgin where I stopped for the biggest milkshake and burger I could stomach at a local popular dairy bar in the tiny town.

Satisfied, I made the final trek I to Harrodsburg and up to the community park I was going to spend the night in. When I arrived I made a beeline to the pool, which had a couple kids swimming in it and looked open for use. I went in with my towel and togs and was turned away, the pool wasn't opening for another 4 days but one of the park staff was just allowing their kids a dip. I started trudging my bike up the hill in the park to a pavilion to get dinner sorted but ended up being called out to and invited into the pool.

Boy I needed that swim, today felt hotter than any other day and I needed to cool off as much as I could. The day was good but I was exhausted and the dip made me feel so much better.

I had a bite to eat up at the pavilion and got to work changing my brake pads. I ended up having to take my front rack off to access them, which meant it took longer than I expected.

I got a few strange looks from people using the park as I fixed my bike

I made some plans for the next day and set up my tent in the trees, ready to do it again tomorrow.

Today's ride: 79 km (49 miles)
Total: 862 km (535 miles)

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