Day 20: Hodgenville to Rough River State Park

June 1, 2023

Waking up to Lake McDougal all to myself

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I was feeling a bit rough this morning. I figured that a good breakfast would make me feel better. I'd heard about Paula's Hot Biscuit, a breakfast place in town and I rolled in to check it out.

It was closed, with no sign on if it would open later in the morning or if it was shut permanently. But I spotted a coffee shop on Google maps and went around the corner to it.

I was amazed, they served espresso here in the middle of small town Kentucky. I ordered a mocha and a tasty sounding benedictine toast. The toast came out loaded with cucumbers and paprika and a cream cheese spread and it was exactly what I needed. The mocha didn't seem to have milk or chocolate or coffee so I wasn't impressed there but the breakfast surely made me feel better. The barista even let me fill up every single one of my water bottles with ice water.

I chatted to a few people on the street as I sunscreened up and then set out to get back on the route in the next town instead of backtracking.

Today was hot so early on I was looking to keep my bottles topped up. I stopped at a park in one of the small towns but the guy mowing the lawns waved me on which I interpreted as I wasn't allowed to or there was no water available.

As I approached the country line that designates the time zone change the road suddenly went from mostly flat to one of the steepest, hardest climbs of the trip. I stopped half way to pour water over myself and continued up to the town of Hudson.

The roads near the county line were all super smooth and empty, I like this area. Had to keep moving to keep cool though.

There's a shop on Hudson I had a suspicion was going to be permanently closed and when I arrived it was, so I had some lunch from the snacks in my bags and carried onwards.

I stopped at a restaurant/gas station for a delicious burger and Kentucky's state soft drink, which was my favourite drink of the trip and I forget what it's called. As I left I got chatting to an Amish man on his bicycle who was filling up a fuel can to take to his irrigation pumps. He told me lots of tourists frequent the park up ahead that I planned to stop at, which I didn't expect but that probably means better campgrounds than I've had.

The campground at Rough River State Park was nearby, I chose Axtel Campground on the eastern side of the river. This was a nice campground, but my site was right up at the top of the hill, far from the showers and bathroom. I arrived earlier than I expected and with the time zone change that was made even better.

A campground with drinking water, showers, shade, and a lake. Couldn't get better.

The swim here was about as perfect as could be.

I set up my tent and went down for a swim in the lake, it was perfect temperature and helped me cool off from the hot day. I had a quick shower and washed all my clothes before heading back up the road on my empty bike to a restaurant that specialises in gourmet hot dogs.

My clothes weren't quite dry by the time I got back but there was rain that looked like it was coming in and so I bought them in and laid them out inside as I turned in for the night. My handwashing wasn't perfect since I could still smell some funkiness in the tent but I was so tired I didn't care. Today was hot but it was a good day, it's always nice to finish early.

Today's ride: 89 km (55 miles)
Total: 1,071 km (665 miles)

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