August 7, 2016
Day 68 Brandenburg to Lewisport
Today was one of the days with lots of climbing. We left Brandenburg and soon start into rolling hills. None of the climbs were really steep, but a few were very long - and they just kept coming!
Another issue with today's route was the long distance between our start any place with bathrooms, drinks and air conditioning. The first store on the route was at mile 36. We stopped for a few roadside pictures, but mostly we just kept cranking the pedals, trying to get the miles done. We had a happy surprise at mile 26. Team A had pulled off at an historical marker in front of an old, large brick home. We rode up and found not only an historical site under renovation and preservation, but SHADE, PICNIC TABLES and a PORTAJOHN! After two hours of hill climbing, it was a joyful sight. The home was that of Joseph Holt, early Judge Advocate General and very important in keeping Kentucky in the Union during the Civil War. Work is underway to restore his home and preserve the adjacent family cemetery.
Cool and refreshed, we rode on to our planned stop near the town of Cloverport. There we had another happy turn of events. Kerry had just asked why we did not follow the highway we were on instead of diverting to the small local roads favored by the Adventure Cycling route. In the store where we had stopped, I asked a local guy about the highway and he recommended it for cycling over the Adventure Cycling route we had planned to follow. So, we all decided to stick to Hwy 60 and what a good decision that was! It had a nice wide shoulder and a manageable grade. I think we avoided a few hundred feet of climbing on back roads. Since it was Sunday, the traffic was light and as they have been all summer, the drivers were very courteous, moving over and giving us plenty of room.
With entering Central Time early in the day and our improved route, we arrived at our hotel around 1PM. The owners let us store our panniers in our rooms, which weren't ready for us yet, and we rode out to explore the town of Lewisport. It was a short trip. It is a tiny town with only a few streets. There was a waterfront park on the Ohio River which was pretty.
After all that exploring, we returned to the only restaurant open in town - Subway - for lunch. While we were eating a large group of cyclists from Owensboro on their Sunday ride came in. We had the usual conversations with them and they headed back to Owensboro and we came back to our nice room at the Quality Inn.
I am looking forward already to tomorrow's ride - less than 1000 feet of climb in 63 miles - not Florida flat, but pretty nice.
Today's ride: 59 miles (95 km)
Total: 3,223 miles (5,187 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |