from
Anacortes, Washington to Key West, Florida
The Cast: Dan, Catherine, Bill, Dana, David
Anacortes, Washington to Key West, Florida
The Cast: Dan, Catherine, Bill, Dana, David
Date | Start ✔︎ = DONE
----------------+------------------------------
Jun 29 Stage 1 | Anacortes, WA; 462 miles ✔︎
Jul 16 Stage 2 | Sandpoint, ID; 342 miles ✔︎
Aug 03 Stage 3 | Cutbank, MT; 544 miles ✔︎
Aug 17 Stage 4 | Dickinson, ND; 413 miles ✔︎
Aug 30 Stage 5 | Pierre, SD; 485 miles - ✔︎
Sep 13 Stage 6 | Council Bluffs, IA; 559 miles ✔︎
Sep 28 Stage 7 | St. Louis, MO; 570 miles Friday “rest-day” near Kentucky Dam Park, KY
Oct 12 Stage 8 | Tishomingo, MS; 454 miles
Oct 25 Stage 9 | Mobile, AL; 570 miles
Nov 08 Stage 10 | St. Augustine, FL; 533 miles
Nov 23 Stage 11 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 189 miles
Nov 29 End 12 | Key West, FL; End of Ride
Some details from Spokes Fighting Strokes and CrazyGuyonaBike:
"Road to Margaritaville"
Attitude is 90% of life, think positive! "Fins Up"
DanTrikeMan
David Babcock - CrazyGuyonaBike:
Day 96: Cave In Rock, IL to Kentucky Dam State Park, KY
Thursday Oct 2, 2014, 60 miles (97 km) - Total so far: 3,138 miles (5,049 km)
More great weather, more hills, more dogs. That about sums up the day today. The weather was good until late in the day, the rollers seemed to go on forever, and I had some more interactions with canines, but all of them were peaceful (somewhat).
 |
| On the Cave In Rock ferry. |
My first impression of Kentucky was that nobody drives on their roads. I could ride along for 20-25 minutes at a time and not see a single vehicle. It was very pleasant with beautiful views of heavy foliage interspersed with open views of farmland and the river. I went through the towns of Tolu and Carrsville and Joy as the morning progressed.
When I finally dropped down to Highway 137 back near the river I took a break and sat in the shade of a big tree on a concrete culvert to have a snack. I hadn't seen Bill yet and was wondering how he was doing. He had to go off route to get diesel for the van and wasn't sure when he would re-join us on the route.
Just after I got going again I rounded a corner and there he was at a river access parking lot. Seems like this happens to us a lot. You decide you aren't going to see the support person so you take a break, and then there they are. It was nice getting some more water and talking to Dan and Catherine who were still there.
From here the road stayed near the river with a bit more traffic, and then we came to Smithland. Dan and Catherine went on while I stopped at a grocery/deli place. It was getting pretty warm and muggy out and I wanted to get into some A/C and get a cold drink. The store had tables inside and a fountain drink machine so I was set.
Just outside of Smithland the route headed off on another small country road. It was very hilly but also little used and had some great homes along it. At the top of one hill I stopped to make some notes and there were some people in their driveway who had just returned from grocery shopping. As they unloaded their bags they asked me how I was doing.
I said I was doing ok and had just finished my 32oz soda. The woman asked me if I wanted to fill the cup with anything. She said she had tea. I asked if it was sweet tea, hoping it wasn't as I'm not a big fan. She laughed and said no, it was just regular unsweetened tea. She said she didn't like sweet tea either.
We talked a bit about our ride and the weather and then they asked me if I wanted to come inside to cool off and have something to eat. I was tempted but said I probably should get going as I was a bit behind by then. We said our goodbyes and I continued on the hills.
Several turns later I came around a corner and saw the van and trailer in a market parking lot. And the back door was down, which is not usually a good sign. They were loading up all the bikes because Bill had checked out our first and second choices for camping and they weren't good. When we realized it was going to be hard to get my bike in without completely re-organizing everything, they decided to go to the state park just the other side of the Tennessee River.
Bill asked me if I thought I could ride there and I said sure (after looking at a map to make sure it wasn't another 15 miles down the road). Turns out it was fairly close so they took off and I continued on to Highway 62 which took me across the river right by the Kentucky Dam.
The weather had been getting worse with the wind getting very strong and big clouds coming in. Just as I went on the bridge it started raining and the wind was blowing it right in my face. I had already put the camera and other stuff in a Ziploc so I figured "what the heck", it feels nice to cool off and it probably won't last long.
And it quit just as I got to the other side of the bridge. From here it was a short ride down into the Kentucky Dam State Park & Campground. Bill had picked a site near the showers and they had gotten almost everything unloaded by the time I finished paying at the office.
Tomorrow is a rest day but we will be busy. Laundry in the morning and a trip to Paducah, KY to do some shopping and pick up a delivery. Hopefully we will get some rest sometime tomorrow.
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