In Illinois

We made it to Illinois, the land of Lincoln, We took a small ferry across the Ohio River on Sunday. We were lucky since a week before the ferry had not been running due to flooding. The river is still very high and the current is swift. The ferry after leaving the south shore went about a quarter mile down river before turning back upriver and heading for the north shore.  A nice ride and a little time to relax.
The weather is finally sunny and it has gotten really hot. Including today (Tuesday) the highs have been in the ninety's. Seems that we are either going to have 60 with rain or 90 with sun and no in between. I have decided the 90 with sun is better than the 60 with rain. Sunday night found us at Dixon Springs State Park and it was very nice, with our own shelter for eating and cooking.  There was a pool and hot showers.
Saturday morning in Kentucky, while riding in forested areas we began to hear a loud whine coming from the woods, and this wen on for two days until we were well into Illinois.  Turns out that an insect, called the cicada, was hatching and then flying into wooded areas to shed their outer layer.  The noise was never ending and even while camped at the state park they kept up their noise all night.  In the morning there were a few on my tent and the took off before I could get a picture of them.  We seemed to ride out of the noise on Monday. By the way these insects only come out every thirteen years. Oh lucky us.

While riding on Monday (Memorial Day) we stopped at a restaurant in Goreville IL for breakfast. They always give cyclists free pie when they stop in and on Memorial Day they provide veterans with a free meal.  We went in and had a great breakfast but Terry and I, the only vets in the group did pay for our meal and told the owner to give a free meal to someone needy.  She agreed to do it and I believe she will.
Today is Tuesday and we have a layover day in Carbondale IL. Last night we went to a Lone Star Steak House and had a 14oz rib eye steak.  That tasted superb after a week on the road with group cooked food. We have had some good meals but on Sunday evening our two cooks really hit the low mark for the group cooking.  They made pasta, not enough and the sauce was terrible, with very little meat in it.  They received no kudos from anyone and they will not be paired up again. The big employer here is the Southern Illinois University. Since school is out the city is on a slower pace.  This morning we went to the local bike shops and picked up a couple of little things including a kick stand.  There are too many places where it is hare to find a location to lean the bike against.  The kick stand is a nice addition to my bike. I spent  a little time this afternoon cleaning and lubing my bike.
So far all of my equipment has been working beautifully.  The wheels peter White built for me are great, ant Ortlieb panniers are absolutely waterproof, and the gearing on the bike works great for me on the hills and on the flat stretches. One of the guys at Geneva Bicycle Center turned me on to "Dumonde TECH lubricant" for my chain. This stuff is great. I put some on my chain for only the second time on the ride and the bike has been quiet and smooth running, Thanks guys. I did purchase a new Thermarest sleepi9ng pad a couple of weeks ago and it is more comfortable and easier to carry than my old pad.  I gave the old pad to a hiker while we were in Damascus.

In a couple of days we will cross the Mississippi and head into Missouri.  They tell me we will encounter the worst drivers of the entire trip in Missouri.  Time will tell, but so far the Illinois drivers have not been near the quality of the Virginia or Kentucky drivers.







Life is Good     Bobo

Oh Kentucky

Riding thru Kentucky has been an awakening, from the coal strip mining and poverty of eastern KY to the beautiful farmland of central and western Kentucky.  It is easy to tell where the state spends its money, it is not in the eastern part of the state.This week has been another with lots of rain, cold and cloudy weather.From Berea, KY we rode to Harrodsburg and stayed in a YMCA. There is a nice park with a replica fort form the 1770's when this city was the first permanent settlement west of the mountains.
From Harrodsburg we headed to Bardstown adn were scheduled to stay in a state campground.  With a severe weather alert going on Sjef and I decided to get a room at the Bardstown Inn.  A good decision since the storms did hit in the middle of the night and while not real severe, there was lots of thunder and lightning. On the road the riding has taken on a routine in central Kentucky. Rolling hills and nice farms.
Out of Bardstown we were off for White Mills where we stayed at a Volunteer Fire Dept. We had an 84 mile ride today and it really went well with most folks in by 4 PM. this was our longest ride to date on the tour and my average speed was the best yet at almost 12 miles an hour. This was a very rural fire department with some old but very operational equipment.  I did camp this night an of course we had rain in the morning but not too much.
On to Utica, KY on Friday and into another fire house. We ate at a convenience store and the food was not tooooo bad but it was filling.  Again the riding was rolling hills with some actual flat stretches. Since we entered the central time zone on Friday some of the folks woke up at 4:30AM managed to wake everyone else up also.  They heard about that.
Today, Saturday we rode to Marion, KY not NY.  This was a 74 mile ride and for the first time we rode through areas that had been under water just two weeks ago, I mean really under water.  One of the roads we were on was at least under by twelve feet. Those areas really had a bad oder to them.
Tonight we are at the Methodist Church in Marion and this is nice, showers and all.  We head into Illinois in the morning so we have knocked off another state.  To date I have ridden over eleven hundred miles on the trip.  We are making progress.
Life is Good     Bobo

Kentucky

Finally out of Virginia, it was a great state to ride thru but after two weeks you look forward to getting into the next state.

The one good thing that came with Kentucky was that within 10 minutes of crossing the state line the sun came out and the temps began to go up.  All the way up to 85 on Friday. Eastern KY is three things, coal country, poverty and lots of very long climbs for bike riders. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were four of the toughest days in the saddle that I have ever had. Four days of climbing some big hills, the longest was 3 miles long going up 1500'. Then there were many many climbs in the 1000' range.  In these four days we climbed about 25,000'.  The grades ranged from 6% to 16%. NOW that is is over we can look back on it and feel really good about our cycling.  A few of the folks had to walk some of the steeper climbs but I do believe it is easier pedaling up then trying to push a fully loaded touring bike up a steep grade.
From Breaks Park we rode to Hindman, KY and stayed at the Knotts County Historical Society. Yup, on the top of a hill and I pitched my tent on a terrace further up the hill. It was a good time all except for the lousy pizza for dinner.
Saturday found us riding to Boonville, KY, Daniel Boone is a large historical figure in these parts. To bad this part of KY is dry.  A beer really tastes good after 60 miles of hill climbing.  I had cooking duties on Saturday and kept it simple, pasta with meatballs (frozen) and Ragu along with a salad and watermelon for desert.
Sunday we headed for Berea, Ky which is a very nice city with Berea Collage.  I am sitting in a local cafe typing this on Monday afternoon.  Last night we they tell me we had two thunder storms go thru; one around midnight that I did not hear and another around 5AM that I did hear and it was a beauty, lots of thunder and lightning.  I slept right thru the first one and I am sleeping really well in the tent. Stu, a friend of mine really needs to get out and enjoy tenting more often and then he could get his master campers certificate.  Oh well, one can only hope.
We have a rest day today (Monday) here in Berea and it is now sunny and 85F with high humidity.
A good story; When we were headed for Breaks Park on Thursday we stopped at a nice country store and talked with the owners, a nice couple that I mentioned in my last post.  What I forgot to mention was that as we stood outside getting ready to ride again, a fellow pulled up in his 1960's vintage truck, (this truck has never been washed or cleaned). Well he gets out walks up to us and asked Sjef where he is from, Sjef responds Holland, fellow says "where the hell is that". Then he asks Kelly where she is from and she responds Seattle, fellow says "God lady you sure are lost". He looks at me and asks where I am from and I respond Rochester, NY, fellow says "We don't much like Yankees around here" Now years ago I might have responded but in my old age I am getting a little smarter so I just kept my mouth shut, (Linda, can you believe it?).  We got on our bike and rode away. By the way, he had been washed about as often as his truck.
One last note, yesterday I found out the Charlie Shakeshaft, a very good friend died the other day while riding his bike. He just collapsed while riding and was pronounced dead at the hospital.  Charlie was one of those rare individuals who positively touched everyone, a friend, skiing companion, cycling companion and I will really miss Charlie.
Today life is a little duller because of Charlie's passing but it will be good again soon.
Bobo

Into Kentucky

Friday we ride out of rainy Virginia and into hopefully sunny Kentucky.  The last two days have been tough because of the weather, temps in the upper 40's or low 50"s, cloudy and rainy.  On Thursday we left Damascus, VA and rode a short 38 miles to a Methodist church in western VA.  The ride was short but there was one 1500 ft. climb along with a bunch of shorter climbs.  Rain during the downhill slowed us all down. WTF does the sun ever shine in western VA? Purchasing food in the back areas can be a problem and last night we ended up eating some kind of crappy pasta and boiled hot dogs, yum mailto:yum~!@#$.
Today, Thursday, we woke up to more rain, heavy rain today. But ride we must, so out we went and again we had a relatively short ride of 46 miles but today we had 4 major climbs, another 1200 ft. climb and three five to seven hundred ft. climbs.  In the cold rain you get to like the climbs because the effort keeps you warm.  However on the 7 mile downhill this  morning I was the coldest I have ever been on a bike.  Finally we came into a little corner store and stopped and got a cup of coffee for $0.25, yup, 25 cents. Crappy coffee but hot.  That helped and about 6 miles later we found a much better store with way better coffee and a very nice couple who own the store.  They gave us the lowdown on the rest of the ride to Breaks Interstate Park.  After the last two climbs with good downhills in clouds and no rain we climbed to the park entrance.  At least 12 of the 15 in our group have decided to get motel rooms in the park.  Nice rooms at a reasonable price. For the first time in four days I am clean, dry, and warm. And this really is fun.  Once settled in our room we have been chatting with the other riders about our fun day in the rain. Easy to do once you are dry and warm. We will be eating dinner tonight at the restaurant in the park, it is supposed to be good according to the locals.  We will see, maybe possum stew or raccoon chops.
Life is Good    Bobo

More of Virginia

Riding through the hills and mountain areas of this state is really nice with rolling roads all well paved and the country roads have little traffic.  On Saturday we rode to Christiansburg and stayed at the Presbyterian church with turned out to be very nice with a large kitchen and carpeted area for sleeping on, and it was dry.  the last few days have been cloudy cool with temps in the 50's and occasional rain during the day.  Not the best riding weather but we pedal on.  Stopping at local country stores is always a treat, everyone asking questions about where we are going, why we are going and how long it will take; but it is a lot of fun and everyone has been very friendly.  Now that we are into western VA the dogs are on the loose and a few have come out but no one has had a major problem.

A typical stop  at a country store.

On Sunday we rode to Wytheville and again cloudy and rainy. The ride itself was full of short steep climbs with many grades of 10% to 14%. The last climb into Wytheville was the toughest of the day and of course just as we got to the top of the climb the skies opened up and we had a torrential downpour, with no time to put on rain gear so we rode it put to the Methodist church where we were staying Sunday night.  Again a great choice with full kitchen facilities and carpeted sleeping areas and HOT showers..  Lots of laundry to wash so over to the local laundromat and got that done.
Monday found us on the road to Damascus VA, very close to the Tennessee state line.  This was a ride with three climbs that rose over 900 feet each with grades from 3% to 12%.  the climbing was actually fairly easy since most of it was done at around 4%, but the downhills were fabulous! On the last good decent I had to slow down for a car that did not like to take the curves and switchbacks very fast.  I did get up to 40 mph and on a loaded touring bike that is a good speed to take curves. We are staying a layover day in Damascus and we are at the Iron Horse Campground.  It was built in 1996 and no one has done a lick of work on the place since then.  Sjef and I got in early and rented a small two bed cabin for the two nights.  Others who got in later are camping in a shelter or out on the lawn. Damascus is a big town for Mt biking and is also a crossroads for various trails on the Appalachian Trail system.  There are a number of bike shops and hiking outfitters but no good restaurants that we have been able to find.  But the do have the Dollar Store.  Today (Tuesday) is cold and rainy so here I sit in the local coffee house typing away on the blog.
Who knows when I will see a good wifi spot again, tomorrow we head toward Kentucky and should cross into that state on Friday.  We will also have the toughest climbing days of the entire trip late this week. 
Life is Good   Bobo

Blue Ridge Parkway

We left Charlottesville on Wednesday morning in nice weather and headed for Afton, VA.  This was a very scenic ride mainly on rural roads that are usually paved nicely without shoulders but no potholes.  On the way we stopped at a country store and of course all of the locals had to get the info on our ride.  To say some of the old timers were skeptical about our ride would be an understatement.  But we have found that the folks in VA are really friendly and more that willing to give us good directions and info.
To get to our overnight lodging with June the Cookie Lady we had a 70 ft climb with grades up to 12%. Our Hostel was in the middle of this climb that would be resumed on Thursday with another 500 ft be fore getting on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Back to the Cookie Lady, June Cutter is now 90 years old and has been operating the Hostel since 1976, over 10,000 riders have singed the register.  Now the Hostel is filled and I mean filled with postcards, cycling shirts, water bottles, an old tandem, and tons of other information and items.  Every inch of wall, ceiling and shelf space is cluttered.  I slept on a couch by putting down the ground cover for my tent and then my sleeping bag.  I do not think that I picked up any bugs or other critters.  But it was inside and made for less packing in the morning.

And, yes that is the couch that I slept on.  Linda wound never even sit on this one, she might not even come into the room once she saw it, but on this trip one needs to be flexible.

Thursday began with a climb to the Blue Ridge and then a lot of additional climbing along the 27 miles that we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Wonderful scenery but with cloudy skies and some fog the views were limited, Getting off the parkway brought the riding highlight of the ride so far, a 3 1/2 mile downhill with switchbacks and lots and lots of curves.  Jules would have loved this one.  We were all careful after learning that a Trans Am rider last year crashed and broke his leg, thus ending his ride.  My top speed only got to 35 thru good breaking and it was still a blast going down.  After another 8 miles we pulled into Mallard Duck Campground that is run by Adam, a true western VA mountain person (read Hillbilly) It was raining when we arrived and I put the tent up in the rain and actually did OK and things did not get toooo wet. Another rider and I had cooking duties tonight and we put together a good pasta dinner under a great pavilion.
No cell or WiFi in these here hills.
Friday found us riding 48 miles first into Lexington, where VMI is located and this city exists because of this school.  We did stop and get a really good cup of coffee before heading out and riding some more back country roads, with very little traffic. Our next big stop was in Buchanan, a dying city where the supermarket is the Dollar General. With the limited choice, it was canned stew and salad tonight.  We are camping at camp Bethel which is run by a church group and no alcohol is allowed, we do have a few upset folks who like their beer.
Life is Good
Bobo

On the Road - Charlottesville, VA

On Friday our group headed out from Williamsburg and rode 56 miles to Glenview with some easy rolling hills.  Our overnight was at the Willis United Methodist Church where we were able to use the kitchen and with the threat of rain overnight most of us chose to sleep on the floor in a small building on the church grounds. Hard floor but dry. Saturday found us riding a short 37 miles to Ashland, but with some errors on our maps some folks did a few (up to 20) extra miles, not me. the KOA campground was really nice except for the location next to I 295 with heavy truck traffic all night.  Can't win the all but we had a great meal cooked by a couple of our riders.  Sunday the 8th found us riding 61 miles to Hale Farm.  William Hale has done some touring with ACA and opens his home to ACA tours.  This farm is in the boonies and about a mile up a dirt road.  The location is really nice and the home is about 100 years old  and very unique.  Almost as unique as its owner, William.  William is a farmer who mostly grows his own food and also has a good sized compost operation going that is making money for him. the weather was perfect for riding and eating dinner outdoors and listening to stories by William and some of our group.  This farm has a big well since all 16 of us took showers, cooked and used the bathroom all night and in the morning.  A big thanks to William.  Monday found us finally getting into some hills when we rode to Charlottesville.  We climbed a little over 3,000 ft in 50 miles.  Not a lot of climbing for some of the group but last night the ice packs were on a few knees.  What will these folks do when we get into serious climbing in the next week.  Time will tell.
On the way into Charlottesville we stopped at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.  We toured the visitors center and purchased tickets to tour the home itself for 9AM on Tuesday (rest day on Tuesday).
In Charlottesville we are staying at a Budget Inn. Small rooms but CLEAN. 
This morning (it is Tuesday the 10th of May) Sjef and I rode up to Monticello and took the tour. Sjef is from Holland and we have been riding the last couple of days togehter. Jefferson we really a great person, he held far too many positions in our government to mention here and he wanted to be remembered as the author of the Declaration of Independence.  He built a beautiful home and with the help of 130 slaves he grew mostly wheat and had a very large vegetable garden and many fruit trees.  After eating lunch and walking around town I am now back doing wash and this blog. 
Tomorrow we head for the Blue Ridge Mts and while we have couple of short days, there is a lot of climbing and after the short days the rubber really hits the road with some days with over 8 thousand feet of climbing. Looking forward to it the scenery is great.
Life is good     Bobo

Started the TransAM ride today

Well, today May 5 we rode to Yorktown and dipped our rear bicycle wheels in the Atlantic Ocean.  It was a great day to ride, we started with sun and temps in the high 50's and ended the day with temps in the mid 70's.  This was a short 30 mile ride on the Colonial Parkway and it got everyone on the ride used to riding fully loaded with all of our gear.  What is on the bike is our traveling home for the next 3 months.  There are 15 of us riding and everyone is a good rider and has a unique personality, all good.  In the morning we will be heading west for real and will get just north of Richmond, VA.  We have been divided up into two person teams for cooking duties.  On our assigned day, we are responsible for purchasing food for dinner, breakfast and lunch.  Then we cook dinner and prepare breakfast and lay out the lunch food for each person to make up their own lunch.This should be interesting, fortunately I do not have to cook until next week.  Life is Good.

In Williamsburg to Start Ride

Linda and I drove to Williamsburg, VA from central Florida yesterday and had a great drive.  We did not have any bad traffic on I-95.  I have been told that traffic can be really bad on I-95.  On arrival at the motel we were scheduled to stay in, both my wife and daughter found the rooms unacceptable due to the rooms being dirty, not well cleaned and bugs in the room and bathroom, don't know what bugs but we decided not to stay there and found another very nice place to stay. I may stay at the Quality Inn on Wednesday night with the rest of the riding group since we leave from there on Thursday morning.  The good thing is that I now get to spend 3 days with my daughter Heidi and two grandsons playing tourist in Williamsburg.