TransAm Day #16 Sebree, KY - Elizabethtown, IL
TransAm Day #16
June 10, 2018
Sebree, KY - Elizabethtown, IL
67 Miles
Ride Time 5:40 Hours
Tour Total Miles 1132
I slept well last night at the First Baptist Church in Sebree. My room was pitch black and I couldn’t hear the freight trains outside. I made a bed on the floor out of sofa cushions and put my Therm-a-rest on top. All of my clothes were dry when I got up at 5am.
Brian left five minutes before me, at about half past five. It was cool and foggy, with low visibility. It was calm and peaceful out. Crickets and other insects were chirping. Birds were starting their morning calls. I saw many deer, which are apparently afraid of touring bikes with yellow panniers.
Because who doesn’t love gossip, I’ve got more on the ACA fast pack from LA. Apparently, Brian stayed at the Boone Tavern Hotel in Berea. It’s centrally located, beautiful, historic, and an excellent choice. Well whom should Brian run into there? He said that their faces literally dropped to the floor, as if only they were entitled to be there. Steve H passed them yesterday coming out of Falls of Rough. Missy was having to walk her bike up a hill. Enough. I’ll be good for now on.
I’ve now got a team at the Naval Academy in Annapolis keeping track of my stats. It’s a monumental effort keeping this tour on track.
Today is my last day in Kentucky, and there were zero dog chases and only one confederate flag. There were still plenty of hills, some of them ridiculous steep. The main challenge now is the weather. I’ve noticed a relationship between clouds and wind. They seem to appear in tandem. I welcome clouds that block the sun. But I don’t like the wind in my face.
I got coal rolled my last stretch out of Kentucky. A white pick-up truck slowed down close to me and then noisily sped up and away, emitting a thick black cloud of smoke that I had to breath for several hundred feet. Goodbye Kentucky! I have family roots here, and I enjoyed getting to know it better.
The Ohio River Valley is hazy and humid. I realized as I neared the ferry that it was Illinois, on the opposite bank, that I had been seeing in the distance. The ferry was loading right as I got there, and Brian was first in line. I remember crossing the Ohio by ferry as a kid. The experience took me back in time for sure!
Brian and I documented the state line crossing, my fourth. I pedaled through the town of Cave in Rock, which has singularly-colored painted bicycles placed all over town. They’re intended as decoration and I love bikes, but it had a ghost bike vibe.
I rode over to Cave in Rock, which I would describe as the Pantheon of Southern Illinois. It's a huge grotto cut into the rock faced banks of the Ohio, complete with an oculus. Back in the day, bandits and pirates would prey on river travelers from out of it. Later it became a den for counterfeiters, liquor running, and prostitution. I found it muddy and full of tourists. I met a woman who had toured solo all over Europe in her 60’s.
I’d been expecting flats here in Illinois, but instead I got more hills. Locals refer to them as the Illinois Ozarks. I've been promised flats soon.
With the hot sun, I can no longer ride after 1pm. It’s either find a place for a siesta, or find a place for the night. I opted for the second in Elizabethtown. I’m staying in the Rose Hotel, which was opened in 1812 and is the oldest hotel in Illinois still in operation. Located on the banks of the Ohio, it is on the US National Registrar of Historic Places. Back in the day it was was only 12½ cents a night.
I took a bath, washed my clothes, and then napped for two hours in the air conditioning. For dinner I had catfish at a popular floating restaurant. I’m writing this from my balcony, overlooking barges ply the Ohio River by Hurricane Island.
Comments
Post a Comment