Rusty Crank Coast to Coast Bicycle Tour across the USA on the ACA TransAM Route

TransAm Day #17 June 11, 2018 Elizabethtown, IL - Carbondale, IL 78 Miles Ride Time 6:46 Hours Tour Total  Miles 1208 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180611-0508-63736 My alarm went off at 4:30am and I was on the road by 5:08. It was warm, humid, and the Ohio River at dawn was beautiful. I was loaded down with fruit and pastries from the Rose Hotel. Brian had warned me there would be no place to stop for 30 miles. I was chased early on by a beautiful Golden Retriever, which startled me, but I realized he just wanted to play. I’m missing the 76 bicycle signs. Thank you Virginia and Kentucky! It made navigation so much easier. At some point today generic ‘Bike Route’ signs began to appear. They’re not as good as the 76 signs, but I’ll take them.  I met Robbie, a westbound cyclist, at the Shawnee Mart in Eddyville. He’s an architect from Asheville, North Carolina, and he was filling in a gap from a previous TransAm. His gap ex...

TransAm Day #18 June 12, 2018 Carbondale, IL -  Farmington, MO 99 Miles Ride Time 8:35 Hours Tour Total  Miles 1307 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180612-0513-40436 I slept well last night at the dingy Heritage Motel in Carbondale. All of my clothing, except for my socks, was dry in the morning. I got up at 4:30am, and was on the road by 5:13.  As I was leaving town, a motorist hollered out to me, “Dangerous road, man! Be careful!” He waited forever to let me pass. If I had been in Brooklyn a Hassid would have cut round me in a New York second. I don’t miss those F-ing Hassids.  There were so many deer out this morning. I usually spy them before they notice me. Once they see me, they bolt, often across the road right in front of me. They’re so graceful! The skies were cloudy this morning, and I was hoping they’d stay that way all day.  The Mississippi is referred to as the big muddy, but there’s actual...