Day #45-Hartsel to Silverthorne, CO 58.5 miles

We took advantage of free camping behind the Highline Cafe and Saloon in Hartsel last night. While the camp spot was barely adequate, the saloon/cafe was a pleasant surprise.  We started the day with a good breakfast at a reasonable price. My fears about altitude and digestive problems had eased after I got an equally good sandwich at the saloon yesterday afternoon with no ill effects. 

The main event today was the climb to Hoosier  Pass.  As I mentioned we’d been gaining elevation ever since we entered Colorado.  Yesterday we climbed 3000’.  Today we climb another 3000’.  The climb covers ten miles from the town of Fairplay to the summit.  Many sections were not particularly steep but at altitude it was slow going. The weather thankfully was not a factor.  There’s no shoulder for much of the climb so cars whizzing by was part of the thrill too.  Descending was a thrill! Five miles of no pedaling!  Due to the many switchbacks on the north side,  bikes could go about as fast as the cars.  We cruised in to Breckinridge and found celebratory coffee!  Breckinridge is an upscale ski town that’s far removed from the atmosphere we left in tiny Hartsel.

We continued on to Dillon, CO where a replacement saddle was waiting for me at the REI store.  Steve’s phone quit on him so he was hoping to find a replacement here as well.  

We’re camping in at the local Days Inn.  

Day #44-Canon City to Hartsel, CO 47 miles

I’m typing this from the front steps of the Hartsel Public Library.  They got me the WiFi password before they closed. It was a tough ride in spite of the short distance.  I had mashed potatoes for breakfast, trying the minimize the work my digestive system had to do.  

This was a tough ride with lots of climbing and few services along the route.  It was heartbreaking for our riding friend Nick as he had to abandone today.  He was having serious health problems-numbness in his arm and hand.  His sister from Denver came and got him off the route. Richard and especially Mike were saddened as Nick had been excited to complete the trip.  We learned about this when Richard.pulled into Hartsel. 

We’re camping behind the bar.

Hartsel elevation=9100 feet

Day #43-Pueblo to Canon City, CO 49 miles

We went off the route to get from Pueblo to our camp site today.

This was the last tip from Jules.  We took US 50 out of Pueblo.  It had wide shoulders to ride on.  We had a beautiful day to get back to our trip. We ended up in one of those over-priced campgrounds, Prospector's RV Resort,because it shortened the Tuesday ride,  one of the harder routes of the trip so far, going from 6000 to 9000 feet.  I’ve never acclimated to altitude well so I’m anxious about it.

Day #42-Rest Day in Pueblo

Sitting in a local Starbucks looking at the maps for the next portion of our trip.  We’re in outdoor recreation paradise and it’s reflected in the prices.  The campground we considered for tomorrow, Echo Canyon, wants $50 for a tent camping site!  Proximity to the Arkansas River above the Pueblo Reservoir and nearness to Royal Gorge seems to have inflated prices to absurd levels. We’ll cut tomorrow’s ride short and stay in the city park in Florence.  Florence’s claim to fame is as the location of America’s most secure federal prison, housing many  notorious individuals.  Not much of a tourist attraction I guess.

There’s a Red Flag Warning for the Pueblo area today.  The temperatures should top out in the mid-90’s with 5% relative humidity, and strong winds.  Tomorrow promises to be cooler.  

More later.

So far:

Trip miles=2131

Trip days-42

Daily average=50 miles

Day #41-Ordway to Pueblo, CO 47 miles

First a few words about last night. The sprinklers in the park where we camped turned on in the middle of the night!  Not cool!
The ride today was quick and easy for the most part.  The mountains grew on the horizon as we headed west.  We stopped in Boone, a small town on the way that’s lost it’s only retail business.  A guy from the volunteer fire department chatted with us while we filled our water bottles at the small park there.  He confirmed that the mountain off to the northwest was Pike’s Peak.  It was brown because the snow had already melted.  The Arkansas River nearby is fed by that snow melt but most of it is captured by the reservoirs up stream.  By the middle of summer the river at Boone is only a trickle.  He and his wife live in Boone because it’s her hometown.  She commutes to Pueblo.
We got to Pueblo and took our bikes to Great Divide Ski Bike and Hike, where we'd called ahead to make appointments.  We got new chains and had brakes and drive-train inspected and adjusted.  Then on to our motel,Santa Fe Inn, a few blocks away.

Tonight we met up with Jules and had a great dinner at Angelos Pizza Parlor on the river. We recounted our experiences together and separate over the past several weeks. It was good to see him again.  He’ll take the train to Los Angeles.  He’ll wind up in San Francisco where he’ll meet his girlfriend. His blog recounting his travels is here

Tomorrow we rest!

Day #40-Eads to Ordway, CO 61 miles

The only store in the only town on our route today!  We had a pleasant ride along lightly used CO96 through arid high plains.  Most of the creeks and draws were bone dry.  The winds were light and variable, just enough to offer some relief from the heat.

It’s  97 degrees in Ordway! The elevation is 4311 feet.  We’re camping in the city park tonight next to the Ordway Hotel.  The hotel offers showers to cyclists for ten bucks!  A bargain!  

We have been camping with Richard; Mike; and Nick every night for the past few nights.  We don’t ride together but end up at the same place at the end of the day. Steve and I marvel at their efficiency at packing up each morning! They’re  not doing any cooking so we often get on the road sooner because they stop to eat.  They have an easy way of kidding one another that reminds me of my tight circle of friends, including Steve.  It’s a pleasant comeraderie we’ve developed.  We’ll part ways in Pueblo but we’ll likely bump into them again.  They’re headed to Oregon too.  

Tomorrow we meet up with Jules again.  Unfortunately a chronic hand problem has kept him off the bike long enough that he’s had to change his plans.  He’ll now take the train to San Francisco to meet up with his girlfriend.  His misfortune is our good fortune as we get to share his company one last time.

Day #39-Tribune, KS to Eads, CO 58 miles

So today we made it to Colorado.  We had strong cross winds again today early on.  It was almost 30 miles to the only town on the route with any services, a convenience store.  We could only average 7-8 mph in the wind!  However then the winds died off and the temperature climbed.  The wheat fields disappeared and the landscape began to look more like a scene from High Plains Drifter. Our route, now CO96 was almost deserted.  No more cattle trucks!  I’ll write more later...

The last outpost for wheat!

So Steve and I see a laundry as we get to Eads within walking distance of our camp.  After dinner we decide we’ve got time to do some laundry.  When we get there we find out there’s no change machine!  We’ve got three quarters between us.  There is a liquor store nearby so I volunteer to go get change.  When I get there and ask for change,  the woman behind the counter tells me she’s short on quarters and can’t give me change.  A tall boy Coors is $3.15.  I give her a five, she gives me three quarters and the day is saved!  

We are staying in a city park tonight with no showers and bathrooms that are across railroad tracks.  A sign at the park warns that the automatic sprinklers in the park turn on at 7:30 AM.  Luckily my body is still on Central Time!

Day #38-Scott City to Tribune, KS 47 miles

Another wind swept day that started with a delay while we waited out a storm.  We actually tried to ride in the storm but we were literally blown off the road!  We took refuge in an out building for a local glass installer.  He came by to chat.  He’s been busy as there was a serious storm in the area a few days ago, with softball sized hail, that broke or damaged many windows.  

We eventually got   going but progress was slowed by the wind but also something else.  Almost imperceptibly we’ve been gaining altitude.  Tribune is at 3612 feet above sea level.  Sterling, where we camped a few days ago, is 1600 feet.  We’ll  continue our inexorable approach to the Rockies, gaining altitude every day.  We should be in Pueblo, CO over the weekend.  Pueblo is at 4692 feet.

 I made contact today with a Pueblo bike shop to work on our bikes on Saturday, so we have to get there! We plan to take a rest day in Pueblo as well, prior to entering the Rockies.

Tomorrow we leave Kansas and enter Colorado.  As we do we’ll also go over 2000 TA miles (our daily mileage is routinely more than the TA mileage).  We already moved into the Mountain Time Zone.  We’re transitioning to the second half of our adventure.  I’m looking forward to it.

Day #37-Ness City to Scott City, KS 56 miles

The story today is about the wind! The strategy is to ride early before the wind picks up.  The entire route today was on K96, which seems to be the main line for cattle and grain haulers in this part of the world. K96 with almost no exceptions is straight east-west.  The wind was 18 MPH from the south.  For portions of the route,  the shoulder was less than two feet wide.   Take my word on this-when your that close to the road and  a cattle truck comes from behind you or passes you going the other direction,  it’s an unpleasant experience!

We’re staying at a bike hostel provided by the Scott County Fitness Center.  Richard, Mike, and Nick are here, too.  We were told the water heater had failed and wouldn’t be replaced until tomorrow.  Luckily they got the water heater replaced today.  My stinky self rejoices!

Day #36-Larned to Ness City, KS 65 miles

Though they weren’t amber we certainly saw waves of grain (wheat) today. Wheat fields that stretched to the horizon.  A foggy start gave way to a sunny mild day and a cross wind that steadily increased. Big grain trucks and cattle trucks whizzed by close enough to provide a moment of panic.  There’s almost no shoulder to ride on!  

Steve and I agreed to an ice cream break that fell apart when we realized our calorie  count was low.  Got to keep those calories up!

We’re camping at another city park.  If it was open, we’d get access to the pool area most towns out here have in their city park.  Instead we go another day with no shower!  I’m beginning to ripen!

Day #35-Sterling to Larned, KS 54 miles

The skyscrapers of western Kansas aren’t buildings, they’re grain elevators!

Be patient with me.  My access to reliable cell or WiFi is very limited! Those guys who say their coverage is 95% of the US, not my plan!

This motley crew all wound up at the city park. From the left that’s Richard; Steve; me; Mike; Nick; and Richardo.  We first encountered Richard; Mike; and, Nick when we saw them duck into a donut shop just outside Newton.  We later saw them on the road.  They’d completed the Transamerica Trail from Yorktown to Newton a year ago ; and now they were setting off to complete the trail this year.  Richardo is traveling east from California and ran into the three as they were returning from dinner.  Richardo’s trip won’t end until he returns to his hometown outside Bogata, Columbia!  

Day #34-Newton to Sterling, KS 60 miles

Camped off the route at Sterling  city park.  

Day #33-Eureka to Newton, KS 76.7 miles

We were actually going to ride even further today, with another day of flat roads and favorable winds,  but the hostel in Newton roped us in. These guys have created an upscale hostel for TranAm cyclists!  We’re the only people here tonight.  Just a taste of what we’ve got here-sipping on complimentary Irish Red listening to Yes "Your Move" on the stereo while everything I own is washing!  I’m wearing loaner shorts!  I should add here that there's a bike shop, Newton Bike Shop, right next door.

I should also mention we had a great stop in Cassoday, KS for lunch at the only retail establishment in town, the Cassoday Country Market!  While we were a bit concerned about 45 miles with no services between Cassoday and Newton,  it’s not too bad when you’re cruising along at 14 miles an hour!
We got a taste of the Flint Hills region of Kansas today.  Beautiful, rolling terrain, with few trees.  It’s suitable for grazing and not much else.  There’s some oil and gas here  as well.

Trivia:  Bethel College in North Newton, KS houses the Mennonite Library and Archives, one of two repositories of Mennonite writings.  The other is located at Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana,  not far from where we’re from.

Day #32-Chanute to Eureka, KS 62 miles

Another day of modest elevation changes through corn and wheat fields; and more crazing cattle.  

We rented a room at the Blue Stem Lodge for tonight.  We met up with my sister Peg and my brother-in-law Bill who drive from Wichita to see us. It was fun sharing stories from the trip with them and catching up on family news.  The visit was too short.  I got the same ache after it I get after a FaceTime with the grandkids.  It may seem trite to mention that this trip is as much an emotional journey as it is a physical one.  So far for me that’s true.

Day #31-Pittsburg, KS to Chanute, KS 59 miles

Holy jet propulsion Batman it’s sweet when you’re riding a flat route (880 ft. elevation gain!) with a tail wind!  That’s what was on the menu today.  More cows and green fields and a few teenie oil wells.  Overcast skies.  Butter!

We’re camping in a city park again tonight. Tomorrow we ride to Eureka and meet up with my sister and brother-in-law, who live in Wichita.  Might sample some Kansas beer.  Who knows.

Day #30-Ash Grove, MO to Pittsburg, KS 71 miles

Went to Cooky’s for pie, a TransAm tradition. Steve wasn’t too thrilled about the menu but admitted the pie was good.  If today’s ride was a movie it might be called No Country for Old Veggie-tarrians.  Cows everywhere.  They all seem to stop what they’re doing and gaze at me as I ride by.  Some even take a few steps in my direction to get a better look.  Dogs want to eat me;  horses are indifferent; but cows just seem curious. 

Cows; big views; big farms; corn; wheat; everything green and alive for today’s ride.  Hardly a hill to be found.  Overcast skies and light winds.  Pretty awesome. 

We rode to a bike shop in Pittsburg to get Steve’s bike looked at again.  This guy says the front derailleur was mounted too low and adjusted. It.  So far so good.  Steve misses Jeffrey at Buck’s!

Camping at a city owned RV Park.  Welcome to Kansas, state number five.  Tomorrow we begin map 8 in our count down.  

Day #29-Hartville to Ash Grove, MO 75 miles

One of the great things about traveling this route is meeting other bikers and coming in contact with the wonderful souls who don’t bike but provide services like the hostel in Ash Grove we’re staying at tonight. When we started out this morning we were headed for Walnut Grove, nine miles closer. Our friend Jules is a couple days ahead of us on the route. He’s like the advance team scouting grocery stores; camp sites; and hostels for us. He told us we ought to go to Ash Grove. He’d stayed there a couple of days ago. After riding the first 30 miles fairly easily the idea that we’d go the extra miles started to seem reasonable. Of course the rest of the days mileage was not that easy.  Short steep hills and another day unusually warm weather made for a challenging afternoon.  When we got here Mike and Wendy, volunteer hosts of the hostel, Barham House,  showed us around; told us where the grocery was located; and left.  Instead of camping tonight we’re inside.  We missed this, taken outside the front door.  Thanks Jules! Thanks Mike and Wendy!

Oh Mike tells us that there are only 21 more miles of hills and then flat!  Today we sample Cooky’s famous pies and enter Kansas!
Trivia:  Ash Grove is known as the location of the Nathan Boone homestead, Daniel Boone’s son!
So far:
1460.5 TA miles
29 days
50+ miles/day

Day #28-Summersville to Hartville, MO 60.4 miles

I’m sitting in the local Subway listening to Aqualung on the piped in music channel.  We’re in Hartville.  It was a nice ride today-fewer steep hills and clouds to temper the stifling heat. We’re camping in the city park so no shower.  

Day #27-Ellington to Summersville, MO 47 miles

Looking at the jagged elevation profile for today’s route,  today looked like the most challenging.  It was a beautiful route ridden entirely on Missouri 106 which wound through Ozark National Scenic Riverways Park. To give you a little feel for the steepness of the hills I’ll share that I set a new personal record for top descent speed, 38 MPH! I probably could have gone faster but I started riding the brakes!

We thought we were camping but the local police chief, who I was supposed to call about camping,  didn’t know anything about it.  Luckily there’s a little motel,  the Rusty Gate Inn,  right on the route.  It’s literally the only place in town!  Oh and the police chief bought us Gatorade!  We must have looked parched!

Day #26-Farmington to Ellington, MO 61 miles

It was hard to say good bye to Al’s Place.  Jerry was out the door before we were up.  Phil will head to Ellington so we’ll see him again tonight.  Steve and I were on the road by 8:00 AM.  We’ve been gradually moving our departure time up, a real necessity in this hot weather.  We spent much of the day riding on Missouri Highway N or Missouri Highway 21.  Why they go between numbers and letters is a mystery to me.  

Day #25-Chester, IL to Farmington, MO 50.2 miles

I'm writing this from the shared desk top computer at the most out of this world cycle hostel imaginable, Al’s Place.  

We had a hot hilly route across the Mississippi today and into the foothills of the Ozarks.  The next three days will all be peppered with steep climbs and the weather promises to stay hot.  I saw 90 degrees on a sign on the way into town.  

Two other bikers were staying at Al’s Place in Farmington, Phil and Jerry.  Phil actually blew by me as I was riding into town.  Turns out he was in a hurry to get to the local bike shop.  He’d put a nail though his tire sideways!  It hadn’t punctured the tube so the tire was still inflated but he wanted to get the bike to look at it.  By the way he was riding on Schwalbe Marathon tires, often considered the ideal tire for touring.  We found out later Phil had just ridden two hundred mile days!  He’s had quite an adventure.  He’s heading to California.  Jerry is riding the Great Rivers Road, another Adventure Cycling Association route.  He’s heading to Baton Rouge.  He was wanting to take his bike to the bike shop as well, and stayed a second day at Al’s because the shop was closed on Wednesday.  Al’s is huge so there was plenty of room for just four of us.

Day #24-Carbondale to Chester, IL 52 miles

This day started anxiously awaiting our appointment with the folks at Bike Surgeon to replace Steve’s rear wheel.  This should be a straightforward process, assuming the wheel actually arrives.  We’re at the local Panera Bread because Steve wants a bagel only there are no bagels.  It’s apparently a Southern Illinois University tradition for faculty to buy bagels for their students at the end of the year. They bought the place out!  Anyway, a guy comes up to us and asks about our trip.  He’s taken similar trips, including The Great River Road along the Mississippi River.  When he hears the story of Steve’s wheel and how we might be stuck in Carbondale for another day, he offers to let us camp in his back yard!  He gives me his phone number and I tell him I’ll call if we’re still here.  Amazing!

The wheel arrived as expected and Ian made quick work of getting it on the bike.  We were on the road at about 12:30.  The TA route offers an alternate route between Murphysboro and Chester that we took.  It was a nice ride paralleling the Mississippi River for about 35 miles.  Except for a moderate climb into Chester, it was mainly flat.  It was good to be back on the road.

Day #23- Carbondale-Rest day

We walked about the vicinity of our motel today doing errands.  Walked to Walmart; walked to the post office; and, walked to Kroger.  Kroger has a Starbucks so we got some.  A guy, Mike, from Murphysboro,  the next town we ride through, struck up a conversation with us.  He’s a former teacher from the north side of Chicago.  He gave up teaching and went into finance.  He also worked for the Illinois Department of Corrections.  His wife is from the area and they moved here to raise their kids.  Most interesting to me was his tenure as a city councilman in Murphysboro and interest in history.  He told us all about John A. Logan, a local historical icon.  Maybe the most noteworthy thing Logan did was to start Memorial Day according to Mike.  Murphysboro and Carbondale have an ongoing feud about which town can claim the distinction of hosting the first event, but agree that Logan is the originator.

Apparently this conversation was overheard by a guy that stopped while in his car as we were walking and asked if we were walking to Murphysboro.  I thought he was going to offer us a ride.  Somehow he’d gotten the notion we were preparing for a long walk, maybe the El Camino de Santiago.  He’d walked a portion of the route.  He sat in the middle of the side road and talked to us for maybe ten minutes before driving off.

I’m a counselor in my former life.  I love this stuff!  Find out what a person has a passion for and let them talk about it.  Listen to them.  We’re all struggling to understand one another and be understood aren’t we?

If it all works out we’re back on the road tomorrow, heading for Chester, IL.  We finish map number 10 in our countdown across the country.

Today is primary day in Indiana.  We both voted absentee weeks ago.  If you’re not happy with the course the government has travelled recently, vote!  I hope you vote!

Day #22-Goreville to Carbondale, IL 30 miles

We survived two rigorous days and an impressive thunderstorm while camping Fern Clyffe State Park last night. Today  was a break.  The weather could hardly be better.  We got off the course accidentally after a morning Subway stop in Goreville but made it to Carbondale without adding more mileage. We met a guy going the opposite direction who thought he was heading west.  For a moment nobody knew who was more lost.  It turned out we had it right!
A reason to be in Carbondale was to stop at a bike shop to get our bikes checked out.  We went to a shop called Bike Surgeon.  Neither of us had anything specific that needed to be fixed, that we knew of anyway.  Turns out to have been a wise decision.  Steve had developed  cracks in his rear rim. We shuttered to think of the consequences had the wheel failed during one of the many high speeds descents we’d made over the past days.  Nothing happened and it’s going to get fixed now.  The new wheel will be here Wednesday. Ian works there and was very helpful.  We would recommend them.   Now we have the entire day tomorrow to run errands and rest.  Wednesday we’ll be back on the road.  Thursday we cross the Mississippi and head west!

By the way there was a slight chance we’d see Jules today as he had an appointment for his bike earlier in the day but he was already off for points west by the time we got into Carbondale.  Alan is probably also ahead of us for good. They’ll both leave the TA in Pueblo, CO and head straight west to California. We’ll follow the TA northwest into the mountains and Wyoming.

Day #21-Marion, KY to Goreville, IL 71.5 miles

We took the ferry across the Ohio River and said good bye to Kentucky.  What a great time we had.  We’d read stories of the route being poorly marked but we didn’t find that to be the case.  We found the people to be warm and engaging.  Pastor Dave told us it was because we were riding bikes.  Once we got to Illinois the signs that had pointed us in the right direction in Kentucky disappeared. There was no welcome sign either.  Maybe Illinois doesn’t really want us here? This is apparently horse country now.  It used to be coal country. People come down to trail ride in the national forest. The private campgrounds we passed cater to trail riders.  They also only take cash, more cash than we had.  I’d been relying on getting additional cash when making purchases but the past few places didn’t offer this.  Now I know. This resulted in a longer day than we planned.  We made it to our destination, Fern Clyffe State Park, with just enough time to set up tents before dusk.

We’ll take a short ride to Carbondale tomorrow.  It’s actually the largest city the Transamerica route goes through.  In some of the smaller towns, Dollar General is the only grocery  store!  We’re becoming fans of DG! Enough of this, night all.  Oh and do me a favor and leave me a comment, let me know you’re out there. Thanks!

Day #20-Utica to Marion, KY 69.8 miles

In many ways today was the best day of cycling yet on our adventure.  It drizzled rain for about three hours in the morning, never very hard.  The rest of the day was cloudy until the sun came out just as we got to Marion.  The temperatures were in the mid-sixties.  The back roads we travelled were mainly farms, particularly chicken production. The best of today was almost no wind! We had some hills but some areas were flat!  Really the first flat roads since our first day.

We’re spending the night at the Marion United Methodist Church.  Pastor Dave says they’ve been hosting cyclists since the inception of the route back in 1976.  Leafing through some of the old logs, it’s amazing the people who have passed through.  Steve and I are visitors two and three for the 2018 season.

Tomorrow we take the ferry across the Ohio River into Illinois.

Day #19-Falls of Rough to Utica, KY 45 miles

Pleasant day of riding highlighted by stop at Doolin’s Grocery for lunch.  Made to order sandwiches hit the spot.  The guy who made the sandwiches,  we didn’t get his name but I’m certain he’s a Doolin, asked about our trip and was pleased to hear of the warm friendly people we’d met in Kentucky.  He shared the plight of the local folks who lost their jobs in the coal industry and now were obliged to drive long distances for work.  The high price of gasoline became an additional hardship for them.  He was familiar with Hammond area , near where we are from, and the steel mills.  He explained that many from the area had departed for the steel mills a generation ago seeking work.  Before we left he gave us a free piece of homemade candy,  I called it fudge, to top off our meal.  

Alan, who we haven’t seen for several days, was leaving when we got to Doolin’s.  He sent his front panniers home to cut down weight but still has his laptop with him!

Overcast kept the temperatures tolerable.  My only complaint was  a pesky headwind.  Staying at another fire station tonight.  What a great deal, they have a laundry!  Tomorrow promises to be long and probably wet with a chance of thunderstorms.  We don’t ride when there’s lightning!

Days riding-19

Transamerica miles=953

Daily average miles-50

Tomorrow we go over 1000 miles!

Day #18-White Mills to Falls of Rough, KY 41 miles

Cut back today to recover from two rather grueling days in the hot sun.  Cloudy with a chance of rain but never got any.  Found a convenience store that wasn’t on the map and couldn’t find one that was on the map!  Had one very tough hill to climb.  Thankful for whatever increased strength three and a half months of YMCA classes got me.  Nadine, Tricia, and Kathy did me a huge favor by making me do things I would not have done otherwise.  It’s paying off on every steep section! 

Camping at our second Corp of Engineers camp ground.  A bargain with my senior membership and spotless.  The summery weather the last few days has resulted in our first encounter with bugs.  Army of ants got to Steve’s portion of a Clif bar before he could!

Preparing for rain tomorrow.  Cell service is spotty (as usual).  

Day #17-Springfield to White Mills, KY 66 miles

Kentucky has become more pastoral over yesterday and today.  The terrain is less steep and sharp and more rounded.  Cattle and horses grazing on new grass.  The pedaling should be easier, right?  Not so fast.  We gave up hills and got wind and heat.  This old body just wasn’t ready for 87 degrees!  Our friend Jules camped with us last night.  

We’re at a fire  station in White Mills, KY.  tonight.  The lure of a shower after two hot days without one-heavenly!  

Day #16-Berea to Springfield, KY 72 miles

Well summer arrived to central Kentucky.  The water stop above along with a composting toilet and various supplies geared to cross country bikers was a nice surprise! We had to detour today as the bridge on the route was closed. We found out luckily when Jules came riding back towards us, having already reached the bridge. So instead of saying good bye we all headed to the Idle Hour Park in Springfield.  The good news is we wound up further along.