Farmington, Missouri

Many things have happened since my last post. There have been many accomplishments and milestones, but not without their complementary bouts of homesickness, physical exhaustion, and most importantly, mental and existential crises.

This journey has hardly been as much a test of physical endurance as it has been a test of mental endurance. Every other rider I have been with so far has been at least 50 (though they are not as hasty). So long as you establish a decent "cadence", an equilibrium between the grade, winds, rolling resistance, and pedal speed, you may as well be power walking - it's not too bad.

Every day, however, is frightening. A good example is my 40 mile stretch in the early morning without food or water, after having to camp in a cemetery. All businesses in the sparsely distributed small towns were closed for Memorial Day.  Two days ago, going from Sebree, KY to Carbondale, IL, I took a shortcut - which ended up being a common truck route. In a 20 mile stretch, my luggage slid off the back, and my pedal's toe clip fell off. I had to Jerry-rig a solution to both issues on a 2 foot wide highway shoulder. Just yesterday, I found myself on an 8 mile long 15% grade in the middle of severe weather, with coal trucks flying by - one which ran directly over the piece of road I previously occupied, before i sensed danger and veered off.

On top of these scenarios, the sun, thirst, hunger, finding a place to sleep, realization of the distance ahead, and homesickness make for a rough day, especially when traveling solo.  Every night, I have wanted to go home. I have reserved a rental car for a trip home twice, only to bail at the last second. Even as I write this, I wish it could be over with. Perhaps it will be soon, but for now, the reward at the end of the night is becoming an addiction.

On a trip like this, you can't conquer the road - you can only conquer yourself. Fear and the need for an immediate solution are powerful motivators.

Still, the experience has had its great moments. After leaving the church hostel in Sebree (whose owners cooked me dinner!), I made it into Illinois via the previously mentioned shortcut.

That day I rode 93 miles. I was determined to make it to a college in caterville, where the director of athletics allows cyclists to take shelter underneath the concessions gazebo next to their baseball diamond. 

The next day was short. I rode about 40 miles into Chester, IL, right at the border of Missouri. Apparently, it is the hometown of the cartoon, "Popeye", whose character was based on a sailor of the Mississippi river in Chester.

There, I slept in the shack of a local charity club, where I met 2 other cyclists heading west. We have biked all day together. The first leg was into Missouri over the river.

The rest of today was relatively short - about 50 miles total.  The Ozark mountains of Missouri are said to be more difficult than any other portion of the trip- not at all due to size or magnitude, but simply the layout of the road. Instead of winding, the roads attack the hills head on, reaching grades upwards of 20%. While carrying 80 lbs of gear, this is a major challenge.

Now, I am in yet another cyclist-only hostel. It is beautiful, almost like an apartment. Hopefully it will provide me with the rest and inspiration to keep going.

Hostel in Sebree, KY

Cyclist Hostel at a church in Sebree, KY. These are the pins of all those who have stayed this year. Tomorrow, Illinois, and to Missouri in 2 days.

Owensboro, KY

Yesterday was a rough, 92 mile ride. I am now in Owensboro, KY, 2 days away from Missouri.

Cloverport, KY - long stretches

Due to the sparsity of any kind of service on this part of the route (food, water, camping, electricity), I wasn't able to post  last night.

Yesterday took me through new Albany, IN, which gave a great view of Louisville. Unfortunately, I had to push my bike through a mile of gravel due to a road closure. When in the middle of nowhere, the closure sign might as well have read "haha go back".

I pushed on, and eventually made camp about 30 miles NE of Brandensburg, KY, in a cemetery behind a church. Before you jump into questioning the sanity of this, I was about 30 miles from the next campground, and it's just about the only place that people won't bother you.

The riding has been tough, with long stretches of winding uphills and descents. But the great views have made it worth it.

To charlestown, IN - and more stress

No solid sleep last night. Although the forecast predicted 0% chance of precipitation, I noticed at around 1 a.m that it had began pouring. I put on the rain fly over the tent, but found all of my gear soaking at 3 a.m. Apparently I had made camp just downhill of where the gutter of the garage on my host's property hit the ground. My phone is now recovering from water damage (seems to be working somewhat now).

The maps provided by adventure cycling association can be pretty vague, so I missed a turn twice; in both cases, going about 10 miles past the route without noticing. I always seemed to be getting dumped onto crowded state routes, and dog attacks have become commonplace.

Nonetheless, I made it deep into Indiana at its border with Kentucky in Madison, IN. It was a beautiful city, and despite the various setbacks, I would guess today was 75-80 miles.

Bridge entering Indiana in Madison.

Mason OH to Sparta KY

Today was hectic. I woke up way too late, and wasn't crossing into Kentucky until 1 pm. Luckily, the Purple People's Bridge in Kentucky is exclusively for pedestrians and bicycles, so crossing was easy.

The journey today took me on route 42/127S, a heavily trafficked road with 2 lanes and no shoulders.  Lots of bike haters out there - I was shouted at, honked at, and passed with about a single foot of clearance many times.

The whole idea was to bypass a section of the Underground Railroad bicycle route system (roads, not bike routes) that backtracked about a day east.  So I saved a day, but was almost killed; still worth it.

In Florence KY, my chain ring derailleur cable frayed and literally snapped.  I thought I was SOL, but a bike shop employee came to the rescue, after another denied me service, citing the long wait list for service. I got back on the road.

Route 42 ran into the Ohio river at the Kentucky/Indiana border, where I had a beautiful view.

However, I was intent on getting OFF that route - so I extended my trip another 20 miles into the night to find a campground in Sparta KY. On the way, I was attacked twice by dogs, and had to break out the pepper spray.

And of course, at 8:00 pm, the campground was closed.  A local noticed my erratic attempts to find a good campsite, and decided to let me camp on his property.

Overall, one hell of a 4th day.

Montgomery, Ohio

Today was a short one, about 55 miles. Having ridden on only bike trails was nice, but became monotonous - nothing but a straight paved path and the same overgrowth at the side.

One landmark was riding under I-71 where it enters the Cincinnati area, where it crosses the little Miami river. It's a huge valley, and I always wondered what was down there.

The route was directing me to Milford, but my aunt and uncle, Dawn and Andy, live just a couple miles away. So I'll be enjoying one last hot shower and bed before nothing but campsites.

Tomorrow, I can either follow the route provided 50 miles east to cross into Kentucky, or blaze my own route and cross in Cinci - saving me a couple days of riding and preventing a huge backtrack. To cheat or not? We'll see.