After our fantastic visit to St. Louis, Moira drove us back to our route and dropped us off in Marion, Kentucky. Marion was about a day or two bike ride from St. Louis but in a car we were there in no time. We set up camp in the city park which included a skate park that was right next to where we were sleeping. Here is an interesting side story: We used to skate so we went down to the skate park to look around and talk to some of the local skaters. We told them how cool it was that they had a nice skate park and how lucky there were to have it. They told us that they raised the money themselves for the skate park by cleaning highways and applying for grants. It took 7 years, but they eventually got some help from the city and even got to design the park themselves. We were very impressed by their dedication and initiative to get a place to skate. Anyways, back to the riding. The next day we hit the road early hoping to ride about 70 miles to Utica, Kentucky. After 48 miles we arrived in Sebree, Kentucky where we heard about a church that would let us shower and take a rest. We found the church no problem and we were immediately greeted by Violet, the pastor’s wife. She invited us into her home, which was directly next to the church, and gave us fresh cut cantaloupe and lemonade. The church’s basement was set up with a kitchen, couches, and a big TV. The church was so nice we decided to call it a day and stay the night. That night we ate dinner with Bob the pastor, and his wife. It was awesome to have a home cooked meal and a nice place to sleep. Thank you Bob and Violet! The next day the usual blazing sun was blocked by clouds which was a nice break for us. Even though we had overcast the whole day the humidity was close to 100% making it very uncomfortable to ride. With the sun blocked for the day we peddled about 80 miles to Falls of Rough, Kentucky. We were planning on camping for the night and on our way into town we stopped by the volunteer fire station to ask directions to the campsite. After a quick conversation the fire chief told us we could just stay there for the night. We gladly accepted the offer and that night we slept comfortably. Fire fighters are awesome! The next day we decided to stray from our map and take a shortcut to Bardstown, Kentucky. It was about a 70 mile ride but because the shortcut saved us 30 miles we ended up making about 100 miles of progress that day. Not bad at all. We had plans to meet Bobby’s dad and stepmom Kathy and also her sister Karen and her husband Harry in Berea, Kentucky by Saturday, which was only about 75 miles from Bardstown. It was only Wednesday so the next day we took it easy and went about 45 miles to Danville. We stayed the night at an overpriced campground that was also an outdoor theatre. Still on our own route, the next day we cycled 35 quick miles to Berea where we checked into a hotel that Karen and Harry reserved for us. Relaxing the rest of the day at the hotel was a good time. We played catch in the pool, and then played some basketball in the parking lot of our hotel. We cannot thank you guys enough for the room, and also thanks to everyone for coming down to Kentucky to say hi and spend a relaxing evening with us, we love you all very much! Today Bobby’s dad and stepmom arrived early and we all got breakfast, then explored the town a little bit. We met everyone for dinner a little later on and we just relaxed while we told stories about our trip. Tomorrow we will be hitting the road for our final stretch. No more breaks, just 13 days of riding. Yorktown or bust.
July 19 – 24
Advertisement
