Phase 4, Day 7. Tell City, IN-Louisville, KY

102 miles.  A great day to finish Phase 4.

Crossed the Ohio River into the Commonwealth of Kentucky at mile 2..then back to Indiana at mile 50 and back again to Kentucky at mile 99. Went across 3 time zones today....on a bike!

After leaving Tell City immediately the fields end and the hills begin. Quite hilly actually. It's very wooded with pastures and dairy farms scattered here and there, everything so green, but the rows of corn are all gone. Too hilly here I suppose.

I traversed a 50 mile wide bend in the river through rural Kentucky, crossed back into Indiana at the Brandenburg Bridge to follow the Indiana side of the river bank until I was abeam Louisville..then back across again.

It was a great day to end the week. Ended on a real high note as a matter of fact. I found some more random back roads and they were perfect. Up and down for 70 miles so it was all a bit slow but I had the roads to myself and enjoyed the day. Kentucky roads are the best I've seen. So well maintained.  From a cyclist's perspective California and New Jersey roads are terrible, Hawaii is better than most, but Kentucky is exceptional. All the roads I spent time on, even the most random back road, is newly paved, clean, even the grass along the edge is neatly mowed. Unreal.

About midway stopped for a drink at a roadside market in the middle of nowhere. It was a very interesting Mennonite general store. Of course I didn't realize until I walked in but right away it was obvious. Church hymns playing on the loud speaker and bonneted women quietly stocking and cleaning shelves. It was a bit like walking into, well, church. What they had was basic but certainly supplied the community's needs. I had a look around. Lots of raw ingredients for baking and cooking, many shelves of diet supplements, some basic tools, a whole aisle of sweets in bags (not commercial candy), simple toys, bonnets and straw hats and all the rest. I would have bought a hat, $8.99, but had no way to carry it home. Bummer. They did have a limited soda supply so I was happy. The nice woman asked me about my bike ride, quickly put together a "2016 Biker Log" for me to sign, and then as I was out front getting ready to roll she came out with a nice little gift for me. Glad I stopped at that shop.

The last 2 miles was a fitting way to finish. The bridge crossing the Ohio from Jeffersonville, IN to Louisville, KY is the most enormous and elegant rails-to-trails bridge you could imagine. 1 mile of steel bridge dedicated to bikes and walkers (and there were many on a Monday afternoon) with piped in classical music playing 
over loudspeakers during the crossing. Felt like a bit of a ceremony for me crossing the river. Soon found the Marriott and grabbed my street clothes I had shipped from KC to call it done.

This has been another week of exploring small town America. I like small town America. Each comunity has its own charm, some more than others, but while crossing the country I've, sadly, come across so many communities on the decline and will be gone when the current generation isn't there to turn on the lights. They are all unique and with few exceptions I can say small town Americans are sweet and generous people. American cities are so homogenized now...there's little difference, say, between Louisville (as nice as it is) and Kansas City any more, but small towns stay unique and unaffected by "progress"..except that they are dying. 

Coolest bike bridge ever!

Loo-vel, Kentucky. 

Most of the time these rides go as planned but occasionally I am faced with a situation that tests the limits of my spirit. This week's Day 1 was that test. Sick as a dog and facing a day riding in the cold rain and wind was a tough one for me. I've had other tough days during this journey but I do my best to stay positive and go to bed knowing the next day will be a good one. That nearly always works.

If all goes well Phase 5 to Virginia and the Atlantic Coast, will commence next year.

Thanks for reading!