Days 15 & 16 – Rest Days
Day 17 – Bardstown, Ky to Mammoth Cave NP – 67 Miles
I spent this weekend in Evansville resting my tired legs. Saturday night we went to a wine festival right on the riverfront. The views were gorgeous.
Sunday Murphy and I went for a bike ride to explore downtown Evansville. We ended up stumbling upon a nice little street festival with live music and lots of bikes! Nice little surprise!
While driving back to Bardstown later on Sunday I got a message from Max asking where I was at. He said him and Dries (a Trans Amer from Holland who he had met at the Hindman Bicycle Hostel a few days back) were at the My Old Kentucky Home State Park campground. I decided to meet up with them so we could ride out together in the morning.
When we arrived, it was pouring rain. I setup my tent and grabbed my gear from the car. Said bye to the pup and Kari, then hung out for a bit with Max and Dries. It’s interesting how the Trans Am trail can become a sort of community. Max had mentioned Dries a couple days back. He had also stayed at Maya’s place (Warmshowers host in Berea) the day after me, so I kind of felt like I already knew him. I guess that’s what social media will do. We went through the formalities of introductions anyway.
The next day we were up by 630 and on the road by 730. From the rain the night before to the dreary skys in the AM, today looked like it would be the first day I’d be pedaling in the rain. I was kind of looking forward to seeing how my rain gear would work, and if it would slow my pace at all. For the most part it was only a light drizzle with maybe one or two downpours that required both jacket and pants. Not too bad.
About an hour in we crossed paths with Jeff and Randy. They’re riding from West to East for Bike the U.S. for MS. They have a support vehicle, but only started about 35 days ago and are trying to make it to Virginia Beach by the end of the month. Incredible pace. They both have family members who have been affected by MS, so they set a very ambitious fundraising goal of $100k! They’re well on they’re way and have already raised over $40k! Truly amazing, check them out on Facebook if you have a minute!
A bit further down the road I parted ways with Max and Dries to do the Mammoth Cave National Park loop. It’s about an 80 mile detour to get to the park, but I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t check it out.
The ride to Mammoth Cave was pretty uneventful and I found myself counting down the miles. I put on some music to help the time pass. Got chased by a dog. He was a German Shepard sleeping on a porch as I passed. Must have startled him when I woke him, because he was quick to get on my tail. I yelled and he didn’t back down at all so I hit him with a direct hit of the pepper spay. I could tell I had nailed him because he immediately stopped and started rubbing his face and snout with his paws, which made me feel bad and think that shouldn’t have sprayed him.
Once the rain cleared it became pretty hot and muggy so I took a good long break at a gas station with a McDonalds. Even with two days of rest I was feeling sluggish. I was happy when I arrived at Mammoth Cave at around 5 and could only think about crawling in my tent and going to sleep immediately.
I forced myself self to walk around the visitor center a bit and was happy that I did. Tons of cool exhibits and a little video (narrated by Mike Rowe of course) talking about the cave from its geological formation to prehistoric Native American exploration and then the discovery and mapping of the cave system over the last 100 years or so. It’s considered a World Heritage Site and is the longest cave in the world at over 400 miles discovered to date.
Tomorrow I plan on getting touristy and taking a tour of the cave then finishing the loop to meet back up with the route.
It feels good to be back on The Trail. There’s something soothing about the simplicity of bike touring – knowing that you have everything you need with you and that you can get anywhere you need to go with this incredibly simple machine. You’re constantly considering your next decision – where to sleep, how far to bike today, where/what to eat, which routes or detours to take – it forces you to live in the moment. There’s not a ton of time to sit and worry about things or possibilities that are months, weeks, or even days in the future. Definitely looking forward to spending the next couple months in the present!
