I've updated the maps on this blog to show the boys' progress through the 51st day of riding. That was the last time I spoke to Art. The weather has been unbelievably cooperative. Mechanically, the bikes have also held up impressively well. The hills and the fatigue have probably become greatest challenges as they work to finish up their ride. Now I'll try to fill in some of the details of the past few days.
Before the guys left Carbondale, IL, they stopped at the Phoenix bike shop to get a new chain for Art and to get Ben's crank arm tightened. They did not leave town until 12:30 p.m. They wanted to spend the night in Elizabethtown, IL, but there were no motels available. So they went off-route and found a room at Mike's Motel in Golconda, IL, 25 miles from the KY border. Art said that it was already quite hilly in Southern IL.
The next morning, they had breakfast in Elizabethtown, IL. They dined overlooking the Ohio River. Afterwards, they tackled some of the toughest hills yet. Tower Rock Rd. took them to Cave-in-Rock, IL where they caught a ferry across the Ohio River. Later, they stopped in Dixon, KY, and lingered a bit too long afterward. They were still 13 miles from their overnight destination and dark clouds were gathering fast. So they donned their raincoats and rode about 7 miles in the rain.
In Sebree, KY, they stayed at the First Baptist Church with bike-only accommodations. Bob the Pastor was very nice. He showed them to the rec room where they could use the facilities which included a washer/dryer and a big TV. At 6 p.m., the church provided them with dinner which consisted of hard-boiled eggs, a potato dish, chicken pasta, and lots of fruit. Art especially loves the fresh tomatoes that he's been having. They were the only two guests at the church that night. Apparently biking season is drawing to a close. Anyone who was attempting a transcontinental bike trip from east to west should have left by now. Otherwise they'd run the risk of hitting snow in the Rockies in October.
The next day they biked 73 miles to Falls of Rough, and the day after that they biked 86 miles to Bardstown, KY. On the way to Bardstown, they took a shortcut on Route 31E that took them by some Lincoln sites.
There was Lincoln's birthplace near Buffalo, KY, and there was his boyhood home where Lincoln lived for 6 yrs.
They also entered the eastern time zone. In this area, the hills were fairly gentle.
It was 90.5 miles to Berea, KY, where they met Patrick and Sean, two high school boys who were riding across the US with their dad's support. The boys had the latest Harry Potter book along with them in the sag wagon, and were impressed to hear that Ben and Art were also carrying the tome. What Art and Ben later revealed was that Ben's copy was on a 2 GB USB drive -- much lighter for cycling! At the Knight's Inn Motel that night, Ben convinced the motel manager to let him use his PC to finish reading the "book".
They spent the next night in Booneville at Linda's Victoria Rose Bed and Breakfast that did not actually serve breakfast, and the following night in Hindaman at the Knott County Historical Society Bed and Breakfast that did not have beds or serve breakfast! Apparently the property was being restored, so the accommodation was a big two-room Coleman tent!
On the way to Breaks, VA the next day, Art experienced his first fall of the trip. He was turning around to check something with his pannier and forgot to unclip his shoe. Plop! He got a nice bruise on his left cheek and we are not talking about his face!
Later that day, they experienced their first close call. A driver of a MAC truck was distracted while talking on his cell phone and crossed over the double-yellow line as he was coming toward them. Luckily he recovered in time to pull his truck back onto his side of the road as he drove past! Art was afraid I'd worry if he told me that story, but my reply was, "Well it couldn't be that bad. You're on the phone with me now, aren't you?"
The next day they rode to Abingdon, and Art experienced his second fall of the trip. His shorts got caught on his seat and he fell and skinned his elbow. Not so bad compared to the bruised cheek, apparently. Ben also got the first flat of the trip and they started to hear a rattle in his rim when he goes slow. But the next morning they stopped to have Ben's wheel checked at a bike shop in Damascus near the Tennessee border, and it's nothing.
I last spoke to Art on Tue, Aug 7, from his hotel in Buchanan, VA. He told me that while they are not meeting any transcontinental cyclists, now they are starting to come across locals who are just out riding for exercise or as a means of commuting to work. That day, they had ridden within four miles of Blacksburg, VA and came across a man who was riding to work at Virginia Tech.
The next few days, they would continue to ride up and down the sides of the valley between the Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Within a day or two, they would ride up and along the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway for about 27 miles. They were really looking forward
to finally seeing the home of the Cookie Lady in Afton, VA. She began hosting cyclists when the transcontinental bike route was opened for the 1976 Bicentennial and would treat them to freshly baked cookies. She is 86 years old now and is currently suffering from Sciatica, so the "bike house" is temporarily closed. Over the years, it has become somewhat of a shrine to bikers with all kinds of biking memorabilia hung from the ceiling and tacked to the walls. She gave the keys to Art and Ben to have a look around.
With this post, I conclude my contributions to this blog. I'll encourage Art to add his own final words, describing the last few days of riding. And I'll make sure that any photos taken since Colorado get uploaded. Thanks to all of you who have enthusiastically followed the adventure. It has been a pleasure to post, and I hope that the tales of Art and Ben's journey will inspire some of you to make the same trek!
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