1542 kmToday I left Lexington and rode to Cave City
Jeff and Amy
which is near Mammoth Cave National Park. By the way here is a picture of Jeff and Amy. See Pat you could get a bike like hers – and for all of you that hassle me about the little guy on the back of my bike take a close look at theirs.
I am getting smarter about this touring game. I picked a scenic route from the map and plugged it into Emily. The only trouble is Emily has a mind of her own and took me in circles a few times.
It was another sweltering day and I ended up going through the middle of Lexington with all the lights.
US68 Out of Lexington KY
But there was a treat at the outskirts where I rode on this road that had huge limestone walls on one side. The picture does not do it justice.
The Kentucky countryside is quite rolling where I was. I didn’t see many horse farms – was disappointed in that but saw a lot of other nice scenery.
I got going in circles in one little town (thanks Emily) so I got out the map. While I was looking at it a little old lady pulled up and asked if I was lost. She pointed me in the right direction and away I went.
I was riding down this great country road when I came upon a line painting crew. I had to travel behind the painting truck until I got to a stretch where he was painting broke lines so I could get past. There are not many of those stretches on these roads so I did 20 kph for about about 20 minutes in 30+ temps – breathing paint fumes. The lines looked nice though.
I thought Emily was broken because my watch said I was well past the arrival time and I still had 20km to go. It finally dawned on me that I went through a time zone.
When I got to Cave City around noon,
Entrance to The Mammoth Caves
I checked into a small hotel, grabbed a quick bite at Wendy’s and headed to the Mammoth Caves. I got there just in time for the 1:15 tour. These caves are amazing. I couldn’t get any half decent pictures in the dark. Your camera puzzles me Aly. I think I might have screwed up your settings trying to sort them out in the dark.
There are 365 miles of surveyed passageways and geologists think there could be 600 miles not yet discovered. I took a tour that lasted 2 hours and we covered 2 miles – only 363 more to go. The elevation change was 300 feet. In some places we had to squeeze through some small places. At one place we had to climb 155 stairs up though a giant hole in the rock. It was nice and cool (jacket temperature) inside – quite a relief from the oven outside.
After the tour I went for a ride through the park. The roads were rough in places and pretty narrow for 2-way traffic. I only met one car but it made me nervous going around blind corners. Still it was a great finish to the day.
When I got back to the hotel I took a quick dip- not too refreshing – and came to do this blog. I know you all are anxious to see how I did today.
Its almost time for laundry. I am getting this packing thing down now that I have loaded and unloaded the bike a few times.
I need to find dinner tonight – it seems that the only restaurants around that people recommend are all mexican – humph!
Tomorrow I head to Nashville Indiana via French Lick Ind. Jeff and Amy suggested I should stop there LOL. I plan to spend 2 days in that area and then head up around Indianapolis and spend a couple of days there. It is looking like I will be home early next week.
All the best to everyone.
Bob
Bob,
Glad to hear you have made it to the Mammath Caves area. Sorry to hear about having to follow the line-striping vehicle…hope you didn’t get a new paint job (lol). On our off day of riding we only got about 200 miles in-went through the Daniel Boone Forest and it was BEAUTIFUL!!!! All the curves and hills and valleys (just like a good lookin’ woman). OUCH! Amy just hit me. Good riding on the rest of your travels through the states.
Hey J&A
It is nice to hear from you. I presume since Amy is an experienced rider she didn’t hurt your clutch or throttle hands or give you a black eye – I presume you are having trouble sitting down Jeff. I suspect Amy can inflict pain if she wants to.
Amy – sorry I broke down and cleaned the ride up a bit tonight at a gas station – not much else to do after springing for a whole $5.50 in gas. I am glad you enjoyed the DB Forest – did you get through the Nada Tunnel ok with that big bike Jeff? It was a pleasure meeting you both. Safe riding!!
Bob
Hi Bob,
Just finished reading about your 4 days on the road. The scenery and your touring experiences make me wish that I was riding along. I recently told my co-workers that I wasn’t ready to switch to a touring bike but your journey is making me think ……
You received good advice on the sheep skin, after a couple of trips to Port Dover I have learned that there is no single “cool” look for a biker.
I note your comment about the G20 nonsense, the further you can get from that event the better.
Sat hello to my brothers from another mother when you run into the hill people – they are all good folk, first cousins to your good old Canadian redneck.
Ride on and ride safe.
Johnny K
Bob – sounds like you are having a fabulous time! Just remember, Emily does not rule the road. As a pre-GPSer, we “followed the front wheel” and didn’t always use maps! Great adventures! Keep safe. Ross
Dad, The flash button is the squiggly arrow… thats pretty much all I can help you with!
Sounds like you are having a great time. I miss you and enjoy reading the blogs! I wish you were around this Friday, I have been having interview dreams so I hope that means I’m prepaired!