Day 34: Dodging Storms

Carbondale, Illinois to Henderson, Kentucky – “Warm Showers” Host

Today I really wanted to get an early start, and woke at 4:00 a.m., only to see crazy lightening and hear pounding rain, so I decided to sleep in a little longer. I woke back up around 5:00, and after checking the weather, it looked like I had a clear window to start my ride. While I began riding in a light sprinkle, it quickly became a torrential downpour, and with lightning closing in around me, I took shelter under a church awning. It didn’t offer much cover. Scanning the area I saw a gazebo lit up in the park across the street, and decided to relocate there. I was already completely soaked, so when the rain started to slow I headed out again. I didn’t make it too far before flash flooding became an issue. I tried to ride through the brown, rushing water, but it went half way up my wheels making it impossible to ride. I can’t believe I didn’t fall over. I decided to walk through the next 4 or 5 muddy torrents I came across. Finally, as the rain got worse, and a flood watch sounded on my phone, I took shelter in a bathroom. I looked at my GPS, and I had only made it 14 miles. I waited for the storm to pass and set-out again, trying to stay between 2 storm systems. I soon discovered that I lost one of my new gloves. It must have fallen out of my pocket at some point.

I talked to Sophie on the phone for a long time, and before I knew it, I was crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky (State #10)! Immediately after that, my new navigation app, Komoot, failed me for the first time, leading me onto a gravel road along the river. I had to backtrack and reroute, but first… Lunch! Incidentally, today I said goodbye to the TransAmerica Trail, it continues East and ends in Virginia. I am forging my own path to get to the Underground Railroad Trail, another established bike route by Adventure Cycling.

At 4:00 p.m., I got to my “Warm Showers” hosts’, Joy and Jeff’s, place. I was dirty from the day’s travel, so the first thing I did was take a shower. It was then I realized how burned my arms were. I forgot about applying sunblock with the rainy, cloudy day. Hopefully, it won’t be too bad. Jeff and Joy supplied me with mountains of snacks for the road and an amazing first and second dinner. I ate tons of pasta, cake, a mango smoothie and more. My hosts were great, both experienced cycle tourists. Joy even lead the first Underground Railroad trip for Adventure Cycling, and Jeff has toured almost every state in the country! We talked all evening and then it was time for bed. Thank you Joy and Jeff for the delicious food, comfy bed and conversation. VIEW PHOTOS

Distance: 112.30(2644 total miles)
Time: 8:37:30
Ascent: 2000
Descent:1925

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