Day 63: Owensboro, KY to Washington, Indiana

Today Kenny and I rode 72 miles from Owensboro, KY to Washington, Indiana.

We started our morning with a light breakfast and discussion of what route to take. Strava recommended a different set of roads but it wasn't clear that it was  a better option. It uses popularity to recommend routes and I just don't think there are enough cyclists riding in our direction for this to mean much. So we stuck with the original plan and it actually worked out well, with just a few glitches.

We starterd our ride with nice temperatures and blue skies. My stomach was a bit off but as we rode, I felt better and better. We started by crossing the Ohio River. That was a real treat.

Crossing the Ohio River

 Once we were on the other side, it was goodbye Kentuky and hello Indiana.

Crossing the State line

We're in Indiana

The route soon took us on back roads that were virtually traffic free and perfect for cycling. Except for the dogs. We had at least 8 encounter with dogs. Most though did not stray far from their property lines but still gave me a start. The worst were a black German Shepherd, and two pit bull mixes. The latter stood in the middle of the road and just stared us down. The van did wonders though in getting it to give up it's ground. Here's a shot of him  working its way around the van to get a better angle on me....

We fortunately avoid direct contact with any of the dogs, though one was within inches of Kenny. Kenny felt though that the dog was just curious. He's braver than I am!

More interesting city names...In fact, we rode right past Santa Claus, Indiana. Wrong time of the year I guess.It's home to the world's only post office with the Santa Claus name. 

The ride gave us a nice mix of farm roads, quaint cities, and beautiful views. Lots of rolling hills. I think on one of them I snapped something in my power meter. But the bike still rolls and I now have one less set of metrics cluttering my brain.

Nice farm roads

  Rolling hills

  Canola?

Memorial day is close

  Beautiful horse

Mix of small cities

 Our route...

2 miles from our hotel, I snapped another alloy nipple on  my front wheel. This  made the spoke fall out and once again I had a wheel badly out of true. Fortunately, the wheel still cleared the brake pads once I loosened the lever and I was able to limp in to the hotel.

Once there my routine grew to upload all video, do laundry, shower, and then  go out and fix the wheel.  Fortunately I have spare parts and with a bit of care, got the wheel back in order. The one good thing that came of this mishap is that while working on the bike, a number of people stopped by, curious to find out what I was doing.

Garry Mac Pherson, visiting from the University of California, San Diego, was particularly interested in the ride. He too is a cyclist and I could tell he would have loved to have been on this journey. Also, he's the first person I have met who has heard of Boulevard, California!

So now, Dennis and Kenny are out buying supplies at Walmart, and I'm finishing this blog, right on schedule. We lost an hour somehow going to Indiana....At least that's what my iPhone says.

Dinner choices appear limited here in Washington, but I'm hungry and with a city motto "A city of pride and progress" things can't be all that bleak! We shall see...