An Almost Completely Forgotten Five-Day Tour From 2014

Something jogged my memory the other day about a short tour that I'd almost completely forgotten about, and had never documented. In April, 2014, I rode from where we were then living, in Lebanon, Illinois, back to my boyhood hometown of Flemingsburg, Kentucky.

This was before I started using Strava, so I don't have the exact route I took. Also, except for the first day, I took surprisingly few photos. And I don't have any especially vivid memories of this trip for some reason.

I don't think this forgettable tour warrants its own journal, but I at least want to do something with the photos, so I'll write about the trip on this page.

Day One: April 6, 2014. Lebanon, Illinois to Benton, Illinois

I remember that it was chilly as I left our driveway, but that later the sun came out and it warmed up. I'd worked out a very ambitious route and schedule, which I quickly gave up on when I encountered flooded roads on this first day.

I wasn't carrying any camping gear, and I hadn't reserved any lodging - my typically half-assed approach to touring.

Impassable. I remember turning around, adding at least 20 miles to my planned route.

I remember riding through an industrial section of Mt. Vernon (population 14,600) for the first and only time that I lived in Illinois. I probably didn't take as many photos as I normally would have of this industrial zone - I usually find this stuff pretty interesting - because I was way behind schedule.

I seem to remember getting getting lost as I neared Benton (population 6,709), and I think it was dusk when I checked into a room at the crappy Benton Motel there, for which I paid $44.40, according to the credit card charge in my Quicken software. Dinner was a carryout pizza from the Domino's next door.

Day Two: April 7, 2014. Benton, Illinois to Sebree, Kentucky

It was cold and rainy almost all day. I remember that the section on IL-13 to the Ohio River at Old Shawneetown was especially unpleasant, with a minimal shoulder and bothersome traffic. Before crossing the scary, narrow bridge over the Ohio River at Old Shawneetown, I remember that I attempted to call the pastor of the church in Sebree that hosts bicycle tourists, but I had a terrible connection, and I wasn't sure if he understood me.

I remember being very cold and waterlogged after crossing the bridge into Kentucky, and stopping immediately at "Smokin' Joe's Convenience Store", where I sat at a table drinking hot chocolate, eating a honey bun, and observing a steady stream of people from Illinois buying cheap cigarettes.

I think the rain mostly stopped after that. I remember getting lost a few times on the way to Sebree, and riding on a messy dirt/gravel road as I neared the town.

As I write this ten years later (in 2024), we actually live only 20+ miles from Sebree, and I ride down there all the time. But I cannot remember where this dirt road is now. It's kind of amazing that I've forgotten so much about this trip.

I arrived at Sebree in the dark, and was relieved to find that Pastor Bob, and his wife Violet, were around. They insisted that I join them in their home across the street from the church for a very late dinner. That was very, very nice of them.

According to something I posted on my now-deleted Facebook account (which I have a download of) this was a 107-mile day.

Day Three: April 8, 2014. Sebree, Kentucky to Hardinsburg, Kentucky.

I remember almost nothing about this day. I don't remember talking to anyone, and apparently I didn't see anything interesting, since I only took four(!) photos. This is surely one of the least-memorable days I've ever had on a bicycle tour.

I stopped for the day in Hardinsburg, and, according to my Quicken personal finance software, I paid $57.24 for a room at the Breckinridge Inn there.

Day Four: April 9, 2014. Hardinsburg, Kentucky to Frankfort, Kentucky.

I remember that I quickly sketched out a route in the motel room the night before to Frankfort, the state capital of Kentucky.

I took a few more photos than yesterday. But I don't remember much about the ride.

One thing I DO remember was the following amusing graffiti I saw as I rode through the tiny community of "Waddy".

There's a Love's Travel Stop in Waddy on Interstate 64. I've thought about this graffiti a few times over the years as I've driven past it.

I know, I know: I'm easily amused.

I stayed at an absolutely terrible Days Inn in Frankfort, for which I paid $66.77. I remember there was no place within walking distance to buy food, and I ate snacks from my panniers in the room. The area seemed slightly dangerous, and I didn't want to wander around after dark.

Day Five: April 10, 2014. Frankfort, Kentucky to Flemingsburg, Kentucky

I remember a super-hectic ride leaving the motel on an extremely busy road with lots of morning commuter traffic. Looking at the map now, it must have been the "East-West Connector." It had a wide shoulder; without that, it would have been unbearable.

Frankfort is not that big, though, so pretty soon I was on nice country roads. This is the bluegrass (horse country) region of the state. Very pretty.

As I neared Flemingsburg, the scenes were increasingly familiar. I'd been on day rides many times in the area when I lived there

The total mileage on this trip, according to a post I made on Facebook at the time, was 506 miles. So over 100 miles a day average. I probably couldn't do that now, ten years later, given my current fitness level. Who would have thought that there could be such a difference between age 48 and 58?!

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