Day 2: Hodgenville, Ky to Springfield, Ky - Levi’s Road to Damascus - CycleBlaze

May 30, 2022

Day 2: Hodgenville, Ky to Springfield, Ky

51.40 miles; 4:25:29 Ride time; 11.4 Ave MPH

Something about camping in the woods made me super inefficient with getting up and at ‘em. I’m still not quite sure how I want my items to be packed, but I also desperately needed to grab some drinks so I had to backtrack to the nearest store; it didn’t look like there was anything on the trail ahead of me for a good bit. I didn’t hit the road until about 10am.

After connecting back to the TransAm, 17 miles into todays ride I run into Wesley & Bill of Indiana at a deserted store. Friendly dudes! These guys are father and son headed towards Oregon. I met them, and the owner of the closed liquor store, in middle-of-nowhere Howardstown. They seemed baffled that I witnessed the two cyclists the day before; they keep hearing about these girls who always seem to be a day ahead of them.  Bill pushed Wesley to explain his thesis over eastern Kentucky dogs-gives me an idea of what to look forward to, heh. I was pretty low energy but talking with them got my excited for my next days of riding. 

After Howardstown I could see a noticeable change in ecoregion which had me very excited; feeling like I’m making progress on my ride. 

The rest of the ride was a blur. I didn’t sleep too well the night before and was still pretty tired physically. I kept stopping on the side of the road to drink and check my map. At one these stops a kind stranger asked if I needed anything. The kind stranger happened to be the owner of a small business/gas station right before New Hope. I sat at his store for awhile, charging my phone and eating. The man said he didn’t realize how many cyclist come through here until he bought his store a few years ago and how he lets them camp outback. I Told him he should contact ACA to add his business to the map.

Loretto was the next little town I rolled through. As I was entering town, I see “Home of Maker’s Mark” then immediately notice the massive buildings housing the bourbon. The smell of bourbon was faint in the air but it was nice. I was enjoying myself on this little clip until some jerk came up beside me and revved his loud ass engine. We exchanged friendly gestures… 

I finally make it to Springfield and find a way to get permission to camp at Idle Hour City Park (Memorial Day- all offices closed). I felt taken care of here; the bathrooms were kept open all night and they kept the park lights off in my area so I could sleep. 

Tomorrow’s destination: Berea. Stay tuned!

My Breakfast [image description: two cookies, leftover pizza, and milk]
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Jeff LeeHa, I remember reading that sign, and taking a picture of it, on a short tour I did a few years back (https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/dogs/my-kentucky-accent-is-now-75-thicker/).

Kentucky has so many historical markers, many of which commemorate relatively minor events and people. I try to stop and read most of them when I'm on the bike.
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1 year ago
Ecoregion changing- some scenery after Howardstown
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Shale?
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Lunch at Kind Stranger’s business … more milk
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What are these buildings called? This isn’t where the actual distilling happens, right? Anyway, it smelled nice.
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Rolling into Springfield
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My campsite for the night
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Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 135 miles (217 km)

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