Maysville, KY to Milford, OH

June 9, 2011

We were off at 6:30 again this morning to try to beat the heat. Once again we skipped some sections of the route in order to shorten the distance. We hit some heavy truck traffic on Rt. 50. We live 1/2 mile from Rt. 50 in West Virginia and always avoid bicycling on it when we can because of the heavy traffic and limited shoulders.

We crossed the Ohio River again at Aberdeen and stopped for the picture. The route now followed the Ohio River north toward Cincinnatti so the route was pretty flat.

For the first time we saw signs highlighting the Underground Railroad route. We're not sure who placed the signs.

Because of the early start and the need to avoid the heat of the afternoon, we passed two of the more historically signficant sites on the tour. After finishing in Canada we stopped in Ripley, Ohio to visit the sites. Pictures of the plaques at the John Parker house explain why the sites were signficant.

We took the picture of the John Parker house with the tandem in the foreground. You can't quite tell that it is actually sitting on the car trailer. John Parker was an amazing man, frequently crossing the river into Kentucky to help fugitive slaves.

Once John Parker got them to the Ohio side, he ushered them up the hill to the home of a Presbyterian Minister, John Rankin. While Rankin was willing to house and hide the slaves, in violation of the Fugitive Slave Law, for some reason he was unwilling to cross into Kentucky to help them. Parker and Rankin must have been quite a team.

Rankin had grown sons who knew how to use a gun. They kept the trees back away from the house so they could see anybody approaching.

The original walkway in front of the Rankin House. Standing here a person was a "human being", across the river they might be "property".

At one point we had a long winding down hill. Rhona was nervous about our speed and overtaking traffic. But, a guy in a pickup truck stayed back from us the entire way down preventing anyone else from passing us. We were very grateful. I wonder if he was a cyclist.

In Milford, we ate lunch in a small place across from Bishop's Bicycles. This was the place that allowed us to park our car for three weeks last year. Inside, it is a wonderfully stocked shop with friendly staff.

Of course, our hotel was up a long hill from town. While riding we passed one sign indicating the temperature was 97. We then passed another recording 99, but we believed it and decided 99 was too hot to stop to take a picture. For some reason the heat didn't bother us as much today, perhaps it was less humid or we are getting acclimated.

That evening strong thunderstorms swept through the area. Although our hotel was right next door to a "Bob Evans Restaurant" we had to sprint through the rain and were wet when we got into the restaurant. Actually, it felt pretty good.

Touring cyclists have to balance the desire to bring along items to make the trip more comfortable vs. the need to limit weight and perhaps space. For couples on a tandem, this balancing act is even more difficult since the heavy comfort for one must be pulled up hills by the other team member. Rhona decided that a good reading selection for this trip was a paperback version of "Anna Karenina". In order to save weight she was tearing out pages as she read them. (Rhona was a Reading Teacher, so destroying a book is especially traumatic). Tonight I showed her how to download a free digital version of the book onto her Smart Phone. It still was hard for her to throw the book away.

Milford residents and busineesses are participating in a project called "Bikes in Bloom". Many have bikes set up outside that are decorated with beautiful blooming flowers. Unfortunately, we didn't stop in the heat for pictures.

*However, my sister Debbie did some research after reading this tour report and found a tremendous youtube link of an interview of the Milford arts council director (sponsors of the contest). It turns out there were many more displays than we saw and interview of the contest's creator is great. Click on the link for a four minute video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS0rBcMLBSk

Today's ride: 64 miles (103 km)
Total: 257 miles (414 km)

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