Leitchfield KY to Jim Bell’s House.
Today was a special day and one that I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. Kentucky hills lined with horse spectators, and an overnight at the family of one of my great college friends. The ride definitely did not disappoint, even with the threat of rain nearly all day. After a really difficult internal debate – I may even rank it the #3 ride of the trip after Day #1 and Guadalupe.
What could be better?
The Ohio River
Crossing into Indiana
We had tons of up and down climbing, and we definitely hit some really steep hills. To those of you that care, 21% was our steepest section and we had multiple long sustained climbs of 15%. To those of you that don’t care, that is super steep and way steeper than most of our hills in Colorado. Mountains in Colorado are typically 6-10% grades with much longer climbs of 5-10 miles, but obviously a little friendlier on the legs.
15%
11% per the computer, but I was going sideways almost falling over to take this photo!
To help us up those massive hills, we enjoyed an enormous tailwind. So big, in fact, that we would easily cruise 27 mph on the flat sections. This trip has made me really aware of the direction of the wind, even on days I’m not riding. It can be your ally, or your enemy (see Texas).
I spent most of the day enjoying the scenery and beat out the rainstorm by about 30 minutes. After that we really enjoyed relaxing at Jim Bell’s parents house. It is in the “Knobs” of Indiana, and was a perfect way to relax after a really hard riding day. We were treated to probably the best dinner we’ve had with some home cooked BBQ, chicken, corn, and a perfect cake.
There's a reason Jim's nickname is huckleberry fin
So excited, Katie had to do some cartwheels
Our cake!
