Day Nine (39.2 miles, 303.2 total): Just Around The Corner

RING! RING! RING! It just keeps going and going. I'm waiting to see if it will stop first or if Ella will try to get me up. Ella is down by my feet again, snug as a bug in a rug. She isn't going to move. Finally I shut off the alarm and flop out of the tent. A bit frosty again. I crawl back inside the cozy yellow cave to grab my long sleeve shirt. Ella finally decides to burst out of the tent. She immediately wants to play and begins jumping around the tent like a little kangaroo.

After entertaining the munchkin for a few minutes, I pull everything out of the tent to break down camp. Sleeping bag in the stuff sack: Check. Sleeping Pad rolled up: Check. Tent folded up and put away: Check. Tarp folded up and in the back: Check. Looks like I'm all loaded and off to a good start. Bathroom run! After delivering gifts to the porcelain gods, I head back to camp ready to roll. I hop on and begin pedaling down the hill before I look back one last time. There is something green and shining on the table. I almost forgot the little lizard that was given to me! Now I'm definitely ready to move on out!

I got a final tour through Bardstown as I head out Highway 62. Goodbye sweet capital of Bourbon! A good downhill starts my ride and I'm freezing. Well, that downhill immediately turned into a monster climb just around the corner. By the time I reached the top of the hill, I was sweating bullets and had to peel my long sleeve shirt off my back. Sweet relief!

It's a nice morning for riding, the air is cool for climbs and there is no humidity! I'm flying up and down the hills all morning like I'm on a track. I'm making my way through a nice, little, well kept neighborhood, when all the sudden I lose my momentum. The hill was low at first but kept rising and rising, steeper and steeper. The energy was being drained out of me as I climbed. Giant heavy construction dump trucks flew by me, creating gale force headwinds. Now I had the motley crew of dump trucks headed up and down at 60mph while I pushed on. The hill took me about half an hour before I finally reached the summit. It was some seriously slow progress.

Eventually I was bombing the hills again and thankfully had no real headwinds! Before I knew it, I was in Elizabethtown, KY. I call my dad to look up those bike shops he had mentioned before. Soon I had directions and started off down to Elizabethtown. I stopped in the grocery store to pick up some food for the next few nights and ate a couple of bananas too. About a mile or so up the road I came to the first bike shop, Bull Moose Brothers. The guy working inside was kinda quirky but helpful and gave me some washers to fix my toe clips. I bought some shot blox and headed on to the next shop.

I nearly missed the next bike shop, E-Town Cyclery, because it was hidden by a bunch of trees on the opposite side of the highway. The guys in E-Town Cyclery were really cool and talked a lot about the TransAm. In the back of the store they had a few walls completely covered in signatures from cyclists who came through over the years. Signatures go all the way back to 1977 when they first opened. I was asked to sign it and now mine name and Ella's are on their 'Wall of Fame'. The guys gave me a few extra pieces in case my toe clips broke again and I was on my way.

Back on the highway, the ride was a lot easier than the first half of the day. The guys at the bike shop had warned me that tomorrows ride was going to have some impressive climbs. I was able to keep a fairly fast pace for the rest of the afternoon. Once I saw the exit for 84, I turned toward White Mills.

White Mills is a small community with well kept houses and lawns. Between houses you see the occasional farm or field. Every few houses you pass, you will see abandoned homes from long ago that were never demolished. After another few miles, I made my way to White Mills Volunteer Fire Department. It has a full kitchen and shower and it is a great place to stay if you're passing through. They are very hospitable to cyclists and it is greatly appreciated. I arrived much sooner than expected but decided to stay anyway instead of pushing on. Ella is content laying on her blanket on the floor and I'm getting hungry. And with food calling my name, I end my daily post. Keep reading for more adventures as we continue our way across the US!