Day Seven (51.6 miles, 264 total): Rain, Rain, Go Away

RING! RING! RI--- I shut off my phone and go back to sleep. RING! RING! RING! Ah! I had slept for another half hour! Ella is pacing back and forth across the bed, waiting for me to move. As soon as I do, she moves in for the kill. Attack the human! Get up! Take me out! I pull myself out of the nice warm sheets and get dressed for the long ride ahead. Walking out the door with Ella, I soon realize I won't be leaving so soon! Torrential downpour!! Ella quickly decides she doesn't want to go out anymore and runs back to the lobby door. I lock her in the room so I can go enjoy a free breakfast. Three bowls of Frosted Flakes, a cup of blueberry yogurt, and two toasted blueberry bagels with a generous amount of cream cheese. A nice filling breakfast to start my day.

Soon I have my gear all packed up and ready to head out into the great unknown. It's still pouring so I take a few minutes to update my parents on the situation. In the meantime, I also call Joel to see what his plan is. He is already forty minutes out of course. He's from Seattle the city where it never stops raining!

One last check to make sure my rain covers are tight and I push off into the flooding roads. Should have brought a boat! Its actually not to bad out for a ride in the rain! Ella is happy since her basket has a rain cover! I am making pretty good time through the constant sheet of water. After about 30 seconds of hail, a giant bucket of water decides to fall out of the sky. I look like I jumped into a swimming pool with all my clothes on. I notice an open garage and pull my bike inside to take cover from the storm. Quickly, I run up on to the deck of this complete strangers home to ask if I can stay in the garage for awhile. Mike, the owner of the home, obliges and sets up a chair for me to sit in while I wait out the weather.

Eventually the major part of the storm passes, and I'm back on the road. I shouldn't have waited so long, now I'm freezing since my muscles have tightened up again. I drop into ridiculous gears just to warm up again. The rain is starting to slow down as I hit the first major hill of the day. The hill passed along several dairy farms as I made my way up. Turns out that cows really don't like cyclists too much either! Mooing and stomping and running in circles as i pass by with my bike and little dog.

Today would have been a great day for photos if it hadn't rained so much! I passed the birthplace of Lincoln and his childhood home on my ride. I really wanted to go in the museum there, but of course it was closed! The sign even said it was supposed to be open! Oh well, back on the river road I go! Miles and miles of farmland pass by on either side of me as I peruse the country lanes. As I continue my endeavor toward the Bourbon Capital, the rain starts to slow. At Last!

No more than 13 miles away, my GPS decides to confuse the roads and way points together. Do I take the busy four lane highway or do I take the quaint little country road? Is that an off ramp from the highway back to my route? Well I guess I'll just have to toss a coin on this one! Major highway it is! Woo! So I kick my butt into gear and pedal as fast as I possibly can down the on ramp. VRRROOOMMM!!!!! Thats a Semi Truck! Lets move over a little bit more! Thankfully the highway has a wide shoulder to ride in! Oh look its pretty flat as far as I can see!

A few minutes later, I'm gasping for air as the flat highway turns into a massive hill! But now i am determined to get off this highway, so I push on. My muscles are used to the hill now and it becomes easier as I continue my ascent. Faster and faster, feeling like Speed Racer now, I charge down the highway. VRRROOOOOMMMM!!!!! A fleet of Semi Trucks fly by me creating a rumbling tail wind, pushing me along the road. The highway continues up and then evens out for a bit before ascending even further. I know I'm not far now and begin to pedal even harder.

The rain finally stops, but the air is cool and keeps me going. The highway levels out and curves around a bend. It feels like racing on a bank track. Fastest and faster, leaving nothing but burning rubber behind. BARDSTOWN EXIT 1 MILE. VRROOOMMM!!! Can't stop me now!

I fly up the off ramp and cruise on the next highway. Two miles left into Bardstown. I move along with traffic, feeling like my speed buzz has been crushed. But in its place, an overwhelming sense of victory, as I glide into My Old Kentucky Home State Park. The woman at the rangers was very kind and I got a nice campsite at the very top of the hill, along with a fire pit and a picnic table! Not bad for a $12 camp fee! Ella is more than happy to be out of her basket and immediately runs around our site like a little ball of furry lightning. Camp is set up and I go and take a shower. The showers were clean and piping hot, perfect for taking the chill out of me. The night ends up being a bit chilly so I finally have to pull out my long sleeve pullover. Now the chill of riding in the rain is gone and I'm enjoying some hot food with Ella curled up by my feet.

We hope you continue to read our adventures as we make our way through the west!