One Long Day
Day 23 - Jasper, IN to Shelbyville, KY (109 miles and 4,800 feet of climbing)
It wasn’t the longest day based on distance, but today was definitely the longest day based on time. We had a lot of factors slowing us down including: riding 15 miles from the hotel to the start of the route, a constant headwind, and lots of traffic lights with slow riding in urban areas. We left at 7:30am and did not finish until almost 5pm. That was a long day.
I think we were all tired this morning after missing an hour of sleep. Maude especially didn’t want to get out of bed, but that’s nothing new. Robin took the first leg today because she is better on the hills, and we could get in 60 miles before lunch. Throughout the ride, the scenery changed. First we saw familiar corn and soy fields, then we saw caves and quarries, next it was trees/forests with houses.
Robin rode a strong metric century (100km or 62 miles) stopping once for a Coke. We made good time averaging over 15mph up and down hills. Shannon then took over when we stopped at an ice cream shop. We did not get any ice cream, but we did use their picnic tables to relax for a while and refill our water bottles.
Shannon was feeling about as tired as Maude today. She was planning to do the final 47 miles, but that was not to be. Her motto is ‘do what you can, not what you would’. Today, she could do 31 miles. We rode though Louisville, KY and the surrounding suburbs complementing the changing scenery from the first part of the ride. Robin picked Shannon up and they went to the hotel to check in. I continued alone for the last few miles getting to the hotel just before 5pm. The guy at the front desk looked at me and told me our room number. He figured I must be with the other people dressed in spandex.
After a quick dip in the pool and a shower, we all feel a bit better. Tomorrow, is a short day and we plan to take a much needed rest day on Thursday. Now we are off to pick up pizza and do some carb loading.
