Day 12: Bardstown to Cave City

Today was a very full day! We rode 82 miles, starting early in Bardstown this morning. After a glorious morning ride through fields of golden, freshly-cut wheat, we broke for an extended brunch at a cute little gas station in Howardstown.

Fields of corn this morning

As we were sunscreening up, we spied an interesting looking van that had passed us earlier on the road. Then we spotted someone wearing cycling gear! Naturally, we were very excited. We introduced ourselves and met Ian, who was riding from Dayton, Ohio to San Francisco (check out his website at iankallay.com). The mysterious van was his support vehicle, driven by his brother.

We chatted for a while and then he joined us for the next 16 miles of our ride (he was kind enough to slow down a bit for us gear-toting cyclists). It was fun to have someone else to talk with! Unfortunately, he refused to change his plans and detour with us to Mammoth Cave National Park. So, we said good bye at a fork in the road.

Several minutes later, as we were admiring the striking Greek revival architecture at the Abraham  Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, we spied the no-longer-mysterious van! We introduces ourselves to Ian's brother, Shane, and got to spend a while getting to know him as well. We tried to convince him that he should drive us across Kansas, which we predict will be a rather boring state.

Alix and Shane by the SAG vehicle

Unfortunately, the monument doesn't have a Lincoln statue inside

Both Shane and Ian were very friendly and we're so glad we got to meet them!

We rode to Munfordville (new timezone!), only to be heartbroken by the lack of pickles at the local convenience store. We spent the next hour and a half moping, drowning our sorrows with gatorade, and eating too many wasabi peas. We ended up having to ride a bit farther to get to a real grocery store. So here we are, in Cave City, eating dinner at a local park.

A new Kentucky delicacy?