Author: jeffjinn

I guess I shouldn’t complain – except for one day in Colorado I have had either beautiful blue skies or cloudy skies with no rain. A rainy day was bound to happen sometime! I woke up in my comfy bed at Randy’s house the the sound of rain on the roof – a hard drizzle just like the forecast said. By the time I ate breakfast and packed up my bike it had eased a bit but was still coming down. I had to make peace with the fact that I would ride in the rain today. I said my goodbyes to Randy and a big “thank you” as he had been a great host on a fun weekend, and waved goodbye as I rode away.

My route would take me south through Smyrna and Murfreesboro and then over to Tullahoma, where I planned to stop for the day. I meandered through the suburbs of Nashville and over through Smyrna – the traffic was pretty light and I was careful because of the wet conditions. As I rode down the highway towards Murfreesboro with a light rain on my shoulders, but enjoying a little tailwind……I got that funny feeling that something wasn’t right. My rear tire was flat. Fixing a flat is never fun, especially on the side of a highway in the rain. There was a used car place right off the road, so I walked my bike over there and asked them if I could work on my bike under their awning. I got permission and found the problem – or I should say problems. I had gotten a double flat! A roofing screw right through the middle of my tire and a nail to the side – what are the odds?

My tube was toast, but luckily I had a spare. About an hour later I was back on the road. When I got to Murfreesboro I pulled in to a bike shop, Moab Bikes, to check my air pressure and buy a new spare tube. The guy at the shop was really nice and asked me about my route – and then gave me some suggestions that he felt would make it better. Touring tip: always go with the local intel! I changed my destination to Manchester on the route he recommended. I also got a recommendation on a place for lunch, and The Alley was fantastic (gumbo, Nashville hot chicken sliders, blackberry cobbler and a big mug of hot coffee). I was fueled for the ride! The countryside was beautiful, even if it was a little wet.

My timing was good as I pulled in to the Motel 6 in Manchester just before dark. No camping tonight! Tomorrow I will head towards Chattanooga. I am working on plans to meet up with two college friends, Bruce who lives in Chattanooga and Bob who lives in Atlanta, who will ride with me for part of a day this week. Looking forward to seeing them!

It was really nice to take a little break from the cycling trip and have some fun with friends. Early Friday morning Randy, his son Maverick and I headed north towards Lexington. It is about a 3 1/2 hour drive and we arrived in a light rain at the Keeneland Race Track – Mike, his daughter Lindsay and son in law Andrew were already there tailgating. To avoid the rain we wrapped up the tailgate and headed in to the amazing horse racing facility. Not that I have been to many horse tracks, or know anything about horse racing – but Keeneland is really nice, and it was packed.

There were bars about every 20 feet and tons of food concessions. It was great people watching as lots of people were dressed to the nines and others were wearing eccentric costumes. Lots of Tennessee fans too. We made small bets on most of the races, but I think that only Andrew came out ahead – he won about ten bucks. My strategy of betting the highest odds horses was not successful, nor was choosing the jockey with the highest winning percentage.

As the races wound down we said goodby to Lindsay as she headed back to Tennessee, and the guys headed over to our hotel to check in. We went out to dinner at Sedona Taphouse, a nice restaurant near the hotel and had a really fun evening. No late night partying as everyone was pretty beat. In the morning we headed over to IHOP for a quick breakfast before going to downtown Lexington for pre-game festivities before the UT-KY game which was at 7pm. We checked out a couple of breweries, toured a small bourbon distillery and grabbed a late seafood lunch before working our way down to the stadium area.

We yelled “Go Vols” to all those dressed in orange and took the mostly good natured heckling from the Kentucky fans. Outside the stadium we joined the TN Alumni tailgate, which was massive and very well organized. I was hoping to run into more friends from my college days…..but to no avail. Still it was fun.

Then we headed into the stadium for the game. It was a squeaker, with Tennessee winning 33-27 with the game pretty much going down to the wire!

As you can imagine, it took awhile to get back to our car and drive through the traffic back to the hotel. Randy, Maverick and Andrew were hungry and went to Waffle House for a midnight meal…..Mike and I declined and just hung out and talked. We waited until the morning and went to Cracker Barrel (with Andrew) for a big country breakfast while Randy and Maverick got their beauty sleep. Then it was time to hit the road, with the Knoxville guys heading there and me and the Nashville guys heading there. I will be back on the bike tomorrow. I have adjusted my route as it looks like it is getting pretty cold in the Smokies. I am going to turn south through Chattanooga, then pass Atlanta and hit the coast at Savannah, GA. Should be a nice ride. About 600 miles to go!

This week I have been on a tight schedule. My friends since childhood, brothers Mike and Randy Clark invited me to go up to Lexington, Kentucky with them to see our beloved Tennessee Volunteers play the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday. In order for this to happen, I needed to either be in Nashville (where Randy lives) or in Knoxville (where Mike lives) by Thursday night so I could leave my bike at their house and ride with one of them to the game. And it was more than just a football game – I hadn’t seen my friends in a year and we were also going to the horse races and possibly a bourbon distillery tour. The plan was to leave Friday morning and come back on Sunday. Before my bike’s mechanical failures cost me a day of cycling I was right on schedule…..but now even getting to Nashville seemed like a tough call as it was over 100 miles away. I awoke at dawn and started cycling as soon as it was light – right into a head wind 😦 . But I put my head down and kept pushing. Soon I was encouraged as I came to this sign:

I was headed in the right direction! An hour or so later I was in Dover, TN where I stopped for a quick lunch and called Randy to let him know how I was progressing. As it would be dark before I reached his home, he offered to meet me out on the road when I had ridden as far as I could – whew! I started talking to a couple of good ole boys at the restaurant and told them about our plans. They reviewed my map with me and planned out a route that would end with me meeting Randy at The Thirsty Goat – a taproom they really liked. Interestingly, one of the guys had gone to my high school and had lived about 5 miles from me – although he was 7 years younger than me so we didn’t know each other. The other guy was good friends with the LBL director, and we called her so I could give kudos to her employee, Leigh, who had been so nice and helpful the day before during my bike emergency. The director was going to recognize her – pretty cool! So with a plan, a route and a destination I said goodbye and got going. As I rode through Clarksville, I came across a veterinary clinic that has to have the best name ever!

It was a long day of cycling, but after nearly 80 miles Randy and I got to the Thirsty Goat right at dusk and within 10 minutes of each other. It was great to see him – we had a pizza and a beer and caught up before heading over to his house. It was going to be nice to have a little vacation in the middle of my adventure.

I packed up and took off early in the morning, with the plan to have breakfast in Grand Rivers before heading down through Land Between the Lakes (LBL). All the restaurants seemed to be closed, but a local guy told me that the local market had a little cafe in it that served breakfast – he was right and it was good! I also bought a few supplies as I knew that there wouldn’t be any stores through the 50 miles or so of the LBL peninsula. As I crossed the bridge and started down through the beautiful woods I had the opportunity to perform wildlife rescue #3 – this little guy was just starting across the road as I came pedaling by:

I took him deep into the woods and we had a little talk about the dangers of crossing the road! Then I headed down the road, enjoying a cool morning and almost no traffic. About 20 miles later I was climbing a hill when I heard a big pop and my chain jammed. I got off to see what was happening and saw that my chain had broken – Aughh. I was starting the repair job when a couple (Stephanie and Kevin) pulled up in a pick up truck and asked if I was ok. I responded that everything was ok and would just fix my chain right there by the side of the road. But they questioned the wisdom of this strategy as it didn’t seem practical or safe – ultimately I gave in to reason and accepted a ride to a visitors center that was a few miles down the road where I would have a better place to work on repairs. They offered to give me a ride to a bike shop back in Grand Rivers, the town where I had eaten breakfast, but I was certain that I could handle the repair – so I said a sincere “Thank You” as they dropped me off. Such good people!

Well, I fixed the broken chain but quickly realized that I had a much bigger problem. Unfortunately, my rear derailleur was completely inoperable with a broken spring and was not fixable. This was a pretty big disaster as: 1. I was 20+ miles from a bike shop, and who knows if they even had a derailleur that would fit my bike. 2. There was no cell phone service at this spot so I couldn’t even call. 3. I had just said goodbye to Stephanie and Kevin, who had offered to take me to a bike shop. I felt a sinking feeling and a little flicker of panic. Lucky for me, however, there was an employee of the visitors center, Leigh, who stepped up in a big way. She got on her computer and got the number of every bike shop for miles around. Then she used the visitors center phone to call the two closest shops, one in Grand Rivers and one in Murray to see if they could help me. Jackie, in Grand Rivers, walked me through testing the broken derailleur to make sure it was not repairable and then apologized for not being able to pick me up as he was in his shop alone. Christian, in Murray, texted all his cyclist friends so see if any of them were in my area and could pick me up. Both of them had a derailleur that would fit my bike. I went out to the parking lot to see if anyone with a truck was going to either town and could give me a ride. I noticed that one of the trucks had a really nice recumbent bike in the bed – the fact that they were cyclists gave me a glimmer of hope. But when the owners came out…..they weren’t going to Grand Rivers or Murray. They asked me why I needed a ride, and when I told them the story of my situation……Jeff and Marlan immediately volunteered to go out of their way and give me a lift into Grand Rivers. Incredible! I had tears in my eyes as I loaded my bike and gear into their truck and we headed down the road. Thank God there are such caring, unselfish people out in the world! They were so friendly and concerned about my wellbeing that I immediately felt a close kinship. And Marlan is recovering from a stroke, so please say a prayer for her continued healing.

They dropped me right in front of Wood N Waves bike shop (long story about the name!) and Jackie welcomed me. He got my bike up on a repair stand, and in no time had a new derailleur and chain installed. I paid his very reasonable bill, loaded up my gear, and prepared to cycle LBL for the second time today.

It was late in the day, so I went as far as could before dark and found a comfortable place to camp. What a day! I was exhausted, but inspired by all the goodness that had come my way.

I wanted to avoid traffic today, so I worked with my GPS to design a route that kept me on country roads most of the day. It was awesome and beautiful riding on peaceful roads with very few cars.

My route took me north and east over to Paducah and then further east towards an area called Land Between the Lakes, a national recreation area that leads into Tennessee. In Paducah I happened upon a little bike shop on 13th Street called…..”The 13th Street Bike Shop”. I had been wanting to check the air pressure in my tires for a few days and the shop owner and mechanic, John Spurlin, was happy to lend me his floor pump. I had also been having some problems with my rear derraileur – it wasn’t shifting properly and kept jumping gears. I asked John if he could check it out and he jumped right on it.

John is also a cycle tourer and a Warmshowers host….and he is a partner in two coffee shops in addition to owning the bike shop. We had a lot to talk about! Another friendly and interesting person met along my journey. He got my bike fixed up in no time and since I was hungry, he referred me to Big Ed’s Buffet, where the never ending southern cuisine almost put me in a food coma.

I left Paducah happy and pedaled on to Calvert City, where I figured I would either camp or get a motel. It is a busy and touristy area at the entry to the recreation area – the only option I could find for camping was a KOA that cost about as much as a motel, so I made my way to the Kentucky Lake Inn – and I am really glad that I did. As the motel owner, Mike Patel, checked me in we started to talk about business and life and kids and before we knew it we were chatting away. Mike is a very gregarious and hospitable hotelier and a devoted family man with a great immigrant success story. When I asked him where the nearest laundromat was (there aren’t any close by) – he offered to wash my dirty laundry at his facility and delivered the clean laundry to my door! I was blown away by his hospitality and will always remember his extra effort to make my stay at his Inn memorable.

Another awesome person and a new friend!

The downhill ride continued, and except for a brief lunch break in Sikeston, I made a bee-line towards the state line. It was cotton country, with the harvest in session, and huge bales of cotton lining the fields.

You might be looking at your next pair of underwear right there! As I got closer to the rivers I started seeing signs advising that the highway 60 bridge over the Mississippi River was closed due to construction and I was to “seek an alternate route”. Well, the only alternatives I could see were to ride about 40 miles south to a ferry or take the interstate bridge, where bikes are not allowed. I called both the Missouri DOT and highway patrol to see what they recommended. After being passed to three different people, the highway patrol told me to just take the interstate bridge. This was comforting to me as I figured the bridge would be like an interstate – with wide lanes and a shoulder I could ride on. So I was excited when I saw the sign:

Then reality hit – the interstate bridge was 4 lanes with a one foot shoulder that had a sunken drain grate every few feet – so I would be riding on the road with all the traffic, and lots of big trucks!

I stood there staring at the bridge in fear for a good 10 minutes before getting up the guts to push off and go. By far the most terrifying 10 or however many minutes it was of the trip so far. I was riding in traffic as speeding cars and trucks jockeyed to pass me….but I made it and entered Illinois!

I rode down into Cairo, Illinois – which, by the way, is a very shady-looking place….a lot of loitering going on. At the other end of town I made the turn to cross the Ohio river and was met with a 2-lane bridge, with the same shoulder full of drains, that was actually longer than previous bridge! Noooooo! At least on this bridge no one would be passing me (unless there was no oncoming traffic), but I would be holding up all the bridge traffic going my way. This ride moved the Mississippi bridge to the #2 most terrifying 10 minutes and became #1.

But I made it to Kentucky – even if it was pedaling like hell with a semi breathing down my neck! I think my hair might be gray now. I rode about 15 more miles to the pretty little town of Wickliffe, where I decided to set up camp. There was a really nice park in town, and a quick call to the police department set up approval for me to camp there. By 7 I had picked up a couple of pulled pork sandwiches and some slaw from a a place called the Kentucky Hillbilly (very tasty) and a big coke from the convenience store – unfortunately it is a dry city 😦 , and was tucked away in my tent for the evening. I breathed a big sigh of relief.

Today I left the Transamerica Trail and headed south towards Tennessee. I took highway 19, a two lane road much like the ones I had been riding through Missouri, down to highway 60, a 4 lane highway with a lot more traffic that would take me to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. As I rode down highway 19 I came across this – pretty much in the middle of nowhere:

For some of you (including me) this will bring back memories – the rest of you will be thinking, “ I think I saw one in a movie or tv show once”. Nice to know that Drive-ins are still alive (and hopefully well) on the back roads of Missouri! I wish I could have gone – even to the Taylor Swift movie! Even though highway 60 had more traffic than the roads I had been riding, I was more relaxed as there was a nice wide shoulder – I didn’t have to keep looking back to see what was coming up on me and stress out when it was a logging truck or semi or other huge vehicle. There were a few climbs, but they were gentle as overall the land was sloping down to the river basin. I just took a few short breaks and rode over 80 miles, deciding to stay in a hotel in Newton that night. Since it was Sunday most of the restaurants were closed, but I found a pretty good Mexican place open where I enjoyed a gigantic and delicious dinner at the bar. The next day I would be leaving the “Show Me” state. You know one thing that Missouri showed me? Road Kill, and a lot of it. Here is my analysis of Missouri road kill by species: 1.Raccoons 2. Armadillos 3. Possum 4. Squirrels 5. Everything else. Thankfully for you, no photo evidence of this count is available.

Today I only rode 45 miles – but don’t judge me! I met my match in the hills of SE Missouri – I survived, but it was tough.

Sometimes a picture is worth 1,000 words of my complaints! At 20 miles I stopped in Eminence for lunch and got some routing advice from a couple of local good ole boys. I will be leaving the Transamerica bike trail tomorrow as I head south to Tennessee and want to pick the best roads to ride on. Then I was on my way towards Ellington, where I arrived late in the afternoon.

There is a free cyclists hostel in Ellington that is run by the city – I stopped by but it was locked up with a note to call City Hall or the police department for information….of course it was late Saturday afternoon, so no one was answering. There was one motel in town, so I rode over to check it out. It was deja vu – the office was locked, with a note to call if you wanted a room. I called, got voice mail, left a message and then sat in front of the motel and waited. Within minutes the motel owner called and told me that rooms were $105. When I hesitated, she said “did you know there is a cyclists hostel in town? – you can stay there”. I explained to her that I had been over there but it was locked…blah, blah, blah. To my amazement she told me that she works for the city and is in charge of the hostel and would give me the code to get in! SCORE! I went back, put in the code, and the whole place was mine. It is a small house that has been converted to hostel with. a storage foyer for bikes, a dorm room and a big bathroom with a shower. A really nice service that the City of Ellington has provided for cyclists coming through. It was fun to read the guest book and then add my information and comments to those of the hundreds of cyclists who had come through before me.

I took a hot shower, prepared a nice dinner and read my new book.

The sun rose this morning in a blue sky, but is was pretty darn cold until the sun was high over the hills. I took my time breaking camp and enjoyed some hot coffee, getting on the road with a sweater and a jacket at 9:30 or so.

I shouldn’t have worried about the cold, as a few climbs in I was shedding both the jacket and the sweater. It was about 40 miles from Hartville to Houston, and as I got there I noticed a little used bookstore on the way into town. As I needed a new book (and I like bookstores), I checked it out. It was what you would expect, with half the store crammed with used books shelved or piled by category and the other half housing antique and rare books. The difference was in all the anti-government and protest slogans and rants that were scrawled on pieces of paper and pinned up everywhere. Then I met the owner (never did get his name) and it made sense. Slightly whacky, ex protester from Boulder, CO – you get the picture. And here is the picture:

We are buddies now and I bought a book for a buck. I kept riding the rolling hills with my goal being the town of Summersville about 25 miles further, where there was a little motel called the Rusty Gate that seemed like a good place to rest. I had called the motel several times throughout the day, but never got an answer and wondered if they were open. I found it, but when I pulled up the office was locked and empty, but a note said to call (the number that I had been calling and a second number) and leave a message. I then called a number for the community center as I had read that they had some rental cabins – left a message there too. Then I rode over to the town square and went to the City Hall/Police Station to see what info. I could get on lodging or camping – I walked in and the lights were on and offices were open…but nobody was around. I started to feel like I was in an episode of “The Twilight Zone”. Next I went to the library….and there was a librarian there! As I started explaining my many predicaments to her, my phone rang and it was the manager of the community center who did have a cabin available for $45 cash. I left a visibly relieved librarian as I went a few streets over to check in to what was indeed a little duplex cabin – a bit funky but a good deal. I found the grocery store and had a nice little dinner back at the cabin as I relaxed and read. Whew! (The motel owner did call me back later).

All traces of the rain had vanished by the time I woke up – it was chilly, but the sky was blue. My tent was pretty wet, so I set it out in the sun to dry and went back to the coffee shop I had seen last night. It was a cool little shop that was connected to a boutique in the next space – Monroe’s Coffee. I ordered a coffee and a scone, and since I was the only customer there, the barista, Makenna, and I struck up a conversation. Poor girl, her family had moved from a suburb near Chicago to this tiny town right right as her senior year of high school started. It has been a tough transition and she has chosen to finish high school online rather than attend the local school for one year. She was a bright young lady, wise beyond her years…..don’t think I was successful in talking her into trying bicycle touring…. But maybe my “go to college” lecture will take!

Then it was time to pack up and get moving as I was getting kind of a late start. Depending on the riding today, I was either going to ride to Hartville (60+ miles) or Bendavis (80+ miles). The rollercoaster ride continued, so when I got to Hartville just after 4 I figured I had better stay or I might get caught out on the road in the dark. I talked to a lady at City Hall who gave me permission to camp at the city park. It was just outside of town and I rode over to check it out (covered pavilions and power outlets – perfect!) and then stopped at the supermarket for a few things before deciding to have dinner at a recently opened Mexican restaurant that was on the main drag – Los Poblanos. The waitress and the two cooks were from Guerrero – the owners also have a restaurant in Springfield where the three regularly work, but they were sent to Hartville as staffing was tough. They thought that Springfield was pretty boring – until they got to Hartville! They kept asking me where things were and what there was to do….and I kept reminding them that I had been in town for an hour and had no idea. It was pretty funny. I got some carne asada tacos, which were decent – not La Reforma….but surprisingly good for a small town in Missouri. I can’t believe that I didn’t take any pics! I am slacking. I realized that it was getting dark and I hadn’t set up camp yet, so I paid my tab and hurried over to the park.