DAY 11: Central time!

180 km (111 miles) - total: 1498 km (930 miles)

Bardstown, Ky to Central City, Ky

What a day! I pushed really hard today and I don't know exactly how but all of a sudden I feel I am going places! I am into a new time zone! My watch went back one hour. Washington DC is distant from here. Entering a different time zone implies movement. It is an unmistakable indication that I am making progress and it is certainly a big psychological boost. Dare I say it? Tomorrow night I could be in Illinois...
Another perfect day for cycling, I guess I am being very fortunate. Out of 11 days I had 10 sunny days and two brief showers, both in the late afternoon with most of the cycling already in the bag. No thunderstorms so far. But I know for sure that we will cross paths at some point.

When I got up this morning (5.55) it was still dark outside. I was the first one to get my hands on the meager breakfast buffet and after a double portion of oatmeal I was off. I was on the road at 6.55 with the sun barely out. With a significant amount of today's ride on relatively flat terrain I knew I could go for it. In fact, it has been the fastest day of the trip with the longest distance covered. And with the advantage of the extra hour of Central time zone I was done by 3.45. I thought about pushing on to the next town, 25 miles away, but I decided against it. Instead I prefered to chill, wash my clothes, update the blog and give my legs a breather. For today's ride I decided to leave the designated route and follow the more direct Route 62, which runs parallel to a bigger highway so there wasn't much traffic on it. However, today was the first day of school so I bumped into many school buses. Needless to say the kids went crazy at seeing a cyclist on the road so every time they passed me I had to reply to the many laughs, shouts, and jeers from the young crowd. I got to talk to more locals today during my pit stops. Western Ky feels much more relaxing than its Eastern counterpart. Certainly it seems wealthier and more economically diverse. In the afternoon, I stopped outside a post office in the tiniest village of Rock Port and the postmaster, an amiable lady came outside to offer me a bottle of water and a peanut butter bar. We chatted for a few minutes, I took her picture and was on my way again. I cannot emphasize enough how kind people are around here, not just that they seem more relaxed and more at ease with life but they also enjoy whiling time away by socializing and smiling a lot. I for one, feel welcomed here and given that there aren't many cyclists this time of the year I go noticed by the locals. Not once have I felt threatened or uncomfortable by my surroundings.

While riding hard through the countryside I saw some beautiful horses behind fences, I stopped for a few seconds to get a picture -posted below- I hope it shows the innate elegance of these animals. I think that people around here take great pride in working the land, cultivating the fields, breeding the horses and just respecting the plentiful rewards that nature has to offer. I haven't seen a farm in bad conditions, I haven't spotted a neglected or rotten barn like the many I saw in Eastern Ky. Riding through Western Ky made me realize how hard but also peaceful and rewarding country life can be. This part of the US reminds me of the English countryside. It was actually visited for the first time by an Englishman, Thomas Walker in 1773. This region is called the 'Blue Grass' region as on the fertile land there grows the famous Kentucky bluegrass. This plant has leaves that during certain times of the year have a steel-blue cast. I have also learnt that 3/4 of the land in Ky is used for crops. A lot of tobacco is grown as it is the most important single source of income, followed by corn and wheat. But my ignorance did not allow me to recognize a single tobacco field. Internet came to my rescue and tomorrow I will be looking out for those! My legs feel fine and I could just keep on going and going.

111 miles today and not a single dog attack, just a few faint barks in the distance. I hope the dogs are behind me for good. I've got to say that I was really tired of dog chases and confederate flags. I am really enjoying this side of the world!



Morning dew over Kentucky hills


The sign is still there but the motel was gone


Steam coming out of the water but it wasn't a hot spring


Nashville? Oh yeah!


Elizabethtown


Route 62, I spent all day cycling on it


An old railway bridge


The '10 commandments' sign, I saw 4 of these today


Kentucky horses


This is Jeanne, the postmaster at Rock Port, she kindly offered me a drink and a snack


Central City


Traffic lights at sunset


Highway life