Day 2 - Fast-Forward...Not/Lincoln Homestead State Park.Day 2 - Fast-Forward...Not/Lincoln Homestead State Park.

So before I went to bed Monday night, I had convinced myself that biking through Kentucky was not worth it. My whole day had been spent watching, waiting for dog attacks and wasn't worth the hassle. So I spend the next morning at the library trying to find buses, trains, taxi's, or one-way car rentals that could drop my off in Missouri, where I'd finish the route and stay in Pueblo for a week biking around the Rockies. Harrodsburg was about the biggest town I'd be coming across for several days, so I figured it was then or never. Of course finding transportation proved much more difficult than I hoped, and after a few hours of searching, I came to the conclusion that it was not meant to be. So I headed out, back on that trail, after lunch and put in a very modest 30 miles to the Lincoln Homestead State Park, where I camped for the night.

The biking over there was actually pretty nice. Only a couple dog chases, and one really great single lane road through some farms up on a ridge. I've found I like going in 10-15 mile increments throughout the day, stopping for a while to catch my breath, grab a Snickers, and relax - I'm so used to trying to get everywhere fast that I have to consciously try to slow down and enjoy the inbetween. On one of my stops in Mackville, KY (pop. 295) they old lady working behind the counter was nice enough to fill my water bottles and was pretty amazed at how my camelback worked. Otherwise no great biking stories from yesterday - but perfect weather really. A bit on the hot side - 85 degrees or so - but relatively no wind and no rain yet.

Yesterday was also my first night of camping. Things went alright, I guess - I ran across another solo biker, Chris, who was heading East on the trail (he started at the beginning in Oregon and had been on trail for 79 days already). There was also a golf course at the state park, so I went up to the pro shop and got a much needed ice cream bar and the lady even let me use their showers to wash up for the night. Was able to set up my tent alright and cooked some spaghetti for dinner - in addition to the broccoli and carrots Chris offered me and went to bed early - after the teenage boys who came out to play on the playground decided to leave. Watching the sunset from the tent was pretty cool, but there were a ton of mosquitos out there last night, so once I got in my tent I didn't want to leave. Also had problems with temperature last night - as it was pretty warm until sunset - I first fell asleep with no shirt on - but then got colder throughout the night. I thought I had packed my longsleeve hoodie T-shirt, but apparently not, and what I brought for a blanket is this "Emergency blanket" which is like what they put around you when you finish a marathon - that really shiny, crinckely paper material - so I whipped that out and it at least kept me not from freezing, but I'm sure Chris really enjoy me rolling around in wrapping paper all night. I think I'll be fine in the future, unless it really gets cold which it shouldn't, since I do have my arm and leg warmers, and I didn't put on my rain fly last night, and that will help keep me insulated as well.

Anyway, I should roll. Took me about a half hour, and asking 4 people for directions, to find this library so I'm little behind where I wanted to be at this point. Wish I could post my pictures so far, but no dice until I make it back home and load them on my computer.

Hembre