Louisville, KY to Madison, IN
May 25, 2023
53 miles
Tour total: 700 miles; Personal miles achieved: 657 miles

Yesterday, at the end of our visit to Roots 101 in Louisville, I talked with the owner, Lamont Collins, about our bike tour and its focus on the Underground Railroad. To learn more about WomanTours, he took the time to talk to the few of us who were there. And then he asked us if we were traveling at night, and we quickly said 'no.' He reminded us that the freedom seekers traveled primarily at night. I can't imagine doing each length of our bike tour at night.

Today is Erev Shavu'ot, the Jewish holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. The Israelites were only fifty days into their journey as free people after 400 years of bondage in Egypt. I am moved by the juxtaposition of celebrating this holiday and its significance to Jews, while also learning about and celebrating the journeys of the nineteenth century American freedom seekers, who often traveled alone from location to location as they worked their way northward.

Today's bike ride was made remarkable by our final destination, an old cotton mill from the late 1800's that was bought by the Marriott Hotel company and turned into a Fairfield Inn. From the outside the lawns are nicely landscaped and the building looks clean, but industrial. The truly visual gift, in my opinion, comes when one walks inside and sees the original wooden beams, that are painted, but still exposed, to reveal the extraordinary structure and history of the building's construction.

A promise of another good night's sleep in a warm bed after a good meal from Emily, our traveling chef ... salmon, rice with raisins and other delicious and healthy mix-ins and flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg, lentils, grilled broccoli, and chocolate-covered rice crispy treats for dessert.

I feel joy for being Jewish and celebrating Shavu'ot in a very different way and continued sadness for the struggles of the freedom seekers before the Civil War and the sacrifices they faced.

53 miles EBI (every blessed inch)

Madison, IN to Dry Ridge, KY
May 26, 2023
57 miles
Tour total: 757 miles; Personal miles achieved: 714 miles

Got a late start because I didn't take the time last night to organize my belongings the way I should have. Lesson learned and one that I will try hard not to repeat out of consideration for the leaders' time.

Today's ride to Dry Ridge boiled down to a paraphrase of a familiar refrain in the Wizard of Oz  ... Hills! ... and Dogs! ... and Wind! ... oh my!

Mostly rode by myself for the first 40 miles because of my late start, but eventually met up with my tour sister, Chanda, who had stopped on the side of the road near a large abandoned barn with a couple of other outbuildings. I rolled up and playfully asked, "Is there seating available for one more at Chez Chanda?" She replied, "Oh, but of course! There's a table for one right over here." I inquired, "By any chance, do you have a restroom?" She answered, "Why, yes! It's down that way and to the right behind that small building."

We ate our sandwiches and decided to ride the final 16 or so miles together. We stopped a few more miles down the road to rest for a minute and refuel with some Gatorade from our water bottles. We happened to stop across the street from a kind man who was riding on his lawn mower. As he came up parallel to us, he stopped his engine and asked if we were okay. We were, thank you. He then asked if we needed any water. I said yes because I was just starting to run a bit low in my Camelbak. We chatted for a bit, telling him where we were headed for the day (Dry Ridge) and where our final destination would be (Canada). He was quite impressed as others have been when we've had the opportunity to talk up the bike tour and the WomanTours company. We told him about the Fairfield Inn in Madison and what a nice place it is.

The road got busier and busier with more traffic and a fair number of trucks of all sizes. Within just a few miles of our hotel, I happened to step down off the bike for a moment to let a few cars go by as there was virtually no shoulder on which to ride. It turns out that I stopped next to the exit driveway of the local high school, which was finishing up its last day of school for the year. There were a large number of school buses pulling out, so I let them all pass me by as well. And then ...there were all the cars leaving school for the day after that. After what must have been about 5-10 minutes or more, I was able to remount my bike safely to continue. I reconnected with Chanda, who had gone ahead, but waited for me at the next turn, which landed us less than a quarter mile to the hotel. Safe and sound at last for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

57 miles EBI (every blessed inch)

Dry Ridge, KY to Maysville, KY
May 27, 2023
74 miles (biked last 33 miles after visiting the museum in Old Washington, KY)
Tour total: 831 miles; Personal miles achieved: 747 miles

Many of us, including myself, chose to load our bikes on and ourselves in the van and to start our day's bike ride around mile 40. The route was another hilly one and many of us wanted to get to mile 68 and the Visitors Center in Old Washington for a tour that highlighted aspects of the Underground Railroad and the Civil War.

After a couple of hours in the van, I didn't feel warmed up and it was hard to motivate myself to ride. The van ride was very comfortable and I found myself getting a bit sleepy. The first two hills within minutes of starting out around mile 40 were too steep for me, so I walked up them both. That was all the warmup I needed! After that there were lots of very pretty views of large fields with houses and barns set far back from the road.

The tour in Old Washington, provided by the Visitors Center, connected us to the National Park at Shiloh, which we visited on our 2nd day of riding. General Albert Sidney Johnston, who commanded the Confederate army and died of his wounds at Shiloh, was originally from Old Washington. We visited his home, which was only a block from our bike route.

The Visitors Center itself was a small house and situated on our route. It had two interesting staircases, one outside that looked like it led to a cellar and one inside, leading up steeply from the back kitchen. While they have no corroborating documentation about these two staircases, they are believed to have been used to hide freedom seekers on their way north. They base this on the fact that several known abolitionists lived in the town and perhaps in this house. Once again, we were reminded of the fact that the success of the Underground Railroad was due to the secrets kept by their members, which owed to a general lack of written documentation.

The tour lasted around two hours and we still had another 6 miles to go to get to our hotel, the French Quarter Inn, which was built in 1997 with a facade made to look like the hotels in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The most remarkable murals were painted on the long wall behind the hotel depicting the history of this region of the country.

The long day was capped with another one of Emily's fabulous dinners, enjoyed in the parking lot and surrounded by all that artwork…it's a powerful memory, for sure.

Rode 33 out of 74 miles…plus a two-hour walking tour.

Maysville, KY to Newport, KY
May 28, 2023
78 miles
Tour total: 909 miles; Personal miles achieved: 825 miles

The morning in Maysville dawned with a bit of rain in the air and more on the radar. The ride to Newport, KY was going to be a long one ... 80 miles! I was in no mood to ride that far in the rain ... and it was a bit chilly in the high 50s.

It was only a light sprinkle when I took my luggage and bike out to the van. As I put some lube on my bike chain, I whispered a blessing fashioned after the one given by the rabbi introduced by Tevya in the opening number in Fiddler on the Roof ... you know ... the one he gave when asked if there was a blessing for the Czar. The rabbi answered with assurance, "There is a blessing for everything ... May God bless and keep the Czar ... far away from us!" So hopefully you can see where I'm going with this and what my blessing was ... May God bless and keep the rain far away from our bike route today. My little wish worked! Or at least it appeared to ... I have no delusions about my power to wish away unwanted weather. Anyway, that was the first bit of trail magic.

Of those riding from the start of today's route (and there were many who were either taking the day off or planning to start their ride at the 20 or 40-mile mark), I was the last to leave. I've found that I like riding with others, but also enjoy riding by myself, stopping when I want and not having to modify my pedaling pace to stay with other riders.

The rain held off, but the clouds remained and kept the temperature in the 60s and eventually the low 70s by the end of the day. The strong winds of the last several days had subsided, so the riding conditions were quite pleasant. There were a few hills near the beginning, but they weren't as steep as from prior days, so I was able to get in a low gear and make my way up each one. I find myself getting stronger on these long climbs and not breathing as heavily as I did when the tour began. After those few hills, I was rewarded with long stretches of relatively flat roads with little to no traffic. Before I knew it, I had reached the first rest stop at around 24 miles. I fueled up on some snacks and fresh fruit and left to get to the next stop at around the 40-mile mark. Felt good after some more snacks and fresh fruit, and with a pit stop in the restroom, was on my way again.

I was already so grateful that the rain had dissipated and was aiming to make it to the next rest stop at around the 67-mile mark. And then the second bit of trail magic happened. It was around mile 55 and I had just caught up with my tour sisters Mo and Jacquie. My energy was starting to fade, so after we finished a short climb, I told them I was going to look for a driveway or a good shoulder next to the road to take a short snack and water break.

I pulled over and stood over my bike while I munched on my snacks. When I took a moment to look around, I saw a horse trailer, two large ponies in driving harnesses tied to its side, a beautiful carriage and a woman and a man tending it all. I was standing close enough for them to call over and ask where I was headed. I love these moments! I answered, "Just across the river in Kentucky after reaching Cincinnati, but eventually Canada." And then I waited for the predictable response, "Did you say Canada?" Rather than continuing the conversation while shouting, I asked if I could approach, to which they responded, of course. I said I had a pony at home who was over 30 years old, and the woman said she figured I knew about horses because I asked if I could come closer, rather than assuming so.

This was how I got to meet the ponies, whose names were Jack and  ... wait for it  ... Jill, who were brother and sister. It turns out that they and their owner, the man who had asked where I was headed, are an FEI Combined Driving team. This means that they are qualified to compete at an international level in dressage and cross-country driving competitions. If I had chosen any other moment to step down for a break, I would have never met them and made this beautiful connection with these two amazing ponies, who stood patiently next to the trailer waiting for their owners to finish tacking them up and attaching their harnesses to what I learned was their dressage carriage. They were just about to start a dressage practice drive across the street in their unmarked dressage driving ring. It was a perfect moment for me to bring together my love of biking and of horses. If that's not trail magic, I don't know what is.

They wished me well and I moved along to what became the third bit of trail magic for the day, which happened when I reached the rail trail around mile 62. I knew it was coming, but I hadn't paid attention to the town it was in. Just as I got to the trailhead, I read the beautifully painted plaque and realized I was in the town of Milford, Ohio! I live next door to the town of Milford, MA, which has a beautiful rail trail on which I often ride. Took a picture of the plaque  ... another quick conversation about WomanTours with the couple who were sitting on the bench next to it and who were kind enough to watch my bike while I visited the portapotty  ... and I was off for one last rest stop 5 miles or so into the rail trail.

I felt strong, so I exceeded my expectations and continued on to finish the final 13 miles to the hotel for a new personal best of ...

78 miles EBI (every blessed inch)

Newport, KY - layover day
May 29, 2023
0 miles
Tour total: 909 miles; Personal miles achieved: 825 miles

Today was a layover day at the hotel in Newport, KY. It was Memorial Day and a couple of our tour sisters were able to make arrangements for both the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to open their doors, when they would have otherwise been closed, to give our group private tours. These museums are in Cincinatti, just across the river from Newport. Educational ... moving ... sad ... angry ... hopeful ... so many emotions from what I saw and learned. All I can say is that if you find yourself in Cincinatti, these two museums will be worth your while.

On the walk back from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Museum to the hotel, I and a couple of my tour sisters found some interesting historical markers. It was a long day on my feet, but it was well worth the effort.

Enjoy the pictures. Lots of interesting things to learn if you zoom in on the ones with text.