Yesterday was to be an off day. And it was. Just not as we intended. Our plan to sleep in came up short as thunder in Cape Girardeau brought with it not so much of a rainstorm but a deluge. One look out the window at the water rushing by and one had to consider that maybe it was time to start building an ark measured in cubits. Checking the ‘puter an e-mail informed us the golf outing we’d planned wasn’t going to happen, the course had been closed due to the downpour.
So Jannie Lou and I examined options. Scoping out the map, Jan noted our proposed Adventure Cycling route was going to take us almost 125 miles into Illinois, up to Cave In The Rock, across the Ohio on a ferry followed by a hilly pedal back to Kentucky’s Land Between The Lakes. This is two days of biking, over 140 miles, and we would wind up approximately 45 miles from where we were having breakfast. It made no sense. To us.
Plus it was raining meaning another soaked to the skin trip through Lincoln’s Land. I grew up in Illinois, have seen everything it has to offer, that’s what prompted the move west over 40 years ago, why would I want to ride it again and in the rain?
It was a unanimous vote to split for Kentucky. But first we spent a few hours wandering Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I’m not big on river towns. Usually they’re dumps. Missouri’s seem to be an exception. Hannibal was impressive and Cape Girardeau outstanding.
Downtown, along the river, is a sea wall, maybe it should be called a river wall since the sea is about 600 miles away, built in the nineteen sixties. Evidentially the flood of ’65 was the last straw and a wall over two miles in length was constructed.
Rather than just have a long, grey wall in their downtown an artist was commissioned to do murals depicting the history of Cape Girardeau back to when it was located in French territory. This, to understate the case, is one amazing wall.
We had lunch at Café Port Girardeau in a building that reportedly served as Gen. U.S. Grant’s headquarters for over three months during the Civil War. I especially loved the Coca-Cola ad on the side of the building. “3 cents and it relieves fatigue.” Ah the wonders of caffeine.
After lunch we bailed on Missouri, the land of cheap gas ($2.15 a gallon) and bad roads, (think there’s a connection?) and wandered our way to Kentucky.
This morning, under conditions so perfect they had to be experienced to be believed, we pedaled the Land Between The Lakes. Two of the TVA’s larger projects, Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake, have a 55-mile long strip of land between them. This recreational area, governed by the US Forest Service, is the Land Between the Lakes or “LBL” as the locals call it.
What a glorious day for a ride. 68 and sunny, a slight wind out of the north (we were heading south) and an unending series of rolling hills. I asked the lady at the Welcome Center if I should expect up and down terrain and she replied, “Honey I’ve lived in Kentucky for 76 years and not once have I ever stood on level ground.” Yes it’s hilly.
It was such a perfect day even Jan broke out the bicycle. Remember, she prefers to ski when it’s 60 degrees yet the snow is firm and is just as demanding about perfect cycling conditions.
North to south there’s not a whole lot to the Bluegrass State. So Jannie Lou can tell the world that over a few hours she cycled a couple of states.
Tonight we sleep in Tennessee. Tomorrow it’s the Natchez Trace, a 440-mile road starting outside Nashville and ends, as the name suggests, in Natchez, Mississippi.
But before we move along let us not forget Kentucky. If for no other reason than as an excuse to exhibit the talents of the world’s all-time best, without a doubt, no contest from anyone, chick singer, Emmylou Harris and “Blue Kentucky Girl”.
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