After breakfast we said goodbye to Dungey and rolled out.  Today we would detour from the primary TransAm route to start the optional loop down to Mammoth Caves National Park.

The morning provided cloud cover, which we greatly appreciated after the heat of yesterday.  As this is bourbon country, we went by quite a few distilleries. Too bad it was so early in the morning!

We wandered off course to ride through New Haven, so that Rachel could use a computer in the library. In town we stopped for supplies at a convenience store where we ran into Jeff, a school teacher from Richmond, VA. He rode here with a friend, but the friend’s end destination was the Louisville airport, so they had just parted ways, and today was his first day solo. Good luck with the ride, Jeff!

We crossed into central time today, shortly after starting the Mammoth Cave loop. The wind was in our face, and we were skirting some pretty sinister looking thunder clouds.

We’ve encountered plenty of road kill and turkey vultures, and today a turkey vulture dropped its meal a few feet from Rachel. Gross!

After that, we spotted some kangaroos with joeys and emus at Kentucky Down Under, but it was closed so all we got was a peak. Shoutout to my niece, Maddie; this owl almost took me away!

We spent the night at a KOA in Horse Cave, with an idyllic view of the adjacent cow pasture. The view was short lived, though, because thunder, lightening, and rain quickly forced us into the tent. Rachel finished up some work-related tasks with the help of her father, and then we made tuna and peanut butter/apple wraps for dinner.

Trip stats, to date (Day 34)

• Bardstown, KY to Horse Cave, KY
• Daily mileage: 71.3mi;  Trip total to date: 1,991.2mi
• Daily riding time: 6hr 13min;  Trip total time: 177hr 51min
• Daily ascent: 3,186ft;  Trip total ascent: 107,985ft
• Flat tires: Rachel – 1; Chris – 0