Butting Heads in Kentucky (34)

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 were nearly out of water at this point in the day, so we knocked on the door of the yellow house. A skeptical looking older lady came to the door and cracked it slightly ajar after hesitating for a few moments. She immediately apologized, saying her son had instructed her not to answer the door for strangers, but she thought we looked nice. We’re glad she did, because she gave us permission to fill our bottles with her hose 🙂

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

We stopped to watch some goats butting heads.

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

2 thoughts on “Butting Heads in Kentucky (34)”

  1. Today we found a wonderful gift on our front doorstep! Thank you so much for our coffee it was so thoughtful of you both to send it. We have been following your blog and living vicariously thru you. It sounds like you are having such a fun adventure. Stay safe and enjoy!

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