The Ohio

Brian dropped me off next to Popeye on a cold, rainy and bleak Sunday morning. I heard him laugh as he smoked his tires up hwy 13. Just kidding Brian. No, we had a very good visit and Brian and Jane went way beyond expected courtesy and made me feel totally at home and welcome. Thank you, Thank you. After Brian dropped me off, I rode next to the Mississippi for a couple of miles. Enough time to see one of those exceptionally long barges that clog the river. It must have been two football fields long and sorry but no photo. I'll try to get one tomorrow when I cross the Ohio. As the road turned away from the Mississippi a light rain began to fall and actually was a little cool. Cool enough for me to put on a light jacket. It was fairly comfortable but the rain continued till I reached Carbondale. I waited around wishing that the rain would stop since I wanted to get in more than 40 miles. The rain did let up but didn't clear and I was afraid rain would come again. So, I found a hotel and stayed there for the night. This morning I rose to fog. It was bad but not bad enough to prevent me from biking. I turned on my lights that Matt outfitted me with and donned my yellow jacket and hit the road. The temperature was perfect all morning and most of the afternoon. I made several water stops, loading up on Gatorade and filling my bottles. My last stop was about 22 miles from Elizabethtown where I sat and talked with three locals, two men and one women, about the economy and local politics. As we were talking we kept hearing a pleating meow from a parked semi. The meow was obviously a small kitten and seemed to come from the wheelwell of the massive truck. The lady when over to investigate but couldn't locate it. So as I was leaving I gave it a try. Luckily I was able to coax the kitten out. Carl, one of the men and animal lover, took the kitten to add with two others he rescued. After doing my good deed for the day I got back on the bike and finished a 75 mile day, making up some of the missed miles. So, now I am 10 miles from Cave-in-Rock. Tomorrow I'll catch the ferry, cross the Ohio River and enter Kentucky. That means two states to go, but who's counting?