Vesuvius

Today was a good day! We rode on mostly country roads all day, and the “long slow climb” up to Vesuvius at the end of the day wasn’t much of anything at all.

We stopped for lunch in Lexington and it was super cute.

We’re spending the night in an old flour mill in Vesuvius. It’s been converted to a restaurant with four rooms above it, but the restaurant is closed, there’s no staff on-site, and we’re the only guests.

Highlights

• we met some really lovely people today. At lunch in Lexington we met a man who biked from Spokane, Washington to Rhode Island back in 1974. We could tell from talking to him that the trip held a very special place in his heart, even nearly 50 years later. He spoke fondly of the people he met and all the unexpected places he slept. At lunch we also chatted with an older man who isn’t a cyclist but is a hiker. He passed along some tips he’s learned over the years from other TransAm cyclists he’s met (namely, camping at churches). Once we got to Vesuvius, I was standing with our bikes while Mike went to check in and a man drove up and asked if we needed anything. He lives locally and described himself and his wife as “trail angels.” He offered to drive us to town if we needed something from Walmart, and I think if we didn’t have anywhere to spend the night, he would have invited us to stay with him. He told us that cyclists have told him that the climb we’re doing tomorrow morning is the hardest climb of the whole trip. Cool cool cool.
• I raced another train today, and this time, I was victorious.
• found some water cows today. Cows in the water. Water cows. It was brilliant.
• I’ve been carrying some emergency meals since Nevada. Just in case. Three pouches of curry and a pouch of rice. We finally ate three of the four pouches.
• I thought ahead yesterday at Krogers and bought cans of “rosé bubbles” for tonight. Well done, past Julie.

Lowlights

• it’s a petty lowlight, but my avocado toast at lunch was so pathetic. It was literally one slice of bread, cut in half, with the essence of avocado in it. That’s not enough food for biking all day! So after I ate it I ordered a side of hash browns and a side of sweet potato fries.

Julie’s food

• Breakfast: oatmeal, pistachios, coffee
• First Snack: Clif bar, sour patch kids
• Second Snack: Clif bar, sour patch kids
• Lunch: avocado toast, hash browns, sweet potato fries
• Third Snack: chips and spicy cauliflower queso, crackers and guac
• Dinner: potato and chickpea curry, rice

Stats

• Total distance: 64.88 miles
• Elevation gain: 3,594 feet
• Weather: hot and dry, high of 81 degrees Fahrenheit