And I was glad to have them.
Went across this neat bridge. Google maps let me down. About when I was in the middle of the bridge, I saw a nice pedestrian/bike path going across. It is usually good at directing me to such paths.
View of the lake from the bridge.
Below is an interesting sight I passed. I would think it would only be popular at Halloween, but maybe not. Dr. Morg's Haunted House
I'll bet this road is prone to flooding. It runs through a National Wildlife Refuge. The green on the left side is water and the dark on the right side is also water. The water on both sides was right up to the road.
One bridge I have been uncertain of on this trip was the Highway 45 bridge that connects Kentucky to Illinois across the Ohio River. When I made it to the bridge, the road was closed and blocked off. My first thought was how much distance and time will this add to my trip. Then I thought, "I'm on a bike and it's Memorial Day. Bike bridge!!!!". So I push my bike around the gravel blocking the road and head over the bridge not knowing if part of the bridge was missing or why it was closed.
(The above road closed pic was taken from the Illinois side. The Kentucky side looked the same.)
Below is a pic of the Ohio River from the bridge.
The bridge has a metal surface, and the pic below shows how one can see through the road to the river. It was kind of eerie having the bridge to myself, but was also quite enjoyable.
I made it to Illinois.
(Above pic would not have been possible if the road was open.)
I took a bike trail that connected to a road in the Fort Massac State Park in Metropolis. It was quite an enjoyable ride (pic below)...
Then I got to another road closed sign that said bridge out, and this time it really was under water. I had to backtrack about 3 miles. Pic below shows where the road should cross the water.
I'm camping tonight at the Fort Massac State Park. Tent sites are $10, and it was worth that to get a shower.
Although Lisa is not physically here with me, it is almost like she is taking the trip with me. I have a tracker that allows her to follow me. As I was riding in the boondocks of Kentucky this morning, I get a call from her telling me that the restaurant I just passed looks like a good one. I was looking at the restaurant while we were talking. It was still breakfast time and since I had already eaten my biscuit and ice cream, I did not go to the restaurant. She was just trying to take care of me and make sure I don't go hungry.
On another occasion, I was in Paducah KY and she called to let me know that John Scopes of the Monkey trial was buried in a cemetery about a block from me. Well, figuring it would be like Billy The Kid's grave in Ft. Sumner NM (previous bike trip) with a well marked grave in a small cemetery, I went to the cemetery. The cemetery was several blocks long, and had hundreds of graves in it. I could not even figure out how to enter the cemetery, so I passed on locating his grave. After all, it's not like he was Billy the Kid. :)
Total miles today: 70.1
This is a test comment. I have been posting and it won't show up.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like I have to use Google Chrome and log in to be able to post on this blog. Anthony, I am really enjoying your pictures and stories, and how you are meeting all these interesting people! I'll bet you felt like a real outlaw trespassing across that big bridge between KY and IL! I hope it cools off for you soon! I look forward to reading your posts every day!
ReplyDeleteIron trestle bridges are my favorite. Especially if you can see the water below. I was sad when they tore down our local bridge on Highway 41 over the Tennessee River.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting, Anthony, how you mathematically calculate the distance-arrest possibility ratio when you come to a bridge closed sign !
The Anthony coefficient. P=x•a
Where P is peace of mind
X is an unlawful act of camping or bridge trespassing.
and a is the %possibility of the local constable talking to Anthony.
Hannah may have to revise the Anthony Coefficient. It's a real thing but may need tweaking.
Your ice cream breakfast is not exactly the breakfast of champions. But a bike trip ramps up the metabolism. I remember on a ride to Asheville, I was 85 mi into the day's ride and still had 30 more to go (up a steep twenty mile climb to 5400 ft elevation)! I bought a banana cream frozen pie at the grocery and sat on the sidewalk and ate the whole pie. Best pie ever.
I'll send you some pie money so you can treat yourself. Ron
You've got to throw Memorial Day Holiday in your equation. I felt pretty sure local constable would not be patrolling the bridge. :)
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