Day 52 – A Ferry Ride

By Mark Heggestad
Today we traveled the only distance of this entire 4,100-mile trip that will not be done riding a bike.  We crossed the Ohio River from Illinois to Kentucky on a ferryboat.  The ferry ride is an official part of the TransAmerica bike route - has been since its inception 40 years ago.  I did joke that I was going to ride my bike around the ferry while we crossed the river so no one can say I didn’t bike the entire distance.  But the ferry was full of cars and the operator didn’t seem to smile much so I stayed put and watched the passing river as we floated across.

Total distance covered today was 59.2 miles from Tunnel Hill, IL to Marion, KY.  Yes we finished another state.  That makes eight states completed and two to go.

Today was another perfect day.  Perfect weather.  Good roads – most of them with minimal traffic.  We didn’t get lost!  And the ferry ride was a fun way to break up the biking a little.

We continue to have a fair amount of hills.  They are not as steep and not as many as a few days ago.  Most are more like rolling hills than really steep hills, but we did have a couple 14% grades and one 15% grade today.  The hills still present a challenge and they are still a blast to ride.  Back in the Cascades and Rockies when I descended the mountains I was able to occasionally get my speed up over 40 mph.  So much fun!  Such a great adrenaline rush!  The hills we have been riding the last few days usually don’t have enough length to get up past the upper 30’s, but I did hit 41.4 mph once today.  All those great feelings that come with speed are just as intense on a big hill as on a mountain.  They just don’t last as long.

I realized today there is an added benefit to descending the hills versus the mountains.  The added benefit of the hills is I can utilize the momentum I gain descending one hill to partially boost me up the next hill.  So now not only do I get a great rush descending a steep hill, but it is practical as well!  I love when things work out so perfectly!


Typical scenery today

A road we biked today and typical scenery

A good movie

Leaving the ferry that brought us across the Ohio River from Illinois to Kentucky

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 22, 2017 at 7:38 AM

    I'm anxious to see shots of the fancy horse "barns" - though I'm not sure you'll cross that part of the countryside. Congrats on yet another state. What am I going to look forward to each morning when you've completed this journey???

    ReplyDelete

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