David Kimura shot this great picture of the old Post Office we all huddled in during the big storm. This is right before the team arrived and the skies opened.
Fourmile Road is legendary on the the TdK for having the toughest hill on the ride. Knowing this, we were able to get into position to shoot some video of Todd Malone climbing Fourmile Hill. Even better, due to the talents of Dave Kimura, we now present this in a better format for viewing. He will also be reencoding the older videos into an easier format.
It's nice to see that people in Eastern Kentucky look out for those on two wheels- even those without engines.
Here is a picture of Dewey Lake- the first 8 miles of today's ride followed the lake before crossing Dewey Dam and moving on to hills, hills, and more hills.
Todd Malone and David Graeser rolling into a turn.
Here's one of Bill Turner battling up one of the tougher climbs of the day.
The last of the team has arrived at Carter Caves State Park after a long, tough, WET day.
I guess the weathermen got it right: it has rained steadily since the 4th SAG stop. The team pushed through everything Mother Nature (and the terrain) had to offer- including the famous brutal climbs on Fourmile Road and into Carter Caves State Park.
We were greeted as we arrived by Rick Whelan and his family- our MS Champion for tonight. We met Rick last year, and the team is looking forward to hearing how he is doing.
Next update will include today’s pictures. I had hoped to something up sooner, but internet access has been practically impossible to obtain for any length of time.
We have arrived at lunch in Louisa after a brief stint in West Virginia. I was a little disappointed to see that the infamous Citgo “Beer” Store was not yet open for the day, as I wanted to get a video tour for everyone to see how crazy the concept is.
The weather continues to hold off. Roads are wet, and the humidity is a little high, but all in all, not such a bad day since the storm.
Right as the last group of riders arrived at the second SAG stop, the skies opened and we were on the receiving end of quite a storm. A downpour with big gusts of wind drove us into the back of the big truck, or inside the old General Store that acted as our SAG stop.
The old General Store (which was also the Post Office for the town of Richardson) was apparently abandoned some time ago. The door was left unlocked, so some of the team took refuge there.
Once the weather passed (about 15 min), the skies lightened up and the sun started poking through.
At the second SAG stop we were joined by the TdK’s official photographer, Dave Kimura. Dave had to attend his brother’s wedding yesterday, but left at 6AM this morning to join the team. His talents behind a camera are nothing less than amazing, and he will add some great photos to the website and to all the rider’s daily emails.
One thing I have learned about this part of Ken
We are sitting about 5 miles from crossing into the third state of the TdK- West Virginia. After a brief visit there, we make our way back across to Kentucky and lunch. More to come then.
Well, Mother Nature changed her mind, as we are now in a light rain. The bulk of the team was right by the SAG vehicle with their rain gear, so they were able to get into something more appropriate for rain riding before the drizzle changed to full rain.
The old saying is that the early bird catches the worm. Not so much today on the TdK. A group of three riders has pulled away from the main group by about 2 miles. They had to deal with the last 6 or so miles to the second support stop without their rain gear. There was a benefit today to being a little slower.
The team is approaching the second SAG stop of the day, We are going to have to assess the weather to see if we should ride on, or wait for this line of weather to pass.
Day 2 of the 2008 Tour de Kentucky got underway around 08:15 this morning under overcast skies and cool morning temperatures.
After a scenic ride alongside Dewey Lake, the team crossed over Dewey Dam and the hills started. Soon after, the clouds parted and we have been blessed with sunlight. The roads are still damp from this morning’s rain, but thus far, Mother Nature is shining on the Tour de Kentucky.
We are pulling into SAG Stop #1 as we speak. More to come later.
Here is a quick Mother's Day greeting from a few on the team to those at home.
If you have issues with this video, a direct link is right below the video window. Right click on the link, and choose "Save As" to save it to your computer for viewing.
This legendary ride is unchanged from 2007. Several veteran cyclists on the 2007 TdK agreed that this was the most challenging ride in their entire life, with 13,300+ feet of climbing over 99+ miles. Last year, many of us using GPS or bicycle computers measured this day at over 100 miles. We decided the discrepancy was caused by all the weaving and winding we had to do to climb some of the steeper hills of Eastern Kentucky.
Today we ride into West Virginia, the 3rd of 8 states included on the Tour de Kentucky. While planning the ride, we were disappointed to find that the roads along this border of West Virginia are in such disrepair, they would not be safe or pleasant to negotiate on a bicycle. So we cross the Tug Fork River into the small town of Fort Gay, West Virginia, turn around and cross the same bridge back into Kentucky.
To make matters worse today, Mother Nature looks to be less than cooperative. Forecast calls for showers and thunderstorms, with a slight risk of severe weather. Temperatures start in the low to mid 50s climbing into the low 60s. Only good news is the winds are looking to be out of the southeast at 5-15, which ought to make for a decent tailwind.
The Support Team will be keeping a close eye on the weather and will be in position to sweep the route if the need arises. As much as we want to ride, safety comes first!
