Video from the clouds...or just a rock wall

Here is a cool video clip I shot after climbing along a steep slope to get to top of a 25 ft rock wall. I wanted to get a cool overhead shot of the riders but the trees made it come out better than I hoped.

Crestwood

The team has arrived in Crestwood. After a quick bike load and gear rearranging, we will shuttle to the MS Society office to our vehicles and/ or families for a night at home.

Tomorrow we have a light 23 mile Recovery Ride from Crestwood to Downtown Louisville and then across the river to state #5 and Jeffersonville, IN. We will be making a stop at the UPS Air Group Building for a brief SAG stop and a Faces of MS presentation from one of the UPS employees.

Thursday we start back into Day 5 with a 84 mile ride to Rough River State Park and on to Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee. 363 miles down, 377 to go!

Eminence

The team has arrived in Eminence,  Todd Malone and David Graeser have pushed ahead and are likely about an hour out from Crestwood.  Those two are unbelievably strong after four days of Eastern Kentucky mountains and hills.

Our rest stop is at a Dairy Queen.  It will be interesting to see how many riders decide to refresh with a Blizzard.  The weather has warmed considerably.  All the jackets, arm warmers and rain gear found its way back into the support vehicles.

I think I speak for the whole team when I say that we are ready for our own beds tonight.  Only about 20 miles to go…

Monterrey Lunch Stop

We have reached Monterrey, KY (north of Frankfort on US127) for our lunch stop.

Todd Malone and David Graeser have pulled miles ahead of the rest of the team and are riding like they have dinner dates tonight when they get home.

Here are some pictures from this morning.

First, Maurice John is out having the time of his life.


The team takes a tight climbing hairpin turn.


And this is Pumbaa. Pumbaa is a three legged pot bellied pig that lives at the top of one of the killer climbs today. She lost a leg while young, so hops around on three.

From East to West

We have just crossed I-75, which bisects Kentucky from north to south. On trips like this, interstate crossings are a milestone of sorts.

This last leg was uneventful- the route took us along some narrow back roads with no traffic. Many of the roads were so narrow the support vehicles could not pass the riders safely and had to cruise along at 12-18 mph with them.

This next 24 mile leg crosses the Kentucky River, which is sure to provide a nice downhill followed by a climb out of the river valley to lunch.

Hill Climbing 101

Here is Ed Sitzler this morning showing us how to climb what many are calling the most brutal climb of TdK 2008.

In these hills live a bunch of critters

We have arrived in Cynthiana, KY, site of the day's first rest stop. The team is in good spirits considering all they encountered this morning.
One missed turn added a "bonus" mile to an already long day. Then a hill that rivaled or more likely surpassed the famed Day 2 Fourmile Hill was encountered. To make matters worse, at one point the team was chased by a record number of dogs coming from one residence, The official count is subject to debate but the range was 7-11 dogs at once. Luckily no one was hurt.
We have also seen some things we really didn't believe. One residence was surrounded by caged or chained pit bulls. We are all hoping that wasn't related to anything Michael Vick-ish.
We also came across a lot filled with roosters. As we understand, using those animals for sport is commonplace as well.

Front Page News!

The Tour de Kentucky is front page news in Maysville this morning!  We are in print, right next to Chelsea Clinton coming to town.   We even got an action picture printed, and Todd Malone was not in front!

Read the article online Cyclists Fighting Multiple Sclerosis- Touring Kentucky, seven other states

Day 4 Preview

Tomorrow we turn west and head towards home. After a few nights on the road, I think everyone is looking forward to spending two nights in their own bed.

But first, we have another long day in the saddle ahead. The Day 4 ride is all new for TdK 2008, so none of the riders know exactly what to expect. Last year, we rode day 4 from Maysville, KY aong a more northern route to Madison, IN. This year, we moved the route more south to bring us to Louisville.

The terrain for this 107 mile day is a little gentler than Day 3. The riders will do about as much climbing, but this is spread over 17 additional miles. There are two substantial climbs- one occurring in the first ten miles, and the other around mile 72.

The weather for Day 4 looks awesome! The morning will start out cool again, with a ride start temperature of 49. The forecast is for mostly sunny skies, low humidity, and highs in the low to mid 70s. The rain risk right now is ZERO! We are expecting a light tailwind as well. Looks like a picture perfect day for our trip west towards Louisville. The team looks forward to seeing everyone tomorrow evening!