Tour de Kentucky 2009 - Final Blog

Thanks to everyone who followed our 2009 ride. I realize it was not the major production that past rides have been, with many more riders and support staffing, but we do hope you have enjoyed riding with us in spirit as we have sought once again this year to make a difference in the lives of those who must live with MS. A special word of thanks to those of you who have donated to the National MS Society. Your dollars will be well invested in the care of those with MS and in the medical research that will one day lead to a cure for MS once and for all.

Tour de Kentucky 2009 Epilogue - Photo #3

Here is a closer view of the windshield damage. Before the event, we did not know that a "Clinton, Kentucky" even existed! Now it is a town we will never forget.

Tour de Kentucky 2009 Epilogue - Photo #2

Thank God for Safety Glass! This photo clearly shows where the brick or rock thrown down at the van broke the first layer of glass, yet the second layer was not penetrated. Amazing and wonderful technology!

Tour de Kentucky 2009 Epilogue - Photo #1

This past Saturday night, at the conclusion of the final ride of the 2009 Tour de Kentucky, we celebrated with dinner at a small local Mexican Restaurant in Union City, Tennessee. Following dinner, as we drove North back to our hotel, we happened to drive through the small town of Clinton, Kentucky. It was very dark and we were driving at about 30 mph when we drove under a railroad bridge. Upon driving out from under the bridge, someone above us on the bridge dropped either a brick or large rock on our van, shattering the windshield. We felt fortunate that no one was harmed by this senseless act.

Ride Day 8 - Photo #7 - "Tennessee!"

Here John and I celebrate at the final state line of the 2009 Tour de Kentucky.

Ride Day 8 - Photo #6 - "A pack of really bad dogs"

The final hills of the ride involve climbing up from the Mississippi River in Hickman. With only a few miles remaining on the ride, this attack of four really nasty dogs took me by surprise. I cannot recall ever having come closer to being bitten by a dog while bicycling than here. Notice that my left foot is unclipped from my pedal in this photo, allowing me to kick at the dog to my left in this photo. Of the four, this dog seemed most intent upon sinking his teeth into my leg! Note that this photo catches this dog in mid-air, jumping at my leg! To make matters worse, this attack occurred as I was pedaling up a hill, and so, as I kicked at the dog with my left foot, I pedaled up the hill with only my right foot/leg. Pedaling a bicycle with only one foot is possible only when the bicycle is equipped with pedals designed to lock into the cleats of bicycling shoes, allowing the one leg to both pull the pedal up as well as push the pedal down. This is not easy to do even on a flat road, and was almost impossible while going uphill and defending myself from four really nasty dogs. Even now, I am not sure how I managed to escape.

Ride Day 8 - Photo #5 "On the Ferry with Lee Anne"

Here I am with Lee Anne, who is smiling in anticipation of the soon-to-come end of TdK 2009. Since moving to our new house, Lee Anne has become quite a homebody, and is missing her cat, Zuzu! She has been a real trooper once again this year, but will be glad to get back to Louisville!

Ride Day 8 - Photo #4 - "Dorena-Hickman Ferry"

Most of the day's ride is due South in Missouri on the flattest roads of the entire ride, close to the Western bank of the Mississippi River. This year, a strong wind out of the North was at our backs for this portion of the ride, and we were able to sustain speeds in excess of 20 mph for many miles. The Missouri portion of the ride concludes at a small ferry across the Mississippi River, from Dorena, Missouri to Hickman, Kentucky.

Ride Day 8 - Photo #3 - "Crossing the Mississippi"

At these crossings, the bridges crossing both rivers are more than a mile long. Both bridges are only two lanes, and are probably the two most dangerous bridges we encounter on the entire ride.

Ride Day 8 - Photo #2 - "Entering Missouri"

This crossing of the Ohio took us into the Southernmost tip of Illinois. The ride is less than one mile in Illinois to a second bridge, this one over the Mississippi, taking us from Illinois into Missouri.

Ride Day 8 - Photo #1 - "Ugly Clouds!"

Ride Day 8 begins in Wickliffe, Kentucky, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. 5 miles into the days ride brings us to our 5th and final crossing of the Ohio River. The temperature was 48 degrees, and these clouds looked ominous for the entire ride, but luckily the entire ride was dry.

Ride Day 8 - "Route Preview"

Although the final ride day of the Tour de Kentucky is the shortest of all ride days at 55.2 miles, this ride adds the final 3 states of the 8 states that comprise the Tour de Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee.
Originally, Ride Day 8 was to have been the morning of Saturday, October 17, but due to a weather forecast of rain for Saturday, we decided to move the ride up to Friday afternoon. The temperature was 48 degrees, but at least it was dry!

Ride Day 7 - Photo #4 - "Lee Anne's Legs"

Don't get the wrong idea about MS patients. Because of my involvement with the National MS Society in the last few years, I have had the pleasure of meeting many who struggle with MS. They are bankers, lawyers, nurses, businessmen, artists, musicians, as well as many other professions. But they are all fighters. They do everything in their power to have a full life in spite of the constant threat of MS. Lee Anne is no exception. At Lamberts, here entree selection was frog legs! I know a lot of perfectly healthy people who aren't nearly this daring in their menu selections!

Ride Day 7 - Photo #3 - "Lamberts"

The pride of Sikeston Missouri is Lambert's Restaurant, home of "Throwed Rolls". Lamberts is a Tour de Kentucky tradition. The food channel once did a show on the "Top 10 Places to Pig Out in America", and Lamberts was #1 on the list! Beverages are served in huge quart mugs. In addition to selected side dishes, there are several Lamberts employees who are constantly walking by every table in the restaurant with a variety of other side items that are offered to everyone dining there. The dinner rolls, each about the size of a softball, seem to have the trajectory of a softball as well. Other Lamberts employees, whom we suspect may also be members of local high school baseball teams, are tasked with the job of throwing these rolls to any patron who motions for one. Even small children are included in this roll catching, although in the case of small children, it is generally a short, gentle toss. With adults, rolls may fly in from across the restaurant, passing over the heads of other unsuspecting patrons. Surprisingly, only a small number of these "throwed rolls" seem to be casualties in this process. The rolls are generally so fresh that they are too hot to hold at first. Lamberts is certainly deserving of its excellent Reputation!

Ride Day 7 - Photo #2 - "Day 7 Route"

Ride Day 7 is a trek due West to the Westernmost end of Kentucky, Marked on the map below with the purple line. This map is a screen capture of one of the many Garmin GPS route maps used on the Tour de Kentucky. The entire 726 mile trek includes 1045 "waypoints". These waypoints, labeled with directions when required, direct cyclists along the entire ride across Kentucky, including every state touching Kentucky as well. Generally, more than half of the riders of any Tour de Kentucky carry handlebar-mounted GPS units. The Tour de Kentucky route is preloaded on these GPS units before the ride begins. Before each day's ride, cyclists activate the appropriate daily route. They are then able to "follow" the route perfectly. No paper maps, and never any need to stop and ask directions. GPS technology is wonderful! While GPS makes bicycling the route easy, the building of the Tour de Kentucky route involved driving thousands of miles and working hundreds of hours on developing the perfect bicycling route across Kentucky. A costly undertaking in many ways, but worth it!

Rade Day 7 - Photo #1 - "Kentucky Lake Heron"

The starting point of the day's ride, Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park, was beautiful in spite of the rain and overcast conditions. There are an abundance of birds at this particular park. Here is a nice shot of a great blue heron flying over Kentucky Lake.

Ride Day 6 - Photo #4 - "A crop in decline?"

Here is a sight all too familiar along Kentucky country roads: A tobacco barn with harvested tobacco leaves hanging to dry. I have read that Kentucky does not produce as much tobacco as it once did, but must say that there is no evidence of this reduction where we ride. And with cigarettes now fetching more than $40 per carton, it appears to me that tobacco farming is still very much alive and well here in Kentucky. Tobacco barns are common all along many of the country roads on which we love to ride. Tobacco crops also line many miles of the country roads on which we bicycle as well.

Ride Day 6 - Photo $3 - "Big Horsey Legs"

Unlike John, I am genetically predisposed to have legs more like a turkey than a giraffe. One friend calls them "Big Horsey Legs".
My sister Beth hates them, but they do come in handy for bicycling!
I am also glad to report that the ride is burning away the spare tire.
Bicycling is SO much nicer without it!

Ride Day 6 - "Thank you, Hammer Nutrition!"

Although the Tour de Kentucky ride is not really sponsored by this company, I still just have to say a few words about the great products that we use religiously on the Tour de Kentucky, made by Hammer Nutrition (http://www.hammernutrition.com/), based in Whitefish, Montana of all places! The Tour de Kentucky, 726 miles in 8 ride days through some very challenging terrain, places demands on the human body not encountered in typical daily exercise scenarios. Normally, daily exercise for most of us is one to two hours. But on rides like the Tour de Kentucky, the total hours on the bike can be as many as 8 or 9 hours of very strenuous exercise in one day. On a one or two hour ride, cyclists might get away with eating simple sugars and experiencing the resulting spikes and crashes in blood sugar, but on distance rides like the Tour de Kentucky, the shortest ride day is about 4 hours, and simple sugars are a BIG mistake. Rather than consuming the simple sugars found in gatorade, candy bars, cookies, etc., we use products specifically made by Hammer Nutrition for endurance athletes . This company makes several products that we use every ride day, including an electrolyte supplement, a fuel specifically formulated for excercise lasting more than two hours, and a post-ride recovery drink that works miracles!

Speaking in broad general terms, as I understand them, first hour of exercise, the body burns mostly carbohydrates. After the first hour of exercise, the body begins to burn some fat as well as carbs. After two hours of excercise, in addition to burning carbs and some fat, the body also begins burning some protien as fuel. Normally, the body finds this protein by "caniballizing" muscle. The Hammer Nutrition endurance fuel Perpetuem contains the perfect mix of carbs, fat, and protein to fuel the body during extended exercise. The body assimilates this Perpetuem protein instead of burning muscle.

In the past two years, I have led a total of 30 cyclists on the 726 mile Tour de Kentucky, and have insisted upon the regular use of "Endurolytes", the Hammer Nutrition electrolyte supplement. In all of those miles cycled, which include MANY challenging mountains and hills, these riders have not had even ONE cramp! Fellow cyclists, I know how unbelievable this sounds, but it is the truth! I can remember on many occasions, prior to discovering Hammer Nutrition products, experiencing cramps in my calves 50 or 60 miles into a long ride. Sometimes these cramps were so painful and severe I had to get of my bike and deal with the cramp before continuing the ride. Since beginning use of Endurolytes about five years ago, I have NEVER experienced a muscle cramp while cycling. Amazing!

The Hammer Nutrition product I must mention is Recoverite. At the end of each ride day, each cyclist on the Tour de Kentucky drinks a "post-ride" bottle of Recoverite.
This product contains a perfect blend of protein and supplements essential to the repair and refreshment of fatigued muscles, and believe me, after the 6 to 9 hours of tough cycling on a typical Tour de Kentucky ride day, there is a LOT of muscle fatigue! Recoverite helps Tour de Kentucky cyclists to face day after day of long demanding rides. Several of our riders are over 50, and a couple are over 60, yet they are able to ride day after day, thanks to Recoverite!

Hammer also makes several other great products. I consider Hammer Bars, to be the healthiest ride snack available today. Heed, Hammer Nutrition's energy drink, is far more healthy than conventional simple sugar drinks, and does not promote the spikes and crashes in blood sugar that are commonly associated with the terms "bonking", "crashing", and "walls" that cyclists often use to describe fluctuations in blood sugar which are so detrimental to ride performance.

When distance cyclists use Hammer products as directed, at the conclusion of a challenging ride like the Tour de Kentucky, they will be in better condition and have more muscle than when they began! The only word that fairly describes the efficacy of Hammer Nutrition products is Amazing!

Ride Day 6 - Photo #2 - "John graduates from Giraffe Legs"

My riding companion for the Tour de Kentucky in 2009 is Univerisity of Louisville adjunct music professor John Ritz. When we began the Tour de Kentucky a few days ago, John was still very new to distance cycling. John has always been a "lean machine"; so lean in fact that two weeks ago, I teased that he had "giraffe legs"! But as this photo now shows, John is definitely now showing some muscle definition in calves where ten days ago there was little or none! So John has no graduated from "giraffe legs" to some other descriptive animal having slightly more muscular legs. Any suggestions? After a slight bout with a blister early on in the ride, John is doing great, with only the normal fatigue at the end of each ride day.

Ride Day 6 - Photo #1 - "Brilliant Fall Colors!"

Before beginning the day's ride from Rough River to Kentucky Dam Village, friend and photographer Sarah pulled us together for a photo with just one of many beautiful examples of the brilliant Fall foliage we are now experiencing. Back on October 3, almost all of the trees in Eastern Kentucky were green on Day 1 of the ride, but now, just a little more than a week later, the trees could not be more colorful!

Ride Day 5 - Photo #4 - "Riding together"

With the subsidence of the mountains and major hills, John and I are riding together more in the more gentle terrain. We rode past a lot of corn and Soybeans (on our right) in Southern Indiana and North central Kentucky.

Ride Day 5 - Photo #3 - "4th Crossing of the Ohio River"

Here is a conundrum for those of you who like logic puzzles:
On the Tour de Kentucky:
* Before our first crossing of the Ohio River, we are on the Kentucky side of the river.
* We peddle cross the Ohio River 5 times.
* We end up in Kentucky without having to peddle across the Ohio River a sixth time.
*How is this possible?!?
This photo shows us crossing the Ohio River for the 4th time on our journey, re-entering Kentucky at Brandenburg, West of Louisville.

Ride Day 5 - Photo #2 - "Man's best friend?!?"

Dogs are always a memorable part of the Tour de Kentucky tradition. Thus far, no bites to report in the 3 years we have been doing these rides, but a few of these dogs would definitely like to ruin that record! Occasionally, though, we encounter special dogs that have no intention of biting anyone; dogs that just love to run! On one occasion, I had a dog run with me as I rode at about 16 mph for 5 miles! Out in the country, these dogs apparently at some point learn the concept of following a road. So, when these dogs finally tire of running along with us, they turn around and walk back home. Amazing! I don't think I give dogs enough credit! The dog in this picture, however, was not one of those cool "running" dogs, This dog definitely had less honorable intentions! This dog was out for blood! But sometimes I put myself in these dog's shoes (being out there on a bicycle for many hours each day, I have time to ponder a LOT of things!) I am convinced that when we happen to be peddling by, many of these "super-rural"dogs are on the verge of death by boredom! And so these poor bored dogs can't believe their eyes when they see us peddling towards them. John and I discussed this briefly, and are pretty confident that we are probably not only the highlight of their day, but may well be he highlight of their month or even year as well! One thing I should explain here is this. Even though the scenery and road quality of the Tour de Kentucky route is fantastic for bicycling, many miles of the roads comprising this ride are rarely used by cyclists, because unless cyclists are on a long distance trek across the state as we are, the roads we are traveling are not convenient for cyclists or anyone else for that matter. The only people who normally travel most of these roads are the people who live in these areas, usually many miles from the nearest city. And so, passing cyclists are a rare treat for these country dogs. There is one more interesting aspect of distance cyclists and these close-canine encounters: when it feels like your legs are just about out of gas, really feeling the fatigue of the miles, no matter how far you have gone, when a big nasty loose dog shows up to give chase, suddenly the legs find renewed strength and are instantly ready to peddle like crazy! Apparently, fear and adrenaline are powerful things!

Day 5 Photo #1 - Rollers!

Here is a great shot of the kind of hills cyclists actually don't mind. We call these "rollers". This amazing photo captures the crests of 5 hills on the same road! With proper technique on hills like this, cyclists can use the momentum from each downhill to help propel them over each successive uphill with no real since of having to "climb" these hills at all. The physics of this are a beautiful thing! And the Southern Indiana scenery here is beautiful as well. Note the corn field on the right.

Ride Day 5 - Sunday, October 11

Ride day 5 took us from Louisville to Rough River, Ky., by way of Southern Indiana, the 5th state to be visited on the Tour de Kentucky. 3 states remaining! (Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee.) Before departing Louisville to resume our long ride West, we had a very special time at the church all four of us attend in Louisville, the Highland Vineyard. We actually brought our bicycles into the church during the service, and the entire congregation prayed for our safety as we continue our travels with our dream of a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

We crossed the Ohio River into Indiana via the 2nd Street bridge in downtown Louisville. After stopping for an early light lunch at Buckhead's Bar and Grill in Jeffersonville, Today's ride included the last of our really challenging climbs, through the "knobs" of Southern Indiana. These climbs are not nearly as steep as those we encounter in Eastern Kentucky, but are still challenging. "Blunk Knob", the toughest climb of the day, is 9.5% in average gradient, but the real challenge is the length of this climb:1.01 miles! At that percent gradient, a mile is a long way! Total ascent for this one climb is 503 feet. On a hill that long, my only choice at my current fitness level is to gear down, go slow, and hope and pray my lungs and legs will outlast the hill! I am pleased to report there was no "Walk of Shame" to confess! When I finally got to the top of this long hill, I felt both literally and figuratively "on top of the world"!

After the knobs subsided into more gentle rolling hills, we crossed back over the Ohio River into Kentucky at Brandenburg. Normally, bridges over rivers as large as Ohio involve an ascent and decent, but this bridge is uphill all the way! Apparently, Indiana is lower in elevation than is Kentucky at this point on the Ohio River. Watch for the pictures from yesterday's ride coming soon! Sarah, our amazing photographer, is a true pro. She requires a little time to process the digital photos she takes daily, but the wait is well worth it!