"Kentucky River Run" - 2012 Tour de Kentucky - June 2012

June 6th we arrived in Lexington, Kentucky for our 3rd edition of the Tour de Kentucky Bicycle Ride. Our hosts for this years tour were Jack and Pat Deacon. We met at their house Wednesday night for a “meet & greet” affair with all the riders present. This meeting gave us an opportunity to prepare all the paperwork necessary as well as enjoy a glass of wine and a delicious meal. Thursday morning we had a short 35 mile warm-up ride touring some of the Horse Country around Lexington. We met at Berries on Bryan Station Road, an organic farm owned by two of our fellow riders. The route had beautiful countrysides, lots of horse farms & mares with foals born earlier in the spring. We had lunch at a local cafe, Windy Corner after the ride.

The Tour began on Friday. Our route took us to Georgetown with one group leaving from Lexington and another group leaving from Versailles. This route provided us with more horse farms, lots of mares & their foals, hayfields being cut and baled, and just more beautiful country. Lunch was in Georgetown. After lunch we rode on to the Country Inn & Suites, our home for the night. Each night before dinner we had a group meeting to discuss times to load luggage in the 3 sag wagons that support us and start time for the next day’s ride.

Day 2 we travelled from Georgetown to Carrollton and the General Butler State Park Lodge where we spent the night. This day gave us our first look at the Kentucky River. We had lunch at a very interesting cafe in Gratz, Kentucky. While there we met the local State Representative who was telling the locals about improvements to be made there to attract tourism. After entering the State Park we met one very tough steep hill (about 15-18% grade) to get up to the Lodge. Some of our riders had to walk this hill. Dinner and breakfast were at the restaurant in in the Lodge, a pretty good buffet with a large variety of food.

Day 3, from Carrollton to Shelbyville, started with a ride across the bridge of the Kentucky River. This was a very scenic route along the river and then out in the country. After riding through the country on relatively flat to rolling roads we saw in front of us a wall. The route went up this hill, roughly 600 yards, with grades from 5-10% then near the top it went to 22%. Only two of our group made it to the top. The rest of US walked it.

We were concerned about lunch since it was Sunday but a Marathon Station/Deli was open and saved the day. After lunch we rode into Shelbyville to the Holiday Inn Express. Dinner that night was at Claudia Sanders Restaurant, an icon in this town. Claudia is Colonel Sanders’ ex-wife. On day 4 the rain came. After a council meeting at breakfast we decided to take several people into Lexington to pick up vans capable of hauling all the people back to there cars or homes. Only two people chose to ride in the rain back to Lexington. That night, many of us met for dinner at Fazoli’s and reminisced the 2012 edition of the Tour.

For more photos of our trip, just click on the link "2012 Tour de Kentucky" on the right side of the page under Links to Cycling Pics.

Cycling Colorado and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge - August 2011

We arrived to much cooler temperatures in the Colorado mountains than we were experiencing back in Texas....what a relief! We awakened everyday to low-40‘s and the afternoons reached low to mid-70‘s. We cycled many of our usual routes this year including riding from Frisco to Keystone and up Montezuma Rd, Frisco to Vail Pass Summit passing through Copper Mountain Resort, around Lake Dillon on the Swan Mountain Rec Path, Frisco to Breckenridge, and out the Blue River Trail through Silverthorne. In addition to cycling, we did some of our favorite hikes including St. Mary’s Glacier, Mayflower Gulch, Shrine Ridge Pass, North Ten Mile Trail, and a few others. (Photo to the right is the new Swan Mountain Rec Path)

Jarrett & Crystal and the kids were able to come up for a few days this summer. We took them cycling up to Copper Mountain and back which is 18 miles round-trip. It’s a little tough getting to Copper Mountain but you can come back flying down the trail. The next day, we took them to hike St. Mary’s Glacier which has a lake in the valley and a snow glacier up further. There were even snow boaders coming down the glacier. Christian and Lynne hiked up the mountain a little further than the rest of the gang for some glorious views of the glacier, lake, and surrounding mountains. (Photo to the left is all of us at the start of the St Mary's Glacier Hike and photo to the right is near the top where Lynne and Christian hiked) We also rode the gondola up Keystone Resort, roamed around and ate at the BBQ at the Summit, attended the Concert in the Park in Frisco (the girls won the dance contest), and the kids went to the Peak 8 Fun Park in Breckenridge one evening. There is always something going on in one of the small towns in Summit County that you can always find new things to do.

Something new this year was the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. We were able to make two of the days. The first day for us was Stage 3, the Vail Time Trial. We parked at Vail Pass Summit and rode our bikes down the rec path to the finish line. Reaching the finish line area about 10:30am, we staked our spot out 50 meters from the finish line. The time trial started at 1:00pm and the first rider came through at 1:28pm, then a rider approximately every minute thereafter. The race finished about 3:45pm and we, along with the other 10,000 spectators, proceeded back up the very steep rec path to Vail Pass Summit. This took us about 45 minutes to climb the 5 mile trail back to the car. (Photo to the right is near the finish line at the Vail Time Trial, Stage 3)

Stage 5 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge finished in Breckenridge. Our good friends, Bill and Bobbie, joined us for this one. We rode from Frisco to Breckenridge, parked our bikes, walked through the market/vendor areas, stopped for lunch, and then staked our spot directly on the finish line. While we waited for the cyclist to come through, we were able to watch the race on the big screen TV set up nearby. And what a rush when the lead cyclists crossed the finish line. It was so fast and so powerful....WOW! The crowds were magnificent....over 50,000 in Breckenridge to watch the finish. The announcers kept saying the crowds were reminiscent of the Tour de France. (These last 2 photos are Lynne and Bobbie at the finish line in Breckenridge and one of the racers coming across the finish line) Click the link to the right USA Pro Cycling Challenge 2011 under Links to Cycling Pics for more pics of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado.

We never get tired of the Colorado mountains and we plan to go back again and again. Summit County is such a great place to visit. We highly recommend it.

For more on cycling in Colorado, check out the Blog Archive for 2010 and 2006.

Cycling SW Kentucky and the Horsey Hundred - May 2011

We rejoined some of the friends we made last year at the Ohio River Rendevouz ride hosted by Pat and Jack Deacon for the Tour de Southwest Kentucky. This year the tour was hosted by Gary and Cathy Hamby. About a week before the ride start, we received an email saying to change our reservations. Due to the flooding in the surrounding areas, Gary and Cathy were forced to change our routes. We thought this worked out great because we now had a homebase in Madisonville, KY, and only changed hotels one night.

Our first day was a 45 mile loop around Madisonville. The early morning was misting rain and the temperature cool but the sun came out just before we started riding and the day was beautiful. The ride took us down to Nortonville where we stopped at the Dixie Pan Café for lunch before returning to Madisonville. We passed a lot of Kentucky farm land and the route was moderately hilly.

We started cycling day 2 with leg and arm warmers and vests again. The route today was a very hilly 45 miles and took us from Mortons Gap to Hopkinsville, where we stayed at the Best Western. We passed more farmlands and beautiful scenery. We were told there was 2700 ft of climbing in that 45 miles. However, Kentucky hills are not like they are in Texas. They are long descents and long climbs; you can not roll these hills. In fact, at one point on the ride, Paul stated that he was starting to dread the long downhills. Yes, it meant we would have a long climb coming up.

We made it to Hopkinsville so that meant we just retraced our route for the return trip to Mortons Gap the next day. The return trip, however, didn’t seem as hard on us as the trip down. Someone said it was a couple hundred feet of climbing less than going to Hopkinsville. Maybe that ‘s the reason or maybe our legs were just now getting accustomed to the climbing. Either way, it was a very nice ride.

Day 4, we are back in Madisonville and cycling a loop north of town. The temperature has warmed and we are all shucking our arm warmers and vests before we get 5 miles out. Another beautiful route today and one extremely steep, but short, hill near the end of the ride.

This was a great trip. We had 22 participants, a smaller group than last year, and this allowed us to get to know everyone a little better. We are hoping the Tour de Kentucky continues and are able to join the group again next year. Great people! Great scenery! Great cycling!

After visiting kids and grandkids in Ohio, we returned to Kentucky for the Horsey Hundred ride. This ride started in Georgetown, just 14 miles north of Lexington. Saturday, we opted for the 59 mile route as we had friends working one of the rest stops and another friend that was driving one of the SAG vehicles. As we rode up and down the many hills, we passed beautiful horse farms and saw many new foals. We used every gear we had available to us on our bicycles. Sunday, we rode the 30 mile route as it was going to be hot and our legs were pretty tired from all the hills the day before. Both days, the Bluegrass Cycling Club fed us lunch. There was also a small party in Georgetown on Friday night and a really swinging party Saturday evening in Midway. The Horsey Hundred is one of the best supported rides, not to mention their well-stocked rest stops, we have ever done.
We are hoping to get a group of friends to come to Kentucky with us next year for the Horsey Hundred. Fun! Fun! Fun!

Savannah, GA - March 2011

Since Bike and the Like cancelled their California trip this year, we decided to take a trip to the Savannah area. We contacted the Coastal Bicycle Touring Club and obtained several nice bicycle routes in the area. There's a lot of history in this part of the country and we intend to see as much of it as possible from the seats of our bicycles.

As it turned out, it rained almost every day. We were able to cycle two days and tour the other days by foot, trolley, or car. A few sights we saw (off the bike) were Forsythe Fountain in Savannah’s historic district, the water front area, Beaufort, Fort Pulaski, Tybee Island, Wormsloe Historic park, and more. Photo to the left is the fountain in Forsythe Park.

The first day we cycled took us to Jekyll Island, one of only four Georgia barrier islands that feature a paved causeway to access the island by car. The island is 7 miles long by 1.5 miles wide, has 8 miles of wide, flat beaches, and boasts 22 miles of hiking trails. Photo to the right is a portion of the bike trail on Jekyll Island.

We cycle on the bike trail the entire time, along the beach on one side of the island and through the marsh areas on the other side. Near the downtown area, we pass by some of America’s most elite homes that were built in the late 1880’s to early 1900’s. The Rockefellers, Morgans, Pulitzers, and Goulds were a few of the nation’s leading families that came to Jekyll Island to “secure an escape”.

We drove to St. Helena’s Island, one of the sea islands near Beaufort, SC, for our next ride. Here, we cycle the Coastal Bicycle Touring Club’s Gullah Gallop ride. Total distance for this ride is 44 miles, however, the wind was really blowing and we cut it short to only about 35 miles. Neither of us would have had fun riding that last 9 miles straight into the strong wind we had that day. But we did ride to the south end of the island and all the way back to the north end and beach area. This is a very nice ride with little to no traffic. Photo to the left is the north beach on St. Helena's Island

Although we didn’t get to cycle as much as we had planned, we still toured the area and had a great time. Of course, the day we left, the sun was shining and the temperature was expected to hit the low 80’s. There is a lot of history in Savannah and the surrounding area so we highly recommend a trip to the area whether you plan to cycle or just vacation here.

Cycling Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard - Sept 2010

Bike and the Like has been organizing cycling trips on Cape Cod and the New England area for more than 17 years. They advocate a “stop and smell the roses” type of touring and we have enjoyed their tours immensely. We began our trip in Hyannis, MA, and cycled the nooks and crannies of Cape Cod, including visits to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Cape Cod is known for its miles of glorious coastlines, quaint villages, scenic byways, the Cape Cod Rail Trail, and more.

We arrived early in order to get fitted to our rental bikes and took a spin around the Hyannis area, passing the JFK Memorial and nearby Hyannisport, home of the Kennedy Compound. Our first night’s dinner is where we met and greeted the other cyclists on this trip; a total of 39 of us plus 3 tour leaders. And, of course, most of us had lobster for dinner.

The first day of riding with the group took us on a ferry to Nantucket where we cycled the island and walked the cobblestoned streets of historic downtown. Nantucket is located 30 miles off the south coast of Cape Cod and is 14 miles in length and 3 ½ miles wide. With its conservation land, beaches, lighthouses, bike trails, and history, this was a nice day of cycling.

The next couple days were spent on Martha’s Vineyard. We pedaled along the Cape Cod Canal following the Manamet River, stopped at the Aptucxet Trading Post museum, then along the Shore Rd to the Shining Sea Bikeway to Woods Hole where we caught the Steamship Authority Ferry. The ferry brought us to the town of Oak Bluffs where we stayed at the Madison Inn for two nights. Oak Bluffs flourished as a revivalist-movement camp meeting site. Over the years, the tents were replaced by small cottages in the distinctive "campground gothic" style, which makes you feel like you're walking through a neighborhood of pastel gingerbread houses. We explored the town that evening and met the group for dinner.

The next day we cycled on the bike trail to Edgartown and the lighthouse (pictured below left) on the north shore. The Edgartown Light made a brief appearance in the movie Jaws. We continued on the bike path around the airport, stopped by an Alpaca farm, lunched in Vineyard Haven, cycled the West Chop loop and lighthouse, around the harbor, on to the East Chop loop and lighthouse, then back to the hotel. As an example of history, the East Chop lighthouse was built in 1802 on Telegraph Hill. The lighthouse is on the site of the signal station that received semaphore messages from Woods Hole to indicate the arrival of homebound whaling ships. The current lighthouse was built in 1877. We took a very relaxing pace today and explored the history of the island.

We took the hi-speed ferry back to Hyannis the following morning and headed to the village of Orleans. Once on our bikes, we cycled the beach roads, stopped and toured the Judah Baker Windmill, jumped on the Cape Cod Rail Trail, passed through Nickerson State Park, took a short side trip to Nauset Beach, and finally rested at the Old Tavern Inn in Orleans for the night. Like much of the Cape, Orleans revolved around fishing, whaling, and agriculture in its early history.

Our next stop was Provincetown. We cycled up the elbow of the Cape via the national seashore. We stopped after about 5 miles at the Salt Pond Visitor Center and watched a film on how the Cape was formed through the ice age….very interesting and well worth the stop. The museum had an old bike on display that had wood spokes. Imagine riding that bike.

Back on our bikes, we cycled the Cape Cod Rail Trail, passing the Nauset Lighthouse and Marconi Station. Guglielmo Marconi had a dream to send a wireless signal across the ocean and, in 1900, he built a high-powered transmitting station to do just this. Storms blew down the aeriel towers in 1901. We stopped in Wellfleet for a short lunch and then continued on around the harbor, along the beach, more lighthouses and windmills, and finally into Provincetown.

Once in Provincetown, we had the evening on our own. We walked through town, climbed the Pilgrim Monument, stopped for a couple drinks and dinner, and made it an early evening. A couple of cyclists who made it in early enough were able to take a whale watching tour. They said they saw at least 30 whales and got some great pics.

It was now time to head back. We left Provincetown cycling through the sand dunes known as the Provincelands, along the beaches, and back on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Most everyone stopped at the Chocolate Sparrow in Orleans for lunch. Here, we had a turkey pannini and an ice cream cone while others chose to have some “to-die-for” chocolate desserts.

Our last day brought us back to Hyannis where we said our ‘good-byes’ to all our new friends, caught the bus back to Boston Logan airport and flew home.

The only way to really experience Cape Cod is to cycle the “nooks and crannies”. Cape Cod’s terrain is very cycle friendly and mostly gently rolling. There are so many sights to see and places to visit that the only way to do it is on bicycle. We averaged about 45 miles a day and took our time to be sure not to miss anything. If you like mixing sightseeing with your cycling, you’ll love this trip.

To view more photos from this trip, click on "Cape Cod Cycling" under "Links to cycling pics" on the right side of this page.

Colorado 2010

We have returned to Frisco, Colorado, for the month of August. We've been having afternoon and evening showers but have still managed to get in some cycling. We've learned over the years that wherever you stay in Summit County, the bike path will take you through Frisco; whether you are riding to Breckenridge, Keystone, around Lake Dillon, or to Copper Mountain or Vail.

Our first day, we rode up to Keystone and over Swan Mountain Rd back to Frisco. We decided that was not too hard on us so the next day we ventured on and rode up to Vail Pass. Whew! That was a test for our legs in this high altitude. The photo to the right was taken from the bike trail around Lake Dillon.

The next couple days consisted of rides which we had not done before. We drove to Carbondale, 13 miles south of Glenwood Springs, and rode the Rio Grande Trail to Woody Creek Tavern and back. This bike path (pictured left) is actually 42 miles long and goes from Glenwood Springs to Aspen. It is slightly uphill on the way to Aspen which makes for a nice return trip back....downhill.

Our next ride took us to Leadville and around Turquoise Lake (pictured right). This was only about 25 miles but it consisted of several long and challenging uphills and some fast downhills. The scenery was beautiful. We finished just ahead of the heavy rain over the lake. Back in town, we lunched at the Tennessee Pass Cafe which fulfilled its reputation as being one of the best cafes in Leadville.


About an hour's drive west of Frisco is the Dotsero/Glenwood Canyon trailhead (exit 133). Hop on the recreation path which follows alongside parts of I-70 and the Colorado River and ride for about 16 miles into Glenwood Springs. Once in Glenwood Springs, explore the area or partake of the Hot Springs before heading back. Of course, you can always drive the additional miles into Glenwood Springs and start from there. This is a relatively flat trail with only a couple of short climbs near Glenwood Springs. Everytime we have ridden this route, we have seen lots of people kayaking and rafting the river. (Glenwood Canyon ride pictured left)


Other rides in the area that we enjoy include riding to Keystone and going up to the little town of Montezuma, pop. 60. It's a 5 mile climb out of Keystone and a fast downhill back. The most popular ride for tourists is probably Frisco to Breckenridge and back, followed by the ride around Lake Dillon. The new Swan Mtn Rec Path from Summit Cove takes us to the top of Sapphire Point. Once on top, however, we must take the 2-mile steep and curvy road down to the Breckenridge bike path. One of our favorite rides is Frisco to Copper Mountain and on up to Vail Pass; 10 miles slight uphill to Copper Mtn and another 5 steeper miles to Vail Pass. Here we may either ride back 15 miles downhill to Frisco or continue on to Vail Village (15 miles downhill). But beware, the ride back up from Vail Village is challenging to say the least.

Summit County includes the towns of Breckenridge, Frisco, Copper Mountain, Dillon, Silverthorne, and Keystone. There is always something going on in one or more of these towns every weekend and some weekdays. Our first week here, we took in the BBQ at the Summit which was a lot of fun with music, food, drinks, and roasted corn on the cob. On Fridays, we enjoy going to the Dillon Farmers Market for some shopping and, of course, lunch. Frisco has Music on Main on Thursday evenings and a weekend Art & Music Festival once a month. We've enjoyed the Dillon Summer Concert Series on occasion which is every Saturday evening at the Marina. One of our particular favorites has been the Nacho Men. Unfortunately, we will miss their performance this year. Keystone and Copper Mountain have similar events throughout the summer.

Friday evenings in Keystone, the gondola rides to the top of the mountain are FREE. We like anything that is FREE. Of course, we finish the evening with 2-for-1 appetizers (including nachos) and $3 draft beers at one of the restaurants in Keystone's River Run Village. You can also catch the chairlift in Copper Mountain for free during the day. Thursday thru Saturday evenings, the Vail Gondola is FREE.

We are starting our fourth week here and we are just now doing our first hike. The Mayflower Gulch trail begins on an old ore wagon road and may be shared with jeeps and mountain bikers. On a moderate climb through evergreen forest, you see Mayflower Creek and its adjacent wetlands on the left. Soon signs of Mayflower Gulch's beehive mining history appear. After a little over a mile and a half, we see the Boston mine camp (pictured right) which once occupied this splendid setting. Now its ruined log boardinghouse and cabins slowly sink into the meadow.

Later in the week, we hiked the McCollough Gulch trail just south of Breckenridge. This hike was an intermediate hike with lots of waterfalls near the top. A little further up the trail is a calm lake with crystal clear water. Although this hike was only a little over 3 1/2 miles in total, it took us close to 3 hours. Our legs will most likely be very sore tomorrow since we haven't been doing many hikes this year.

We love this part of the country ..... the mountain scenery, the temperatures, the biking and hiking trails, the people, everything. This is a very affordable area for a vacation and there is something for all ages here. We highly recommend it.

On the way home, we decided to take a detour and drive down to the Durango area. On the way, we stopped at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The following day we drove to Mesa Verde National Park and toured the Pueblo cliff dwellings. Both sights were well worth the extra time.

Be sure to click on our Colorado 2010 link on the right side of the page for more pics of this year's Colorado trip. And for more about cycling in Summit County and the surrounding areas, check out our Colorado Trip in 2006 in the archives.

Kentucky - Ohio River Rendezvous - June 2010

The Ohio River Rendezvous is not a sponsored ride. This ride is put together by Jack and Pat Deacon in Kentucky every year. Jack helped us with some of our routes last year and invited us to join his ride. It represents a group of cyclists enjoying the Kentucky backroads and the camaraderie of great friendships. This year, there were more people from out of state than from within Kentucky itself.

We gathered in Lexington on Wednesday night to meet the whole group and have dinner at Transylvania University. What a group! There were a few participants that were unable to make the dinner but, still, there were about 40 of us there.

Thursday morning, there was a ride out of Versailles along backroads and large horse farms. Beautiful countryside!! Unfortunately, we had to miss this ride. We had truck problems as we arrived in Lexington so we spent the morning getting the truck towed to the shop and locating a rental car for the next few days. We did, however, manage to meet some of the riders at Wallace Station for lunch.

The real ride started Friday morning out of Paris, KY. We loaded our luggage in to the SAG vehicles, readied our bicycles, and we were off. The further north we rode toward Maysville,KY, the hillier it became. Kentuckians may have called these hills 'rollers' but for us Texans they were hills. We couldn't roll the hills and didn't have enough time between hills to recover before we were climbing the next one. We were left with very tired legs by the end of the ride.

Saturday, Day 2, took us from Maysville,KY, to Portsmouth,OH. The first five miles were hilly and then we hit a long downhill and followed along the river, more commonly known as the bottom lands. We heard thunderstorms were headed our way and we could see the black clouds in our mirrors; we got a few sprinkles but no rain. The last half of the route today had some long climbs and a few really bad hills. Sixty three miles later we reached the hotel and rested our legs before dinner.

Day 3 (Portsmouth,OH, to Morehead,KY) started out with a heavy fog which we figured was due to being along the Ohio River. This first section was relatively flat and fast. We rode more of the bottom lands and then had two really long, steep climbs. The first bad one was 2.4 miles long at a grade of 8-10% and the second one a little less than a mile but it reached a grade of 19% toward the top. Several people walked part of this hill. We stopped and visited with some people on the way up but we didn't walk any of it. Today we passed many photo opportunities of old barns and farm lands but didn't stop to take a single picture. Guess we were just concentrating on getting over the next hill. Going in to Morehead,KY, we stopped at Dairy Queen for fries and a blizzard before continuing to the hotel. Several other riders joined us there.

Our last day returned us to Paris,KY. Our legs were stressed and this was to be the hilliest day of the tour. We had a couple long climbs and a few hills starting out, turning in to rolling hills for the second section. We passed a lot of covered bridges today. Half way in to the ride, we rode more rolling hills and it was starting to get hot. The last leg was even more challenging...hills, hills, and more hills. We made it back to Paris, loaded our rental car, said our goodbyes, picked up the truck from the shop, returned the rental car, and headed back to Ohio.

We rode a total of 240 miles over 4 days and enjoyed every pedal stroke. This was a great way to tour a part of Kentucky we would not have otherwise seen. Jack and Pat put together a fantastic tour including great SAG support. This was a great bunch of cyclists and we look forward to cycling with them again.