Day 22 - Monday, June 1

Start - Bardstown, KY

End - Hodgenville, KY

Miles (on the route) - 42.5

Miles (total) - 55.75

Avg Spd - 10.1mph

Max Spd - 32.5mph

Total Ride Time - 5:29

Woke up refocused and ready to make some ground. I made my way out of Bardstown towards Loretto where I would visit the home of Maker's Mark. The day started rough with repeated up and down hills and temperatures climbing into the upper 80s. I finally got a taste of the real heat, lots of water today. I'm definitely in the bible belt now. Frequent dry counties, and more public postings of the ten comandments than you could imagine. I included the picture below as a notable observation, an example of the public signs and greater community image that I come across each day in these parts. Please refrain from debate or political comment, it is strictly documentation of my trip.

The Maker's Mark distillery was on gorgeous grounds, and I got another great tour. We were led through the entire bourbon making process and got to taste the fermenting liquid in the large wooden vats. Another tasting was the conclusion where I tried the Maker's bourbon and also the white dog, the unaged and still clear corn alcohol. The white dog is not nearly as good.

By the conclusion of the tour it was late in the afternoon and I still had miles to put on so I biked the next 30 miles straight to Hodgensville where I would be spending the night in the city park. It slowly started to cool as I biked through flatter land, listening music on the ipod. I don't listen to the ipod everyday, more often not, but I really enjoy it for days where I want to bike to a destination and get there in my own head. That's not my usual approach as I'm often trying to stay in the moment and the experience, listening to the sounds around me and just taking in the scenery. But I've also found the music great for keeping grounded when transient, tapping into memories. I've been exploring some albums that I haven't listened to in quite a while, and they flood me with the feelings of old times. That's something I've always loved about road trips, driving. Playing whole albums, sinking into the music and almost reexperiencing all the memories that come with them. Albums are as good a time capsule as anything. A good album always puts a time stamp on life.

I rolled into Hodgensville, with its modest population of 2,874 and the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. On my way to the park I rolled by a strange scene, a man dressed in all blue on a lawn chair in the middle of his yard, and next to him was his white and blue pimped out PT Cruiser. This was worth investigating. I turned around and approached to see what this was all about. Turns out I had just stumbled upon Mr. Wildcat, King Henry; the number one Kentucky Wildcats fan! He immediately invited me in to see his "home." He explained he can't call it a museum becuase then he would be required to provide parking for 30 vehicles. Inside was every bit of Wildcat memorabilia you could imagine! Floor to ceiling, wall to wall, no space was left blank from something blue; Pictures, basketballs, shirts, hats, glassware, newspaper clippings, even special edition Maker's Mark bottles. Every inch of this house was covered! King Henry was about as nice a person as I've ever met, and talked of loving to give some of his souveniers to the children that come to visit. He sent me off with a pack of official Kentucky Wildcat chewing gum! Awesome! Sorry for the poor quality indoor pictures, but most of his interior lighting was blue and didn't do a great job of actually illuminating the rooms.

I had a dinner of catfish and a chocolate shake and made my way to the park where the local high school was finishing their baseball game. Again, I was the creepy spectator in spandex. It happens. Back in the groove.