Day 22 & 23: Beautiful Kentucky Skies to Nashville!

Columbia, KY to Bowling Green, KY to NASHVILLE, TN  

  2 Day Mileage: 78.7 + 63.3 = 142.0
  Total Mileage: 1,365.4
  2 Day Ride Time: 6:08:46 + 5:25:26 = 11:34:12
  Total Ride Time: 5 days 3:18:27

MSquared Velo Snapchat Day 22

MSquared Velo Snapchat Day 23

 Waking up in a bed, under a roof, after a big lasagna dinner, swim in a pool and dog love is paradise on a trip like this.

 Gary served us ham, eggs, bagels and fresh coffee and we were on our way. There is no way to overstate a solid breakfast. It really sets up the day.

A little ditty about Gary and Diane

Also something that cannot be overstated... The sweeping skies of Kentucky. I said it once and I'll say it again, there is more blue to see out here and it is so gorgeous.     

  Now that we are truly, officially out of the Appalchians (I think I've said this before) the riding is a breeze. When we plan out 70 miles today and it's not even a second thought. We think more on terms of, "Ok, that's about 6 hours of riding time, no problem," as opposed to the previous dreaded thoughts of the doom that were the monster climbs and compulsively checking the elevation map for the next hill and whining about it.

 There seems to be no difference between 60 miles and 80 miles except the extra 1.5 to 2 hours of time in the saddle. Oh and of course an extra 6" subway sandwich and Gatorade. Subway has become a dear friend of ours. Thanks coupons.    

Gotta have coups

  We arrived in Bowling Green to our next warm showers host, Ryan and his 5 cats and one dog. Ryan was a great host offering us a warm shower, woo!!! We watched the oh so boring Homerun Derby, ate some ice cream and went to bed in our tents in his backyard.    

--

Day 22... Mother Nature changed her name to Bitch. 

We spent the first 15-20 miles in all sorts of rain that only Forrest Gump could illustrate properly. After a lunch break at... You guessed it, Subway, the sun's rays finally started to poke through and it began to dry out our soaked socks and shoes.

Eventually breaking through into Tennessee, the town of White House has bike lanes! It has been a while since actual bike lanes. Yahoo!

We flew through more rolling hills into Nashville where we could finally put our legs up to rest!

A long time friend of my brother's, Brendan McEn
aney, was nice enough to let us stay at his place on short notice. He wasn't sure he had the accommodations for 3 people, but welcomed us anyway. I assured him we can squeeze anywhere and having a roof over our heads and a shower is all we need. Turns out the floor space alone was more than enough room, let a lone a futon and couch to sleep on. He lives in a beautiful area of Nashville in a very nice apartment.

Brendan has been an amazing host showing us the great eats, local bars and allowing us to come and go while he is at work (or sleeping in preparation for work).

Nashville, simply put, is amazing. There really is live music at every bar and all the food is phenomenal. I could not be happier to have prolonged our rest days so we could take two here. Nashville deserves more than one day. 

Mike Weiss at the Weiss Liquor Store

Speaking of rest days... Turns out I have a tooth ache and need to see a Dentist. I was able to make an appointment Wednesday morning (day 24) and, lucky me, ride the 10 mile round trip to the dentist's office. My teeth have always been weak. So I got a cavity filled but it was all made okay by a truly southern breakfast that is right below Brendan's apartment. He said people say it's the best in town although he has never been because of the outrageous lines. He was not wrong.

Eggs Benny at Biscuit Love

I am going to see if I can rid myself of my front panniers (and the rack that holds them) and squeeze everything into the rears without sending anything else home. That would lighten my load and decrease the wind resistance against those nasty headwinds. Crossing my fingers!

 I said I was taking my rest days to rest and not write, so I've already said too much. Enjoy the rest of your work weeks ;)