More homemade signs at the Finchville pit stop. Some are on garbage containers.
Sign as I approach Louisville. Soon after this I turn off onto a pretty country road which leads to quiet residential streets funneling me into the finish line at E. P. Tom Sawyer State Park.
Finally arrive at the last pit stop in Finchville before Louisville. I see these wonderful homemade signs posted on a fence. I ask about them. Pit stop-helper, Marybeth, tells me that scouting families created the signs.
I strike up a conversation with a lady who works at Louisville's Norton Cancer Institute hoping she can answer a question that no one else has been able to answer. How did the Ride To Conquer Cancer land in Kentucky? (We and California are the only states that have the Ride.) Why Kentucky? She answers that the Canadian-based Ride organization wanted to expand its cancer-fighting efforts to America. It discovered that Kentucky has the highest cancer rates in the U.S. due to smoking and coal mining. It's a dubious honor but the Ride represents one more thing being done to defeat cancer.
Sunday's lunch stop in Mt. Eden. Never knew there was a school for horseshoeing. Today is cooler than yesterday. We've been fighting a headwind the entire way. Nicholas is waiting for me at this stop. It's the first time I've seen him on the route.
Lunches are tasty and filling. Some bikers, including me, accept ibuprofen for the aches. Blankets are handed out to those who are cold.
Friendly dog who gets to know some of us. I see a lot of dogs along the route. Not one dog chases me.
Heading for the last pit stop in Finchville. All the creeks are swollen. So much water. The blue thing hanging around my chest is the harness for my camera. I stop here to take some pics of the river. My stop instantly turns into an unofficial pit stop for other bikers, Ride volunteers/staffers and my cruising son, Nicholas.
One of the many signs pointing the way back to Louisville 75 miles away early Sunday morn.
Sign at Headley Whitney Museum advertising Georgetown photographer Steve Hockensmith's photo display of Spanish Mustangs. Lynn and I went opening night. The man knows how to use a camera! We bought his book.
There are a lot of colorful jerseys.
Pit stop in Lawrenceburg.
All pit stops have people cheering the bikers. Seems like a small thing but it really helps.
First pit stop Saturday about 15 miles out of Louisville. Pits stops are well organized and well stocked with snacks, drinks, toilets and even medical. Pit stops are situated approximately every 15 miles along the route. I'm impressed with the entire Ride operation--coordination, helpful, cheerful support volunteers. I notice the riders come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Many of the overweight riders are strong riders.
End of the line for Saturday's 82 mile ride is Masterson Station Park, Lexington. Riders are entertained by the Beatles-playing Rigbys and wolf down some wonderful catered Mexican food. There is Pale Ale beer too.
Three hundred seventy five riders gather Saturday, Sept. 26, 8 AM at Louisville's E.P. Tom Sawyer Park for the start of the first Kentucky Ride to Conquer Cancer. We are treated to an excellent catered breakfast. Speakers remind us what the Ride is really about--the fight against cancer. I'm feeling pretty calm about things. I'm not nervous. I've trained hard for this and I'm ready for it. My only regret is that my son Nicholas can't ride with me because of his July bike accident. But he's a trooper and joins the supporting pit crew for these two days. He stays out late Friday night marking today's 82 mile route from Louisville to Lexington with yellow Ride to Conquer Cancer signs. He doesn't get back to our Galt House motel room until 11 PM.
A group of selected bikers escorts a riderless bike affixed with a yellow flag. This bike represents all those souls who have lost the fight to cancer. The yellow flag is also seen on the bikes of cancer survivors riding in the Ride To Conquer Cancer.
This is it! We leave for Louisville today after work. We will be staying at the Galt House which is where I'll be next Friday to give a Pig Skull Book Club presentation for the Kentucky Library Association. Except for an injured (broken?) toe from last night's packing, I'm good to go. The start is Saturday, 8 AM at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park. Seventy-five miles later I'll roll into Lexington's Masterson Park for overnight camping with my son Nicholas and hundreds of other Ride to Conquer Cancer riders. Sunday I ride back to Louisville for the grand finish at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park. I'll post pics later next week. Keep me in your prayers.
Long Lick Baptist Church finally has its steeple. Looks good.
I stop at Lee's place after visiting nearby Switzer Bridge today, Sept. 5. Lee is having some work done to the basement. Behind the dirt pile is a worker in a deep hole waterproofing the outside basement wall.
Some interesting items on a shed wall.
Ad on an outdoor thermometer for horse liniment which is also good for jackasses. We should send a ton of the stuff to Washington, DC.
Switzer covered bridge just over the county line into Franklin County, Sept. 5. This is Kentucky's official state covered bridge.
Tighter shot.
More pics taken Sept. 5 at North Fork Baptist church. I sit down for this shot trying to find an interesting angle and capture the detail in the concrete walk and steps.
Fall is here early as can be seen from these leaves in the church parking lot near the graveyard.
Totally off topic but it occurs to me that the sport of road biking brings out the feminine side in men. Consider what we male bikers do: shave our legs, wear spandex shorts that feel like girdles, wear brightly colored fru-fru jerseys and, in my case, wear a heart sensor around my chest that feels like a little Wonder bra designed for "emerging" teenage girls. 
A funny reminder to watch that sharp wagging tongue. People forget the awful power of words. Words can build up and soothe. Words can also tear down and destroy. Gossip can destroy reputations and lives. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never harm me" is a lie. Read what Rabbi Telushkin has to say about the power of words . I take these pics, Sept. 5, at the lovely North Fork Baptist church just off Switzer Road near the covered bridge.
Intriguing shadows and light. Nice bike, huh?
There is a handsome graveyard. One of the Lucas headstones is for a Confederate soldier.
I bike 36 miles this beautiful Fall-like day. I take East Honaker Road to Graves Road to Locust Fork Road. These first two pics are of an abandoned home at Graves and Locust Fork roads near Stamping Ground. The mailbox introduces and emphasizes the abandonness of the home. Sue W. of Salt-Rising Bread fame tells me that the home was owned by a lady whose mission in life was to empower black women. She says there are plans for the property.
This robust and handsome Michigander must have taken a wrong turn in Toledo. Photo tilt provided by mailbox cum camera platform.
The history lesson continues as I pedal south down Locust Fork into Stamping Ground.
Bet you can't guess the significance of this field along Locust Fork Road. I know only because I ask Stacy who lives next door to the field. It's a croquet field complete with lights and was a venue for tournament play. Stacy tells me recently-deceased local resident and former field owner, Art Burtfield (?), was an American champion.
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