Ride To Conquer Cancer, Training Progress, Part 6

Tractor moving out from home at Hinton-Sadieville and N.E. Countyline roads.

Horse along N.E. Countyline Road. I know nothing about horses but this one is beautiful.

Same horse and another one. What breed is this? I ride one mile down the road and am forced to turn back because the road turns to gravel for one mile. I'm not certain if my road tires will survive one mile of gravel. Must find out from more experienced bikers. Pity. It's a beautiful road.

Zebra at Rogers Gap Road farm. Same place that has the camels. It looks like the donkey (mule?) protects the little zebra.

I complete 30 miles today. I spook a deer and turkey on Elk Lick Road. Remember the sunny 8:30 start? The last seven or eight miles of my return trip are in the rain. Good experience, huh? We must be willing to adapt, huh? We are the superior critters on this planet, huh? Well, why the heck then does the big, fat ol' train park itself at the Rogers Gap crossing stopping all automobile (and bike) traffic for 10 or 15 minutes? By the way, did I mention it was raining?

Ride To Conquer Cancer, Training Progress, Part 1

My son, Nicholas, and I have created the Pig Skulls Bike Team and join other bike teams in the two-day 150-mile Ride To Conquer Cancer to raise money for Louisville's Norton Cancer Institute. The mega bike event is Sept. 26-27, 2009. Donate online through Sept. 24 or print off mail-in donation forms at Ride to Victory.org. Sponsor Mike or Nicholas or both of us and help us reach our individual $2500 fund-raising goals. Join the Pig Skulls bike team as a rider or crew member. Follow our training progress as we travel the pretty Scott County (KY) country roads to get in shape for September. See what strange critters lurk along these country lanes waiting, in some cases, to snack on tasty bikers. See how the potential "meals on wheels" use their superior human intellects to thwart these savage critters. And see how bikers really move their fannies to put distance between ankle and fang.

"We are bike-riding cancer fighters."

This is Nicholas, May 28, taking it easy outside the train tunnel on Double Culvert Road while I do all the hard work like taking pictures. I have to admit his legs look better than mine. Hey, he's a 21 year-old kid and I'm a 56 year-old mature gentleman.

Nicholas still taking it easy while drinking my water and watching all the pretty girls drive by.

Camels! In Kentucky! Can you believe it? These camels live on a farm on Rogers Gap Road. I've also seen zebras.

This particular evening, May 28, we do a short 19 mile ride--Rogers Gap Road to Double Culvert to Luke to Davis to Burgess Smith to Turkey Foot to Rogers Gap. We have our first accident. I lose control on Burgess Smith while attempting to negotiate a steep descending hairpin curve. My backend fishtails when I apply the brakes to slow down. I go down and skid while still attached to my bike. Bang up my knee. Doc says I shouldn't ride for a week.

Our longest ride so far is 35 miles when we rode on the other side of US 25--Biddle Pike to Skinnersburg to Long Lick to East Honaker to Graves to West Honaker to Locust Fork into Stamping Ground then back.

BTW Nicholas is riding a Giant road bike and I'm riding a Specialized. We both use clipless pedals which means we wear special shoes that attach to the pedals. And yes, we wear the goofy, butt-expanding, spandex shorts. The padding really does help during long rides.