Day 70, Goreville to Cave-In-Rock, IL

Miles – 60

Miles From Start/To Finish – 3,255/1,090

Ave Riding Speed – 3-34 mph

Hours Start to Finish – 7.5

Weather – Mostly Sunny and 84

Our alarms went off at 5am and I rolled out of my sleeping bag off the couch and walked over to shut both phone alarms off through the dark room. I walked back to the couch and crawled into my sleeping bag with thoughts of more sleep. I heard Kim move around on the other couch. We laid there and maybe caught a couple winks, but the guilt caught up to us and we got up at 5:30am. For whatever reason we both didn’t sleep very well in the comfortable surroundings.

I made some Mr. Coffee coffee in the church kitchen while we rolled up our bags, got dressed and packed our gear and left the place in clean condition. We had some yogurt and blueberries for breakfast. We rolled our bikes out the side basement door and up the sidewalk to ground level at 7:15am and pulled up to a convenience store a block south of town to get some ice for our 8 water bottles and crackers with cheese and crackers with peanut butter for snacking along the route. The first 50-miles of the route today would be without any services.

The weather was supposed to be about perfect for riding. The sky was clear with beginning temps in the high 60’s with much less humidity than the last couple weeks. About a half mile south of town we went east on Tunnel Hill Rd for the beginning of a rural ride on mostly rolling 2-lane backroads and light traffic. We hammered through the first 50-miles, stopping about every 10-15-miles for some water and a cracker or a bite of a Clif bar.

When we reached Elizabethtown, 50 miles into the day, we stopped at a convenience store/gas station to catch our breath and use the bathroom. I was standing out by our bikes and noticed a guy pull up to the gas pump on his early 2000’s model Harley cruiser. He had a long gray beard with the normal summer riding attire of, boots, old jeans, a cut-off sleeve t-shirt and sunglasses. As he walked to the front door to pay, I gave him a greeting, while chewing on some jerky from the last bag Julie gave us back in Ellington. MO, and asked him how’s the ride today. That’s all it took to start a conversation and I met Leslie, or as his friends call him, Red Beard. Red Beard grew up in the area and recently moved back from Chicago when his aging parents needed some assistance. He eagerly walked Kim and I through some of the interesting sites in the area that we should see if we have time, like Garden of the Gods or Table Rock. Red Beard was a cool guy and fun to chat with. He wished us a safe ride and sped down the road.

Kim and I got back on Hwy 146 heading east and caught a glimpse of the Ohio river off to the right as we left Elizabethtown and rode for 10-miles out of reach of the river until entering the village of Cave-In-Rock. Cave-In-Rock is named for a local natural 55 ft wide cave in the area. In town there is also one of four ferry services for crossing the Ohio River. We are looking forward to riding the ferry, along with up to 12 cars, in the morning as we enter Kentucky.

Just east of town we entered the Cave-In-Rock State Park a rode a mile to the restaurant and cabin check-in building. Our cabin #3 was just below the restaurant and overlooking the Ohio River. What a gorgeous view! We brought our bikes into the cabin and walked back to the restaurant for an early dinner. As we sat there, we both wondered out loud if we should think about taking advantage of the awesome view from the cabin deck and spend another night. We quickly dismissed the thought and figured we need to keep moving.

For dinner we had the fried green tomatoes and each ordered a burger with fries and a side salad. Yum. After dinner we settled back to our cabin and showered. I took a quick nap while trying to catch up on e-mails and such, while Kim caught up with the kids and her parents.

The picture is from our cabin deck at the Cave-In-Rock State Park overlooking the Ohio River and Kentucky.