Day 71, Cave-In-Rock, IL to Sebree, KY

Miles – 59

Miles From Start/To Finish – 3,314/1,031

Ave Riding Speed – 3-24 mph

Hours Start to Finish – 8.5

Weather – Mostly Sunny and 86

My alarm went off at 5am this morning. Oooh, could have easily went back to bed! But we’ve got work to do. I flipped on an under the counter light by the coffee maker and brewed a 6-cupper. Kim rolled out after hearing the percolating and we started the day. I finished up recharging the bike lights and we showered and packed while sipping on our coffee in a real mug. We didn’t plan ahead for breakfast this morning so the coffee would have to do it.

We rolled our bikes out of the cabin overlooking the Ohio River and walked up to the check-in building/restaurant to drop off the key. It wasn’t open yet, but Kim noticed an unmarked drop box hanging on the side of the building, so we dropped it in. Hopefully that’s what the box was for. We pedaled out of the park and back through town, about 2-blocks long, to the ferry river crossing.

The ferry was already on its way across the Ohio River to the Kentucky side and carrying a semi-truck and trailer, which gave us more time to enjoy the quite flow of the river. The sky was clear, no breeze and the only noise was the faint diesel sound from the ferry coming across the water. Kim and I stood by the shore and quietly took in the scenery in front of us.

Soon one car pulled up to get in line. We watched as the ferry reached the other side and how they maneuvered to the loading/unloading deck against the flow of the river. Soon the semi was unloaded and the only vehicle to get back on for the return trip was another semi-truck and trailer. Once the ferry returned to the Illinois side of the river, Kim and I and the one other vehicle waiting for the ferry, boarded. We felt like Tom Sawyer running the Mississippi. It was great to be on the water again.

The trip to the other side took about 5-minutes. We departed the ferry and landed in Kentucky, our 9^th state of the adventure. Traffic was really lite and we enjoyed the 11-mile ride to Marion and stopped at the convenience store for ice for our water, our cheese or peanut butter crackers and split a breakfast burrito.

Our route out of town was Hwy 120 heading east. The 120 sign was posted right in front of the convenience store we just pulled out of. As we rode, I was noticing that the sun we off to the right and it should have been straight ahead of us, but I kept thinking we’re following the map, so let’s keep going. About 10-miles out of Marion we arrived in Mattoon, which wasn’t on our route. I pulled out my glasses and sure enough we were heading north. After conferring with my teammate, we decided we could keep heading north on Hwy 60 for another 30 miles and reroute from the town of Sullivan, without losing any miles. On our way to Sullivan I kept thinking that there was some divine intervention and we must have missed a turn and sent on this route for a reason.

It was a nice ride up to Sullivan and Kim stopped to get a picture of the city sign for our grandson, Sully. When we arrived in Sullivan, a small unincorporated community we pulled over to review our map and figure out how to get to our destination for the day, Sebree, KY. As we were combing over our map a small SUV pulled in next to us and the guy asked if we need some direction. We laughed and said we’re trying to get to Sebree. He said why don’t we just come over to his house across the street and have a Coke and figure it out. We took him up on his offer and swung across the street and sat on his porch. I introduced us and we met Phil. Phil poured us some ice-cold pop with ice and we sat on his porch and enjoyed his company. He was quite the story teller and gave us some examples of the famous people from the area, including Miss Kentucky and Hank Williams Jr. Phil also helped start the Sturgis (Sturgis, KY) motorcycle rally and told us how it raised $1 million dollars for charity.

Phil drew out some directions to get us to Sebree and then said if we wanted, we were welcome to stay at his place for the night. It was a very gracious offer, and if it had been at the end of the day we would have taken him up on the offer, but we needed to put some miles on. Phil was very generous and gave us some cash for dinner at the Dairy Bar in Sebree and wished us safe travels. We really enjoyed our time with Phil today and it’s just another example of the cool people all around us and a reminder that we all have more in common than what may be portrayed in the media. We gave Phil a card and he’s already sent us an e-mail wishing us a safe trip. Phil is semi-retired and has a birthday this week.

We departed Phil’s place in Sullivan and rode on, following his direction to Sebree, about 30-mile north east. It was a great ride through Kentucky farmland and a few rolling hills. We arrived in Sebree at 3pm and pulled into the First Baptist Church Cyclist Hostel. Kim called the number on the church door and Dyllan, the pastor, greeted us and walked us around back to the hostel entrance. The place is beautiful and also serves as a youth ministry area. There’s a shower, bathrooms, full kitchen, recreation games and a bike repair area and bike pump. During the mid-summer they usually host at least one person every night. We signed the bike log and noticed things are slowing down as there hasn’t been someone hear for a couple days. Looks like it’s just Kim and I for the night.

Kim and I showered and put some clean clothes on, started a load of laundry and walked the 2 blocks to town for something to eat. We settled on the Dairy Bar. We each had a side salad and I had the catfish dinner with okra and Kim had a catfish sandwich. Since it was the Dairy Bar, we ordered malts for dessert. The meal was tasty and we enjoyed a slow walk back to the church.

A shout out to Kim’s cousin Sally who is starting her breast cancer treatment and to know that you’re not walking the path alone.