Miles – 47
Miles From Start/To Finish – 3,432/913
Ave Riding Speed – 3-30 mph
Hours Start to Finish – 6.25
Weather – Sunny and 86
I heard my alarm, set for 5am this morning, at 5:49am when I shut it off. Ugh, off to a slow start. I turned the bathroom light, to nudge Kim a little to get up, and made some motel room coffee. We showered and slowly went about repacking. We had thought about taking a rest day today, but the Rough River Dam State Park was booked up for the weekend We were moving on to our planned B&B destination in Sonora. We departed the state park at 7:45am.
The mapped route looked pretty good today. There were places to stop for a cold beverage or snack at regular intervals. The perfect interval for us is about 10-15 miles. It makes the ride more digestible. We initially headed east on Hwy 79 and our first stop was 6-miles up at a convenience store at the intersection of Hwy 79 and 105. They wouldn’t let Kim use the bathroom and that put her in a bit of a tailspin for the remainder of the days ride and a further reminder that we are in need of a rest day.
We pulled back onto the highway and rode through a few smaller towns and the rolling Kentucky backroads. Everything is so green! It was a very enjoyable ride with only a few climbs that we needed to push our bikes up a small portion of the hill. In Eastview, about 11 miles from Sonora, we called ahead to the Thurman Phillips Guest Home to let our hosts, Charlie and Rose, know that we were on our way.
Charlie said we should stop at the only place in town for something to eat, Brooks General Store and Café, before coming by the house.
Upon arriving in Sonora, we stopped at Brooks and had a very early dinner. Kim had the catfish with mash potatoes with a side salad. I followed suit. It was very good at a very reasonable price. While paying our tab Kim asked the waitress how far it was to the Thurman House and she said it was right around the corner, literally. We rode the half block and found Charlie. He said we could keep the bikes in garage. We pulled our bikes in and he showed us the fridge and said we are welcome to all the water, beer and Gatorade we’d like and asked if we’d care for a beverage now Yes please. We each asked for a cold beer.
Charlie helped us get our gear into the renovated, 1897 home that his grandfather built, including making the actual bricks. Charlie showed us to our room and we dropped our gear and went on a tour. The high ceiling multi roomed home is beautiful. Within a couple minutes we met Rose and she continued showing us the upstairs. Most of the furniture is original to the home and every room has a fireplace.
We showered and sat out on the porch. Soon Charlie joined us and then we moved to another porch on the other side of the house to join Rose and appreciate the flowers. Charlie said he has an afternoon cocktail that we are sure to enjoy and couldn’t turn it down. It was rum, mango juice and pineapple juice with ice. It was delicious. We held back and had just one. Our hosts, in there late 70’s were great conversationalists and had many stories to tell of all the bicyclists they’ve met over the last 8-years.
Soon Charlie was giving us a tour, via his Cadillac, around the property and grounds, including a barn wedding venue, park, tea house, two other renovated rental homes next to the venue, manmade lake, tons of flower beds and the field where he is going to build 2 log cabins. It was pretty cool. Charlie and Rose show no signs of slowing down. Upon returning from our tour, Charlie heated up some mac-n-cheese that we enjoyed in the kitchen with the extra sandwiches from the birthday party at the tea house today. We also had cheese cake.
It was a fun day hanging out in Sonora, population 500.
