"Follow The Drinking Gourd"

May 28

Brandenburg to Louisville, KY

51 Miles

Total Miles to Date ~ 950

Did I Mention Hills?? 

The green dot on the road (way up front) is Holly.

51 miles from Brandenburg to Louisville. A walk in the park? One would think. Our route took us across the Ohio River into Indiana (north), then along the Indiana/Kentucky border (east), and finally back across the Ohio River into Louisville (south). We spent 35-miles beating into a strong wind that was coming out of the northeast. It was hell! 

And, Did I Mention WIND?

Very close to the end of our 35-miles of headwinds on roads that offered no opportunities for a "personal" break, we came upon the Georgetown Township Fire Department. Why not? As good as, if not better than, the Mississippi National Guard. We were greeted with open arms by Captain Richard Bader and some of his crew. They were gracious and welcoming - showing us to the Ladies, offering us drinks, posing for the photo below, and gifting us with t-shirts from their house. It was a nice break that left us refreshed and ready to finish the day. 

There was a 1.25 mile downhill just ahead (Richard told us to NOT wipe out since we would be in his district and he did not want to come out after us). We had been concerned about this downhill, and as is often the case, it was far from our most treacherous. In fact, other than some railroad tracks at the end that were at a bad angle, slightly uphill, and had a bump in the road ahead of them, this was really a very nice way to head to the river valley.

Captain Richard Bader and the men of

Georgetown Township Fire Protection District

The bookends - Mary and Holly

We stopped at The Carnegie Center for Art & History in New Albany, IN to see their newest permanent exhibit - "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage ~ The Men and Women of the Underground Railroad" - telling the story of ordinary people from New Albany and Southern Indiana, whose courageous acts helped overthrow the institution of slavery. We are FINALLY seeing signs of what we have been in search of - the Underground Railway. From there we - Holly, Mary, Frankie, Sue, and me -  continued south through Jeffersonville, Indiana, across the Downtown Bridge and into Louisville, KY. We have arrived for a rest day. Laurie will be leaving us and will return when we arrive in Cincinnati in four or five days. Michelle, our cook from last year's ride, will be our guide until Laurie returns, after which she will take on the cooking duties when Patty leaves us. 

Talk to you in a couple of days. Judi a/k/a TheWanderingJu