My ride and welcome to it
 

This post belongs in the "show us your 20 something" thread but as I rode 40 miles I thought I'd use up too much space. Here in this part of Kentucky you won't see drop-dead gorgeous scenery like some of you post, but I think it has it's own charm.

The ride starts at Long Run Park, which is only five minutes (by car) to Valhala, site of the recent Ryders Cup.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...A/IMG_0302.jpg

Next stop is Eastwood. I'm not sure what goes on in this shop, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to know. I always see unhappy men dragged by their wives to this place.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...A/IMG_0306.jpg

I love little churches in the middle of nowhere. This one is pretty crowded on Sunday and the services last at least three hours long. Either they take their faith seriously or the pastor locks all the doors.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...A/IMG_0309.jpg

The nice thing about the Louisville area is that you don't have to cycle too far to end up in Deliverance-style boonies. This is about mile 20.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...A/IMG_0322.jpg

My route took me through Shelbyville. The famous William Shattner is an avid horseman and owns a stable somewhere around here. The horse in the foreground wanted to chat but sadly I didn't have time for it.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...A/IMG_0324.jpg

At mile 32 I came upon Todds Point. I don't know why I felt so crappy, but by this time I was cooked and looked upon this scene with envy of the occupants.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...A/IMG_0334.jpg

The remaining 8 miles were a sufferfest. By the time I pulled back into the parking lot I was weepy and just wanted to be held.

I think that's it.

My memory of Shelbyville was one Thanksgiving drive to my wife's parents farm in IL in about 1994 when the Caravan cracked a cam shaft - we got towed into a dodge dealer in Shelbyville - they had us back on the road by mid afternoon! We didn't miss thanksgiving dinner. Guess it will now be a Fiat dealer - hey, I owned one of those when I was in high school.

Nice pics. Great narrative. Thanks.

Scenery with character and texture stands up well against drop dead georgeous scenery. Nice ride WL and good pics too.

Excellent ride, and very good pics. Thanks for sharing.

Nice report and pics, TWL. The ability to get to the "Deliverance-style boonies" after only a few miles of pedaling is indeed a desirable state of affairs. It's quiet and peaceful there, and there aint much traffic.

Definitely a nice ride. I especially liked the pics of the old church and Zippity do dah's.

IMO, Zippity's place would look way better without that goofy sign. But hey, again, that's just me.:D

One thing that was very unsettling: for the first time ever I had wheel wobble at speed. I was doing about 30, I run Bontrager Race with bladed spokes, and got hit by a cross wind. I did all the usual stuff to make it stop but I really tightened up going downhill on the rest of the ride. Usually I just let it rip. My arms were aching when I got home.

Very enjoyable narrative. The pics appear to have been from a very peaceful ride.
Thanks for sharing.

Very good report and I think you have some pretty nice scenery. And the Deliverance-style boonies are abundant here in So. Md.!! ( I think you may remember if you ever went south when you were here)
I did a 42 miler yesterday and saw some myself. I didn't bring a camera but need to remember to in the future.
I run Bontrager Race hardcase on my rear and got to 38 yesterday and didn't have that, front is Maxis Columbriere but I do not have bladed spokes so that could explain it. Wheel wobble could be scary in my book. Now when I was nearing the bottom of the hill doing that 38 I started to think " Man I hope my brakes work!" as I neared the stop sign!
Great report once again and a cool looking bike to boot!

Very nice. Thanks for the ride report, photos, and James Thurber reference.

BTW, not to hijack the thread, but it's hard around here in SE PA to avoid coming across isolated churches. Here's Pine Swamp something or other:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3198/...b0426570_b.jpg

Looks like some pretty country you have there, thanks for sharing.:thumb: