…but the ad said “novices okay” so I applied for the trip to bike around Kentucky and was awarded a place in the ride. Was I crazy? I certainly felt like it. I was overweight, out of shape and had never been away from my geographical area without family. I arrived in Louisville, KY on Thursday and stayed with a host family until Saturday – the day of check-in. Host families were assigned to each rider since not one of the riders were from the nearby area. Ostensively it was to give everyone a taste of the local flavor but the underlying issue was to ensure that each rider had a go-to person close by should problems arise on the trip. I was feeling overwhelmed and second guessing this crazy idea but they took me in as if I were a member of the family. I will always remember their kindness.

The whole trip was to take two weeks plus the pre-trip host days. Saturday I was dropped off at the local campsite and I again wondered what had possessed me to do this. Upon arrival, we stored our gear and went to pick up our assigned bikes. Mine was sturdy, red and slightly rusted. Each of us wanted to practice so as soon as we got our bikes we rode all over the camp just getting the feel of our “new rides”. At lunch, we congregated in the dining hall to get our itinerary – it was jam-packed with little time for rest which only added to everyone's nervousness. We were supposed to ride between 30 to 50 miles each day and visit at least one landmark or interesting site each day. That may not sound like much to serious cyclers but these were neighborhood riders - we each had agreed to this ride on a whim. Not one of us were “distance riders” or “competition riders”, we all just loved to be outside and enjoyed leisurely bike rides around our own towns. After going over the itinerary we realized this was going to be the challenge to end most challenges. A truck would be at various points along the way with a bike repair person available if we should run into trouble. Saturday afternoon we were given a short course in bike maintenance but I was so blown away by the planning and the trip in front of us, I don’t remember anything about the first night at camp.

The next morning dawned cool and clear. We ate, picked up our lunches, filled our canteens and took off. Some of us found ourselves in over our heads before the first day was even gone. How many of us – including me - got through each day of the trip was a miracle but we did and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Read the highlights below.

We visited Shakertown – a restored village celebrating a religious community from yesteryear. It was an amazing historic site where I first learned about separation of gender, where I got my first taste of a community that thrived where all the women were subservient. The women ate after the men had all been served, they used separate stairways and doorways, etc and so the joke goes, the sect eventually died out due to a lack of togetherness. We also visited several distilleries – the biggest surprise I witnessed was that at some of the lesser known plants, flies are often found floating in the vats but are strained out prior to the last stage. YUK! I still can’t drink whiskey today because of this vision. We visited Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby and yes, it is just as beautiful as you see on TV. Each of us even wore a hat to give a nod to the tradition of the grounds and the track superintendent was able to ensure we heard My Old Kentucky Home while we stood on the track. It was truly an inspiring moment in our lives.

We rode until our legs were rubber and our thighs were solid rock. We plugged up hills and coasted wherever possible. We got saddle sores and made life-long friends. We traded stories and spent reflective time as we pushed ourselves over the miles. We visited Fort Knox and were treated to a picnic by the base commander. He had set up tours of the artillery and set up rides for us on tanks. These tanks could hold a company of soldiers and could drive through water as well as over land. We biked by the Ohio River and spent some time with a glassblower who practiced his trade in an old wooden building along the banks of the river. Today I still have the little glass orb he blew especially for me.

We biked to Mammoth Cave National Park where an unplanned experience awaited me personally. I'm sure I became the story of the day! Unfortuntely I am afraid of heights and missed the sign that told visitors about the number of stairs that one has to climb to get out of the caves. So away I went, totally ignorant of what was to come and loving every minute of the beautiful caves, reveling in the stalactites and stalagmites until we got to the end – YIKES! There was a gazillion steps going straight up with side landings every so often. The spiral staircases had nothing but rails as anything else would have disrupted the view. By the time I got to the top, I was crawling and had fellow riders in front and behind me to ensure I made it. My stomach was in knots and my knees were jelly. I’d love to see the caves again but nothing would make me do those stairs again - once was enough. Today as I relive this experience phrases like “It just ain’t happining again!” and "never in my lifetime" float through my mind.

We visited so many beautiful places and saw such beautiful country, it was truly amazing to behold. I love to relay the story that this is when I learned "all that goes up does not necessarily come down". In the beginning I never feared riding up one of those gorgeous hills because I assumed we could coast down the other side in short order. Never, ever happened. Each and every time we got to the top, we were on a plateau and had to continue to peddle. Lordy, some days I thought we’d never get to our stops. Dinners and breakfasts were always prepared for us, either at a campsite or at a restaurant. Each day we picked up our bag lunch, tied it to our bikes, hopped on and headed out. We ended each day hot, sweaty, ready for a bath and barely able to walk. Some of us were too tired to eat and some of us nodded off as soon as our heads hit our pillows. Our group experienced one accident, two bike repairs and none who gave up the ride. At the end of the two weeks, we’d traveled over 600 miles, we’d seen every top site there was to see in eastern Kentucky and made a lot of new friends. We went home tired, in great physical shape and ready to do it again. Alas, I was never able again to fit it in to my schedule.