Day 14 
Jeffersonville, IN to Louisville, KY – Pretty much a rest day! Whoohoo!

The trains ran all night and while they didn’t blow their horns in the wee hours of the night, their wheels still made the standard high pitched shrieking noise throughout the night. Luckily my family had generously offered to pay for my hotel in Louisville so I could get some rest and enjoy my day. I checked into a proper hotel, the first proper hotel since Mobile (and Mobile felt like a year ago). The bike ride was all of about 2 miles into Louisville and across an absolutely amazing pedestrian bridge. This was the equivalent of a 2 lane car bridge but dedicated to pedestrians and bikes. There was even classical music playing thru speakers on the bridge. I have a video of this I will post later. It was the coolest bridge! And so many people were using it which was great to see.  

I had already come up with a game plan for Louisville which started with a visit to a bike shop. There was so weird clicking that I couldn’t diagnose and needed help. Plus I had been told at a previous shop my chain was nearing it’s lifespan. The bike shop confirmed I had worn out my chain and swapped it out for me. I met a super cool couple in the shop that had bike toured all over Asia. They spent months bike touring. Now with infant in hand they said their bike touring days were…postponed but planned to get back to it as they were fitting their little one with a helmet.  

I went to a Quill’s Coffee and had some super amazing coffee drink. I don’t know what it was, just said make me something super sweet and creamy and voile! There it was. Then on to the BBQ spot! Oh man. SO tasty!!! It was at the BBQ spot that I decided I would eat my way through Louisville. I felt like a bear that was about to go back into hibernation. At the BBQ spot, I met Nita. She was on a tandem bicycle (and I’m lame and forget the other half of her tandem’s name because it was on my phone that is kaput but anyways…) and stopped to chat. She really wanted me to stay at her house. She is listed on warmshowers.org that hosts cyclists. I have totally under utilized this website but I kind of prefer to meet people face to face and decide if I want to stay with them rather than blindly emailing folks and setting up a stay. But, I should use it. She seemed cool and that made me want to log in and check it out again. I was on the fence with staying a second night in Louisville or not so told her I’d get back to her and if I stayed a second night I’d give her a call to arrange staying with her tomorrow. 

I dropped my bike off at the hotel and set out on foot in tourist-land! Happily! This weekend was actually GonzoFest in Louisville. A festival honoring Hunter S. Thompson. Some of my favorite quotes are by him, was pretty cool. I went to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum and got to see how bats are made. I ate fried pickles. I went to a bourbon tasting but got there too late and the last available tour was at 5 which is when I was supposed to be at the Louisville Bats baseball game. Doh! They asked if I could come back tomorrow and I told them about my trip and needed to probably keep going but that was ok, I didn’t need a tour. They loved that I was solo riding my bike and decided though a tour wasn’t possible, I could have a private bourbon tasting. I wasn’t going to decline that one! So we went back to have a private tasting. I had one on one time tasting the various aged bourbons. Was super cool. I’m not a bourbon person but was super helpful to have someone explain what I was tasting for and the differences between the various bourbons. And even what exactly a bourbon is. I had no idea it’s like champagne where it’s only deemed bourbon if it comes from a specific region and no other part of the world can make anything called “bourbon.” This was cool to do this. Though…I think I’m still not totally a bourbon person.  

Nita gave me a shout, she was hoping I was staying another night and wanted to take her up on an offer for a place to crash. I had decided to do a short day tomorrow but to keep going. I had seen much of what I wanted in Louisville and was feeling more energized than I expected. I had also reached out and contacted someone from warm showers to see if I could stay at their place the following night in Madison, IN and though short notice, they said they’d love to have me. She inspired me to give it a go! 

My day wasn’t done, I had evening plans. I went over to the Louisville Slugger Stadium to go watch the Louisville Bats play AAA ball! They’re the feeder team for the Reds. Holy cow! Stadium was pretty full and everyone was so festive in their Bats fan clothing. I’ve been to a San Jose Giants game and the stadium wasn’t all that great and while fun, it wasn’t nearly as awesome as the Bats. They have an amazing stadium that overlooks the river. Tons of food concessions. Cheap beer. Cheap food. Great atmosphere and such enthusiasm from their fans. I’ve never been to a baseball game by myself but this one was super fun. I spent most of the time walking around the stadium and people watching. This was a pretty perfect, relaxing day in Louisville.