Leaping Ahead to Kentucky (Day 17)

We woke up to a respite from the rain. Only a respite, though; more rain and wind followed later in the day. 

Here's our morning double rainbow:

Sitting around yesterday, riding out the weather, seemed very odd. Most of us went a bit stir crazy. If we had started pedaling again today in Waverly, we would have been a day behind schedule and we would still be caught in potentially severe weather. 

After weighing our options, the group decided to jump ahead two days in our route. Our gamble is that this will 1) put us a day ahead of schedule (potentially allowing us to turn two upcoming back-to-back, 70-something-mile days into three more reasonable days), and 2) move us far enough north to move us out of the worst of the severe-weather zone. 

We were able to leap ahead with all of our gear, bikes, and people at once. Here is the trailer fully loaded with personal and group gear:

Here is the van as the last bike is being loaded on top:

and the last people loading in the van:

We drove the route we would have cycled. It was pretty and very hilly. Some of the road surfaces were so chewed up and eroded, I cannot imagine having to cycle over them!

We made some sightseeing stops along the way--see separate posts. 

We set up camp--at Canal Campground in Grand Rivers, KY--in pouring rain. It's a challenge to keep a tent dry while setting it up in pouring rain. I got mine set up dry and then helped others. 

We have camped along a lot of water during this trip, but this is the first place that has had a real swimming area. So far, though, it feels too cold and rainy to swim!