Day 10 - May 20, 2023. Morganfield, KY - Owensboro, KY

 An early-ish start with luggage pickup at the Outcast Annex @ 6:45.  Emily had breakfast ready to go @ 7.  Today's ride was over 100 km, but relatively little climbing so I was hoping for a pokey recovery ride.  Except for the pesky headwind for about half the ride, it went as planned.  Even after poking about I was still into the hotel before 2 and had to wait an hour and a half for my room to be ready.  Oh well....

We started with a good long stretch on State Route 359.  Almost all the roads today were very quiet secondary roads.  They were a bit rough in places, but we also had some fresh pavement.  We're definitely in farming country now - mostly what looked like large farming operations.  Corn seems to be the main crop, but lots of something else too - maybe soybeans (later confirmed to indeed by soybeans).  In general, the homes (farmhouses and other rural properties) are some of the best maintained and manicured that we have seen yet.  Here are some pictures from the first 18 miles.





Then - into Henderson, which seemed like a fairly large place.  The population is about 28,000.  It is located along the Ohio River and is actually considered a suburb of Evansville, Indiana.






It seemed like a pretty busy place.  There was a market going on on Main Street, and all the crosses and flags were out for Memorial Day.


At about 37 miles we crossed the Green River.  Our cue sheet said "CAUTION: narrow bridge".  Apparently it's been replaced.  They must have had a sale on blue bridges.  Looks a lot like the new one over the Cumberland River.





Miscellaneous pics from the next part.  Ongoing large farming operations.  Bumpy roads, freshly paved roads, and an old barn.





Somewhere around 50 miles I stopped in at a good-old-fashioned lemonade stand manned by Lilly (about 5) and her younger sister; so cute!  Had a nice chat with their mom.  

We started coming in to Owensboro at about 55 miles and pretty much followed a bike path all the way to the hotel.  We passed a very large sports park that seemed to be hosting a big boys' baseball tournament.  I stopped for a while to watch and thought back to doing the same thing on Memorial Day on the Sierra Cascades ride.  I love to watch kids play various sports.  


I should have stayed for a few more innings.  Long wait for my room.

Emily made us a fabulous dinner - lemon chicken, corn on the cob, great salad and three choices of lemon cakes and pies for dessert.  It was Cathy's birthday, and I think lemon is her favourite flavour.  The chicken was done to perfection!




Owensboro, Kentucky

Population 60,183 (2020).  A relatively huge city, it is the fourth-largest city in the state of Kentucky by population.  Its nickname is "BBQ Capital of the World".  It was settled in 1797, established as Owensboro in 1817 and incorporated in 1850.  It is located at the crook of a bend in the Ohio River.  In 2010 the median household income was $37,289.  In 1936, downtown Owensboro was the site of the last public hanging in the United States.  A 26-year-old African American man, Rainey Bethea, was convicted and sentenced for the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lischa Edwards.  Only 37 days elapsed between the crime and the execution.  Over the years, many industries have played an important role in the Owensboro economy.  Distillers (mainly of bourbon whiskey), civil engineering projects, tobacco processing, wagons/carriages/cars (up until 1922), furniture, light bulb manufacturing, welding, etc.  It is now home to a number of museums, including the International Bluegrass Music Museum.  Johnny Depp (actor) is from here, as is Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch).


Stats for the day:  

Distance:  104.1 km / 64 miles

Elevation (Garmin):  493m up / 513m down.  1619' up / 1683' down.

Elevation (RWGPS):  526m up / 529m down.  1725' up / 1735' down.

Weather:  14C - 29C.  Beautiful sunny day.  A bit of a stiff wind out of the north.  Sometimes in our face; sometimes a tailwind.




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