Day 11 - May 21, 2023. Owensboro, KY - Tell City, IN

Today was a shorter day, so a relaxed start about 9am.  The first 5-ish miles was on bike path - though a bit of an industrial area at first, but then through some rather well-to-do neighbourhoods towards the end.  Nice surface and easy riding.  Although - the papa (?) goose on the right gave chase a bit as I rode by.  Owensboro has done a great job of getting cyclists safely through their city on well-maintained bike paths.  



More of yesterday's farmland (corn, soybeans, wheat) for much of the day, although the next 15 miles also had some fun little hills.





One and only one SAG stop today, at about 18 miles beside lovely Kingfisher Lakes.  Great location, ladies, but I didn't get a good picture of the setting.



On the road again..............


Lots of wheat fields today.


In to Lewisport.  Looked for a coffee shop.  No luck.  Some folks stopped at the Mexican restaurant, but I didn't want that much food yet.  Lewisport has a great location, right on the Ohio River.  A few historical plaques to investigate.







What I thought was a nuclear plant downstream to the west on the Indiana side of the river is actually the Rockport Generating Station - a coal-fired power plant.  It features one of the tallest smokestacks in the world at 1,038 feet.  The coal is delivered to the plant by barges along the Ohio River and is sourced in Wyoming.  The plant will be retired in 2028 in order to achieve emission reduction goals.


The next 15-ish miles between Lewisport and Hawesville was on the Kentucky Scenic Byway.  Pretty darned flat and riding into a headwind the whole way.  Stopped to talk with a farmer.  Farmland the whole way.  Spiced up by Casey attending to my chocolate milk emergency.  I figured we'd be in trouble from WT HO with this rather unsafe manoeuver, but in fact the picture made it onto their website.  





I caught up with Linda and a local cyclist.  Had an interesting (moving) chat with him and he recommended a local ice cream shop just across the bridge in Indiana.  I should have taken a picture, but this way there is no evidence!  Nice bridge over the Ohio River from Hawesville KY to Cannelton IN.  Margaritas tonight!  






Another long wait for our rooms (even after a long stop at the ice cream shop).  Oh well - gives me a good chance to chat with people since I'm rooming on my own and I also mostly ride on my own.  


Tell City, Indiana

Population 7,506 (2020).  It is along the Ohio River and was founded in 1858 by a group of Swiss-German immigrants looking for a location where all could live in harmony.  It was named for the legendary Swiss hero and liberator, William Tell.  In the 2000 census, the median household income was $31,045.


Stats for the day:

Distance:  77.3 km / 48 miles

Elevation (Garmin):  428m up / 396m down.  1405' up / 1300' down.

Elevation (RWGPS):  475m up / 445m down.  1558' up / 1459' down.

Weather:  19C - 33C.  A refreshingly stiff headwind all day kept us cool 😏 Not humid, so the heat was OK.  Beautiful sunny day.




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