Ride C2C #4 - Day 0: Louisville Prep and what we forgot

6/24/23 Thursday, Day 0, Louisville

In the morning, we repacked all our stuff to create our shopping list for the day and make sure we had everything else.

Here’s what happened:

Robin: Did you pack the sleeping bag?

Doug: Didn’t you pack the sleeping bag?

Was a little bit of how our day started with assembling our gear.

We forgot:

— Sleeping Bag (its a double)

— Bungee cords (to strap the stuff onto our bikes)

— Robin’s bungee net also for strapping stuff on our bikes

We started the day with a delicious breakfast at “Biscuit Belly” and yes, their biscuits are delish.

Bikes:  We shipped our bikes from Earls bikes and Bellingham to a store called “On Your Left Cycles”. They did a fabulous job on both ends and we had a great chat with owner Sean about riding bikes and touring.  We Were able to pick up the missing bungees from the shop.

We took a back road to test out the bikes and head back to our hotel - And thought maybe our next adventure would be to buy one of these beautiful Victorian homes and start a new health club here. This one was only $299,000. Crazy, right?

Fun and quirky - Doug happened to see a 1950’s wicker picnic basket with red accents and he said it would go great with my 1960 Sunbeam Alpine convertible (also red).  We came back to get it and ship it after our jaunt to Indiana.

We planned on our pedal over to Indiana via the ‘big four”pedestrian Bridge

to have lunch when we spied a thrift shop - and bought a brand new quilt and worn but clean sheet (I know…ewww.  But we were desperate) that we could use in lieu of our sleeping bag.  

AND I found a bungee cord on the street on the way to the Steamboat in Museum. Boom!

We also sent out the cry for help to Michelle who enlisted Kristina at the club to locate our missing sleeping bag in our basement and overnight UPS it to a hotel we’d be at in a couple of days.  Whew!  But we needed something for our first night of camping and so the quilt and sheet would due.

 
We pedaled on to the Steamboat museum that was in a spectacular house owned by the most famous steamboat builders, the Howard family. 

 The Howards built the home in the late 1800’s, lived in it for generations, then finally donated the home - which had many original fixtures, furniture, and decorations - as a museum and tribute to their family’s legacy. 

 we also learned how Mark Twain chose his pen name.

Had a great lunch at a pub near the Ohio river and shared our table with a two locals and had a good chat.

Back to Louisville and time to organize our stuff (when we realized we ALSO forgot to buy stove fuel).

We had a Cajun food dinner next door at the LouLou and took an Uber into Old Louisville for a 2 hour long walking “ghost tour” - some great stories and even more beautiful buildings on “millionaires row” and “gas light alley” where actual gas lanterns stay lit 24 hours a day (it costs too much to turn them on and off).