‘Ride To Francis’: Day 3

By Dave Christi


Louisville, Ky.

KSU at 9:10 a.m. EDT

After staying with some very special friends (Bob and Nancy Liebman) in Cincinnati, I bundled up to greet the 47 degree morning temperature. (Bob commented about turning the heat on in his car. It was definitely brisk out there and I couldn't stop trying to figure out what the windchill would be at 65 mph :^) Actually, about 15 minutes later I pulled over, donned my rain jacket for an extra layer and  put on a heavier pair of insulated gloves :-O. Later on I arrived in Louisville, Ky., and as you can see from the photos, I stopped by the waterfront and then (and this is for my cousin Robert Sudol) stopped over to see where the Kentucky Derby is run and snapped a pic of Churchill Downs :^). The place is huge!


Churchill Downs

I got a good feel of the city and met a few bicyclists originally from North East (one being from New Paltz, not far from my home in Kingston, N.Y., and another from the South shore on Long Island.) Small world, huh?

I actually didn't head out until almost 2:00 p.m. and still had a good four hours of riding to get to my next destination just east of St. Louis. By then the clouds disappeared and the temps went into the low 70's with almost no wind - perfect riding weather. I followed a well groomed Route 64 west and arrived at O'Fallon, Ill., now one day closer to seeing my good friends Bob and Heather Sommer and their family.