DAY TWENTY: Shelbyville, KY

June 21, 2007
Lexington, KY to Shelbyville, KY
~65 miles
by Sara Barz

To this Yankee girl, Kentucky is all horse farms and bourbon. During our ride today from Lexington to Shelbyville we had the distinct pleasure of experiencing both in abundance.

Outside of the city of Lexington, horse farms sprawl for acres. It's probably one of the only places on earth where one can see many million dollar horses within a 10 mile radius all from the safety of one's bicycle (or car if that's your thing). Thus to leave Lexington we had to ride through about 25 miles of rolling hills, 70 degree sunny weather, and pure horse country.

For the duration of the morning the group essentially rode as a pack directly to a bourbon distillery (a matter of priorities). The Woodford Distillery in fact, which according to our extremely enthusiastic tour guide produces the best whiskey, bourbon, spirit, alcohol, beverage, etc. in the whole world. For all the bourbon connoisseurs reading this blog, what separates Woodford bourbon from the rest is it's time spent in a conical still, 7.1 years in a toasted barrel (as opposed to the standard charred), and 72% Kentucky home grown crown. Not being a bourbon drinker myself, all of these qualities were lost on me when we finally had our chance to try the prized liquid. To me it was just spicey, but for interested parties (hi Dad!) I promise I tried to revere it as best I could.

The afternoon took a much more leisurely pace. After a long lunch break Reuben, Lisa, Ben, Steven, Andy, Sam, and I took a quick dip in a river. Unfortunately, the experience was cut short by an angry local who did not like that we were using his boat as a springboard into said river. Sam and Steven also took a side trip to some caves just outside of Frankfort, but were chased out by an unhappy old man brandishing a large stick and two large barking dogs.

Tonight Shelbyville hosts the Shelby County Fair to which many HBCers have visited already. We are also very much looking forward to a late start tomorrow for our short 25 mile trip to Louisville.

Thank you to all our host families for wonderful homestays in Lexington!