Lexington

In spite of the state of  the global airline industry these days, my flight to the starting point went flawlessly.  Calgary to Atlanta followed by Atlanta to Lexington.  To my great surprise, Joyce (from the UK) was on my flight and she had arranged for Cy to pick us up at the airport.  Perfect!  And - Cy had my rental bike in the trailer and I was able to take it up to my hotel room in order to go for a wee ride the next day.  

I'm rooming with Patricia (from Colorado) for these first two nights.  We're both still on Mountain Time, so after rising late, having breakfast, and going to the bike shop to pick up her bike, we didn't even head out for a ride until about 1:30.  Cy had provided us with cue sheets for a couple of different routes, both of which took us to the Kentucky Horse Park.  Once we realized that the 50 mile ride was too ambitious for such a late start we followed the route for the 38 mile ride.  We did ride by many horses in the fields on the way to the Horse Park but, alas, we saw none once there.  The park itself appears to be part show stadium (kind of like Spruce Meadows), part administration, part museum & gift shops, part monuments and very likely a bunch of stables which we did not see.  Pretty ride there and a nice park to take a quick look around. 

Distance:  37.96 miles / 61.09 km

Elevation gain/loss:  1880 feet

Man O War

Once back in town we had dinner with Pat and Kathie, and gradually saw a few more of our riders drift by.  

Another late start for us on Thursday.  Cy took my bike to the bike shop for some adjustments resulting from a few things I found on yesterday's ride.  After breakfast I walked over to her place to pick it up and met Joyce there.  A visit to the bakery ensued (three treats for the price of one), and by then it was time to meet the group for our introductory meeting.  Out of 21 riders, just one woman is on her first WomanTours ride.  Fifteen of us have done one or more parts of the Trans Am route to date (plus both guides).  For me, it's wonderful to see all these amazing women one more time.  I haven't seen them for at least three years and life has happened to all of us in various ways.  It is great to be together again; can't wait to see what lies ahead this time!  Accordingly to Cy, that will be a lot of steep hills!! 

We just had a few minutes to do a quick walk downtown before heading back for a fix-a-flat workshop where my rental bike was the demo since it could really use a fresh tire on the back.  I sure hope "Gertrude" is better than the previous rentals I have and that Cy is not burdened with trying to keep it in working order.  

There is a fairly new bike and walking path along Vine Street, very close to our hotel.  All along quite a length of that path are these painted horses and foals, each representing one of Lexington's schools.    

Lexington is the second largest city in Kentucky and the 57th largest in the US.  Population about 325,000.  It is known as the "horse capital of the world".  The flags at the Horse Park yesterday were at half mast, probably in honour of the Queen.  

Dinner out with the group this evening and ready to ride tomorrow morning!