81.5 mile ride Lexington to Bardstown, where James & Isaiah met me in his pick up. So tonight is a very good tired! It’s sad that it takes losing something to realize how much you love it, but I appreciated my riding day and the weather and the scenery so very much today. The flower smells and the breeze on my face and hands felt so good! I was grateful to feel the power back in my bike and know that it has been solidly repaired. Also thankful to get to see James again, what a sweet evening! In the morning just before I left the hotel, the fire alarms went off. So I was in the lobby as they gathered before leaving. I saw this one Firemans helmet and asked him if these were his children’s hand prints? He said yes, this reminds us why we do what we are doing. I really appreciated the hotel staff and the bike shop staff, kind of got to know all of them over the past few days! As I was riding down the highway in Versailles, I came upon this castle! Just out of the blue. And then I remembered that the man on crutches that I spoke with yesterday told me about this, and told me the story behind it! A man and his wife went to Europe, and when they came back, he wanted to build his wife a castle. Just before it was completed, she died and he ended up selling it. It is now used for hotel and special events. It looked amazing. Dee had to return to Lexington today to have his pedal shaft properly repaired. It will need to cure for 24 hours so he will not be able to ride tomorrow either, but at least it is truly fixed. We put a lot of torque on those pedals in a day in these hills and on a trip. The wires I’m holding up are from steel belted radial tires along the highways. Unbelievably, those little wires are what work their way in through my tires and give me a flat. I went through a section of them and stopped to run my fingers all the way along the outsides of both tires. They are insidious little pieces! It was a beautiful day, an amazing day. Starting with Ben’s prayer time. Thank you, Ivy, also for the things you prayed… it was perfect. 💕