Day 5 -- Lexington

We arrived in Lexington mid-afternoon.  Today's route was 59 miles with 4,000' of climb.  At some point someone commented that it was taking a long time to get down the road, and it was with all the rolling hills plus the two 10% climbs of two miles or so. This is a view from the top of the last big climb of the day looking back over the valley from the top of the ridge.  Routes regularly climb to the top of a ridge then back down.

There was another complicating factor today in that I broke a pedal shortly after the sag stop at mile 33.  It took some time for the mechanics van to get there.  We swapped the pedal for a functioning pedal off a staff member's bike so that I could finish the route today, then stopped at the bike shop on the way through Lexington to buy a new set of pedals. We can only surmise the bearings went bad on the broken pedal.  Who knew?  I always learn new things on trips.  I now know that bearings need to be repacked on pedals.  I also know how to adjust brakes, something else important on this trip.

We were fortunate the bike shop proprietor was well stocked with pedals.  He still had ample supply of USPS Team water bottles, which would date back to the hey day of the teams with Lance Armstrong.

Today's route took us through Stuart Draft, Steeles Tavern and Vesuvius.  It was interesting to ride by one of Target's distribution centers shortly before Stuart Draft.  We continue to see a lot of cattle and today we saw llamas.  We have also seen signs of Amish communities, a few buggies and homes.

One of the side trips available today was to Mt. Vesuvius. This climb is known in this area's biking community for it's length, switchbacks and grade of 25%.  A few of the tour's riders did take it on and confirmed it is difficult and the best part was coming down.

Deb (Arizona) and Sandy (Colorado) top last climb of the day

We're in Lexington for the next three nights and will be riding loops on those days.  That should give everyone ample time off the bike to take in more local sites.

Today's joke from Sophia and Natalie:
Q.  Why did the chicken cross the road?
A.  To get to the other side, of course!
Thanks girls, happy birthday!