bike trip 09, springfield to lexington

well! haven't written in here for a while. i left this morning on another trip to atlanta, georgia, this time on a 2009 yamaha v star 250. its a 400 pound bike, 85 miles to the gallon, 250cc. the bike is super light, so im taking all back roads. semi tucks would just about blow me over if i dared get on the freeway! riding went well today, i wore thermal underwear, jeans, two pairs of socks, a wool sweater, a hooded sweatshit, a scarf, a leather jacket, and two gloves. it may sound like overkill, but cold temperature is the last thing i want to worry about! the ride from springfield to xenia was noneventful, ive done it plenty of times. once i passed the 725 turnoff to head to bellbrook, i was in uncharted territory. the ride was enjoyable on 42 south, i rode it all the way into springfield. the ride from mason, ohio to cincinnati was less than enjoyable. small towns every 2 miles, each full of unnecessary stoplights. riding through cincinnati was great, lotsa of hills, curves, potholes. a lot of the cars around me were playing loud rap or soul music, and i really enjoyed the sound and the beat as i rode through the city. i ended up ditching my directions and rode up and down the ohio side of the ohio river until i could find the bridge to get to kentucky. i met up with my sister stacey about 20 miles into kentucky. i was feeling a bit stressed about the last 40 miles, but i really unwound when we sat down on an outside patio at a coffee shop ~ apple cider for her, double espresso for me. oh, the mood enhancing benefits of caffeine! i readjusted my whole attitude of following a schedule, and hopped on the bike to see if i could make it to lexington, ky before sundown, as my original plan was to make it to la follette, tennessee to stay with my great aunt margaret. i got chills when 27S (my kentucky route) turned into 68W. for those unaware, last summer my friend kyle martin and i made nearly this exact same trip on bicycle (i.e., non motorized, 13 day trip in the july heat). 68W is the route that we took from ripley, ohio to lexington kentucky. drove through bourbon county, which is where all the 50-75 million dollar race horses live. old money. not exaggerating, last summer kyle and i got a ride from this jana lady who gave us a history of the area as we pulled into lexington. pretty ridiculous to see the huge yards, castle looking houses, and massive iron gates. pulled into lexington and made it to my friends house near the UK campus (from memory! wow.) and pulled up. luckily they hadn't moved, they were home, and they had just made a magnificent vegan soup. i ate a bowl, took off my layers of cold weather gear, and walked a bit around the city. i found my way to a coffee shop and had a mediocre cup of sumatra to warm up. i was walking back to the UK library and i met two African women, one from Zambia and one from Kenya, who were working on their masters here on an 8 week study abroad. i showed them the way to the library. now i'm off to a show with the folks from the shrieking shack on the north side of lexington. tomorrow morning i'm going to play clarinet downtown for an hour or so with the case open. good practice, fun for me, and a modest way to start the day. i enjoy playing music and sharing it with people. really, i've only been playing on and off for a week, but i feel confident enough with my improv on a downtown city street. plus, itd be nice to scrounge up enough for my next tank of gas. $5 to fill up the bike isn't too bad, is it?