Day 60 – Whittleton Campground, Natural Bridge State Park to Paintsville, KY
10/10/2026
Today’s route encompassed 78.7 miles, all paved and included a rail trail into Paintsville.
It was a very rainy and cool day and due to several factors, none of the riders completed the bike route.
The day began overcast with John driving the truck and Greg, Rolf, & Mark cycling. Rain began about 10:15 and was light to heavy most of the rest of the day. The remnants of hurricane Isaias were upon us. It was also cold, although biking kept us warm, we cooled quickly when we stopped.
Rolf & Mark lunched under a bridge to be out of the rain for a while. The route took us into the Kentucky hills and was beautiful with lots of ups and downs – the full route included 4,400+ feet of elevation gain. The uphills were steep but short and the downhills were exciting and a little scary as we did not want to wipe out on the wet pavement and leaves.
In one small town we came upon the house of Joe Bowen, a biker who circumnavigated the US on a bike, traveling over 12,000 miles. He went on to walk across the US on stilts. Greg was able to talk to him on the phone, but he was not home and we were unable to meet him. Hopefully some of us will get back there to meet the man.
The route took us across the Bert T Combs Mountain Parkway – a 4-lane divided, limited access highway several times. Finally, the route took us onto the Parkway for several miles, which thankfully had a wide paved shoulder.
As Rolf & Mark exited the Parkway Rolf’s rear tire exploded with a geyser of sealant spraying with each turn of his wheel. With his flat, the rain, & the cold, Mark & Rolf decided to call John with the truck for a pickup. Greg, who was about 6 miles ahead at that point, was called and he decided that although he had less than 25 miles to go, he too would get a ride into Paintsville. We had pre-scheduled a hotel for the night as we knew the day would be wet.
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