My First Protest Ride
Before the summer is out, I am planning to make a bike trip from Shelbyville, IN to Florence, KY where my youngest Grandchild, Ariya Claire lives with her parents, my son Luke and his wife Sarrah.
Although I make my daily commute(s) via bicycle, I feel compelled to make this trip as an extended part of my “protest of high gasoline prices”. I suppose I feel this compulsion, somewhat because my “commute” is only less than five miles daily. And when anyone asks how far I ride, I feel, although they don’t verbally express it, that my short commute is justified for me since my ride is a very short one, and at the same time it is a justification for them not to ride, since their ride would possibly be considerably longer. It is very easy for someone to dictate to others what they should or should not do when they themselves do not do as they say. Personally, if my personal commute were as much as 10 miles one-way I would still commute via bicycle!
I suppose I feel that a two day 176-mile (that’s 88 miles in one day 
) trip may give my opinion about why everyone should ride, a little extra weight. (See my post, “Why You Too Should Ride”).
I feel that anyone who commutes five miles or less, one way, is a prime candidate for a bicycle commute.
Using the map to the right you can view any portion of my planned route. Left click/hold and drag to move along the route. To get a closer look zoom in and out using the plus or minus signs in the upper right corner of the map.
The greatest challenge I found in laying out this route was getting across the Ohio River on a bicycle. Bike or pedestrians cannot travel the route we travel by auto. I finally located the Anderson Ferry that crosses the Ohio between Cincinnati and Constance, KY. When I contacted them about a schedule, they replied, “Just show up, we’ll get you across as quickly as possible, in less than 15 minutes”. I thought that was reasonable.
Between now, June 3, and actually completing this ride I will be doing a few training rides to build up to this 88-mile trip (176-mile round-trip). I plan to make this trek by August 1, weather permitting. (Due to the limited vacation time that is available to me now, I will most likely be making this trip the weekend of Labor Day September 1.)