EXERT & EXHALE
24 hours before my departure, I got a pair of offers
I couldn’t believe. One was to commentate on
Louisville City’s opening match of the season for
radio, and the other was to join Lance McGarvey
on his Soccer City Radio show, so the trip was
postponed indefinitely.
330 miles,
3 days,
1 journey
By Kevin Kernen
Between July 15
and July 17 I rode
my bicycle from
Louisville to Chicago
to see Louisville City
FC take on Chicago in
the U.S. Open Cup on
July 18. This is what
happened.
The idea for me began back in February, I can’t
remember exactly what made me want to take
a tour like this, but spring break was nearing in
March, I have never been the sort to take the usual
path, I love commuting on my bike and riding
around town, so I thought about taking my bike
on a trip somewhere.
I did some research into what it took for a ride
like this, and I developed a training program,
spending hours on a stationary bike a few times
a week and procuring the gear I would need, nary
a stone went unturned.
I decided early on that I would undertake the
tour on my daily commuter bicycle, a 6ku brand
Urban Track Bike, a single-speed bicycle that,
while lightweight, was in no way suited to this sort
of riding. The fact that it had a single gear meant
that the bike wouldn’t quite have the right ratio for
any situation, and I was using more energy than a
more suited bike would necessitate. I considered
it just adding to the challenge.
I planned to leave for Chicago on March 14,
splitting the trip into four legs, camping along the
way, with a bus ride back. I was set to leave when
32 EXTOL : AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018
Fast forward to June 21. LouCity was fresh off
an incredible win against Nashville Soccer Club
in the U.S. Open Cup and drew the Chicago Fire
in the quarterfinals to be played on July 17. I’d
been handed the role as color commentator for
Louisville City for the whole season, so this was
the perfect time to make up the trip, and I went
back and found the route I had planned previously.
I went on a handful of training rides but probably
not enough. I tweaked my route to shorten the
distance because I wanted to make sure I could
make it to Chicago, riding about 75 miles a day,
not to ask too much of myself. I set July 15 as my
departure date.
To keep myself accountable, I announced my
errand on Soccer City a week before, but as the
day grew nearer, my feet got colder. The forecast
was ominous and I was nervous. I wasn’t in the
shape I was in the first time around. Even back in
March, while I did prepare myself for the distance,
I didn’t really seek out any advice on doing this
sort of thing.
I was prepared to call it off again up until the
day before. Then, I decided I would undertake
the task. I had all the snacks and drink mixes that
I needed, so I was prepared on that front, and I
told myself that I would probably look back on
this as a worthwhile adventure.
July 15 was departure day. My goal for the day
was to make it to Edinburgh and find a place to
camp west of town. Seymour was the goal for lunch.
I made my way over the Big Four Bridge and found
a route north, US-31. Normally I wanted to avoid
highways, but it was a quiet Sunday morning and
the surface was pristine.
I remember from my training rides that my
personal threshold for pain was around 40 miles.
If I could make it past that then I felt like I could
ride forever.
The first 20 or so miles were some of the quickest
I’d ever clocked on a ride. I felt great until I neared
that magical 40th mile. I edged past it and made
it to Seymour by 1 p.m. I was feeling great. I was
only a couple hours away from where I wanted to
keep the night, so I took my time getting back on
the bike. Only about an hour back on the road,