Cycling the Underground Railroad-Part 2

Mural in New Albany, Indiana.
An appropriate theme for this trip!

 BEGINNING AT THE END 

Today started with a 6 AM takeoff from Prescott, Arizona to Denver, then onto Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville,  Kentucky, followed by an Uber ride to New Albany, Indiana--where I finished the Southern section of this Underground Railroad adventure in April.  This ride I start out in a " free state" (versus a ,"slave state"), which I have discovered wasn't so free after all.

I arrived just in time to catch the outstanding exhibit, "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage" at the New Albany Carnegie Center for the Arts and History.  I learned MANY things,  and was reminded of others.  Here are some of the takeaways.

• New Albany, now a small town on the Indiana side of the Ohio River across from Louisville, Kentucky, was Indiana's largest city in 1850, and the second largest shipbuilding center on the River, producing three times as many boats as Louisville.
• Between 1831 and 1851, blacks had to post a $500 bond (equivalent to $17,500 today) to guarantee their "good behavior" to live in Indiana. 
• In 1851, the Indiana Constitution was amended so that it was illegal for ANY black person--slave or free--to live in the state.
• So, even by escaping to Indiana, fugitive slaves could not stay, even though Indiana was technically a "free state," and had to move further north, many of them to Canada, where bounty hunters could not take them.
• Because of this, the Underground Railroad was very active along the Kentucky/Indiana border.
• Many "free blacks" were kidnapped in Indiana, taken over to Kentucky and illegally "sold down the river" to hard labor in the South.
• New Albany was the scene of a race riot prior to the Civil War, where white pro-slavery raducals attempted to route blacks out of the city.

I could have spent much longer at the Center, but was encouraged to leave at 5pm when they closed.

I made may way down Spring Street to the Hampton Inn, where I delightedly found my bike and gear that was shipped ahead waiting for me.

Bike and gear before assembly.

I spent some time reassembling my equipment...

Ready to go!

When I finished, I walked down the street to eat at the "Dragon King's Daughter," a somewhat "hip" restaurant/bar featuring "Asian fusion."  The food was unique and tasty, made even more interesting by watching the TVG Channel--a horse racing station--on the big flat screen in front of me.  (Somewhat appropriate for an establishment only a few miles from Churchill Downs, Home to the Kentucky Derby).

The Dragon King's Daughter looks eerily like a cowgirl! There were no paper menus.  You had to use your phone to scan the QR code to see food selections. 

Tomorrow I start my trip in earnest, pedalling upstream along the Ohio River.