Sorry for the delay in posts around here... so much has happened since the last post, including...drumroll please.... I've made it through the Appalachians!! I'm sitting here at the house of my nice Couchsurfing hosts, Mary and James, where I have had the most excellent and long overdue rest day here in Berea. Gosh, I could probably use another one, but cycle on I will tomorrow!...still gonna have many ups and downs but the big climbs are over for now.....
Day 12: Damascus, VA to Council, VA (50.3 miles)
Day 13: Council, VA to Lookout, KENTUCKY (45 miles)
Day 14: Lookout, KY to Hindman, KY (50.9 miles)
Day 15: Hindman, KY to Booneville, KY (66.3 miles)
Day 16: Booneville, KY to Berea, KY (46 miles)
Day 17: REST DAY!!!! (in Berea - most awesome town)
Earworms: (not a lot this round.... too busy with actual people! :-) )
Bruce Springsteen: Dancing in the Dark
Echosmith - Cool Kids (thank you Kristen for saving me here.. literally had one line stuck in my head for days and she clued me into who it was!)
Madonna - Get into the Groove
Since so much has happened in the last several days, I'll give you a little overview and then I thought I would just tell you about specific moments that stick out in my mind.
*once again, more details always available at the Crazy Guy journal
OVERVIEW: I left Damascus, had a solo ride day which included my first turtle save, a pouring downpour where I found cover under a gas station awning, climbing an incredibly steep climb near a place called Hayter's Gap (I'm convinced cyclists named it) and camping in my first city park...between then and now, I crossed into Kentucky (one state down!), met two other cyclists, Megan and Kristen, a man from England named Robert, another guy from New England named Mark, and reconnected with Devin. We more or less became a biker gang making our way through the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, fending off many a dog in hot pursuit of our bikes/us, got soaked in the cold and windy rain, andclimbed breathless to the tops of mountains with beautiful overlooks. We made an appearance on a radio show and laughed and dried off in a crazy and amazing guesthouse, slept in a gymnasium and introduced Robert to Kraft Mac n Cheese and girl scout cookies.....finally rolling into Berea, where now we part ways. It's sad to leave this special group, but I'm so thankful to have ridden with them through Eastern Kentucky. These past few days have really been special.
MOMENT: After a particularly grueling day we come to our last, and unexpected, climb. The sun is beating down and we're tired but Kristen has her jams going through her phone and little speaker hooked to her bike (oooh that was so nice to have these past few days!) Just as the ole' quads didn't think they could do another pedal what comes drifting out of the speakers?.... "Steeevvviiiieeee!" I yell. "I love Fleetwood Mac!!!" shouts Kristen! It was none other than Dreams drifting out of the speaker... just enough of a push to get us up and over the climb and into Hindman, KY.
MOMENT: Speaking of Hindman, KY..... the place where the ultimate bike tourist dream happened. At least one if you are a musician like myself! We had been climbing some pretty tough climbs that day, but couldn't find a place to stay in Hindman, so we thought that we might as well make a tough day tougher and bike another 20 to Hazard. But as we roll into downtown Hindman we stopped for a bathroom break and what do I spy but an awesome mural of musicians. I of course have to check it out which lead to Kristen seeing the shop it was associated says I MUST check it out. Turns out we are at the Appalachian Artisan Center. They make dulimers and guitars and banjos and have a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. I start playing a wooden folk banjo and what happens but we have a free place to camp at the settlement school just behind the building AND I record a radio show with them!!! (Airing this coming Wednesday and you can listen online. More details ASAP.)!! Pretty much this is why I am on this bike tour. It was such an incredibly special night and even Robert got on the air to talk about England his doing this ride to raise money for Stroke survivors.
MOMENT: We're in coal country now, big time. But as we roll into Elkhorn City, KY what road are we one? PATTY LOVELESS DRIVE. Of course Kristen and I had to snap some photos of that! I also stopped in a store where they had GIRL SCOUT COOKIES. We appreciate the small stuff on this ride.
MOMENT: We're climbing a particularly tough climb... I look down at my speedometer. 3.9, 3.5....3.1...2.9....TWO POINT NINE MILES PER HOUR. That's the slowest I've biked on this trip so far. But who made it to the top. Me. I'm learning a lot about tenacity in these mountains.
MOMENTS: And by moments I mean lots of them. Because we were in dogs-who-like-to-chase-you central. And by chase I mean sneak up from a yard at full blast heading at you with teeth barred and wanting to puncture your tire, your pannier, or your foot. I seriously felt like I was in a video game.........To give you a picture: We're riding along when three come at us. We ride.. Robert and I are in the back. "I'm going to stop," I say. "No, ride, ride!!" shouts Robert. I Heyells this crazy men yell and startle them and we continue on. We have figured that this probably happened once every 11 miles or so for the last three days. In the evening as everyone gathers we tell dog chasing stories. These remind me of those fish stories fisherman like to tell...... but I will tell you I fell asleep two nights ago dreaming about being chased by dogs.
Moment: Kristen, Megan, and I roll up to the Freeda Harris Baptist Center. How do we get in? We look around trying doors. Finally, the gymnasium opens! Who is there but Robert and Mark! Party in the gym that night! We introduce Robert to all things American: Kraft Mac n'cheese, girl scout cookies, chex mix, pancakes... you name it. We all sleep on pads on the middle of gym floor with the ice machine rolling...
Moment: It's been a long, cold, rainy day. Robert and I are the last survivors. Megan and and Kristen getting picked up 18 miles back by our amazing host, Linda due to Megan not feeling well. We make the final push in the wet evening rain. But it's okay because we get to stay at the Victorian Rose, Linda's guesthouse. (EVERYBODY WHO IS BIKING... STAY WITH HER SHE IS AMAZING). Devin is there too and so the five of us get to stay in this crazy house with TV and soup and grilled cheese (another introduction for Robert) and laughs and dog chasing stories.
THE GANG:
Megan and Kristen: Friends from D.C. riding together. Kristen to Colorado and Megan to Portland. Super fun, ride my pace, listen to great music and OTHER GIRLS on the route. (That's kind of big deal). Also, Megan made me an awesome license plate for my bike! :-)
Robert: from England. Avid bicyclist who could be racing on ahead of all of us but instead is biking with us. Such an amazing guy. He had a stroke 4 years ago, was in a coma for six weeks and in the hospital for several months after. He now does volunteering with stroke victims, helping survivors see that "life is for living" and that so much can be accomplished after having a stroke. He is truly inspirational. You can follow his blog here: http://travelblogs.mapquest.com/79706/roberts-american-adventure
Mark: Mark has been talking about doing this for years and years. He's now at the stage in life where it's "now or never." His son just moved to Oregon so he's got a bike, a trailer with a plastic tub with his gear and off he is going. Mark is such an inspiration because he's not the fastest or the fittest but by golly, even if he's walking up those hills he is doing it and making it into camp each night. I don't know if I will see Mark or not this ride, but the couple of evenings I got to spend with him were really nice. When I don't think I can do anymore hills, I just think of him and his pure grit.
Devin: You met him before but we hooked up with him at Linda's Victorian Rose (the amazing guest house we all stayed in after a cold and rainy day of epic proportions). He had left his GPS locater in Hazard and I fetched it for him. He has a nice knack for appearing out of nowhere. Like when we rolled into Berea and I hear a "hi." I look to my right and there he is. "Do you have a place to stay?" I ask. "Not yet." So we head to my hosts and Devin gets a place too! I think he'll probably be popping back up on this blog sometime again before its all said and done.
One other thing: I have been thinking about whether to write anything about this or not, but I don't think I can not say anything. Where we have been biking has pretty much been through some of the poorest areas in the country. I knew that going in, but I don't know if I can really write about where we biked. Driving a car as a passerby you would never see these roads and the communites, but on a bike following the Transamerica you do. It's startling and I honestly felt like I was in a foreign country. I'm not going to write more about this on the blog at this time, but I've got a lot to say about it if you ever want to ask more.
Day 12: Damascus, VA to Council, VA (50.3 miles)
Day 13: Council, VA to Lookout, KENTUCKY (45 miles)
Day 14: Lookout, KY to Hindman, KY (50.9 miles)
Day 15: Hindman, KY to Booneville, KY (66.3 miles)
Day 16: Booneville, KY to Berea, KY (46 miles)
Day 17: REST DAY!!!! (in Berea - most awesome town)
Earworms: (not a lot this round.... too busy with actual people! :-) )
Bruce Springsteen: Dancing in the Dark
Echosmith - Cool Kids (thank you Kristen for saving me here.. literally had one line stuck in my head for days and she clued me into who it was!)
Madonna - Get into the Groove
Since so much has happened in the last several days, I'll give you a little overview and then I thought I would just tell you about specific moments that stick out in my mind.
*once again, more details always available at the Crazy Guy journal
OVERVIEW: I left Damascus, had a solo ride day which included my first turtle save, a pouring downpour where I found cover under a gas station awning, climbing an incredibly steep climb near a place called Hayter's Gap (I'm convinced cyclists named it) and camping in my first city park...between then and now, I crossed into Kentucky (one state down!), met two other cyclists, Megan and Kristen, a man from England named Robert, another guy from New England named Mark, and reconnected with Devin. We more or less became a biker gang making our way through the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, fending off many a dog in hot pursuit of our bikes/us, got soaked in the cold and windy rain, andclimbed breathless to the tops of mountains with beautiful overlooks. We made an appearance on a radio show and laughed and dried off in a crazy and amazing guesthouse, slept in a gymnasium and introduced Robert to Kraft Mac n Cheese and girl scout cookies.....finally rolling into Berea, where now we part ways. It's sad to leave this special group, but I'm so thankful to have ridden with them through Eastern Kentucky. These past few days have really been special.MOMENT: After a particularly grueling day we come to our last, and unexpected, climb. The sun is beating down and we're tired but Kristen has her jams going through her phone and little speaker hooked to her bike (oooh that was so nice to have these past few days!) Just as the ole' quads didn't think they could do another pedal what comes drifting out of the speakers?.... "Steeevvviiiieeee!" I yell. "I love Fleetwood Mac!!!" shouts Kristen! It was none other than Dreams drifting out of the speaker... just enough of a push to get us up and over the climb and into Hindman, KY.
MOMENT: Speaking of Hindman, KY..... the place where the ultimate bike tourist dream happened. At least one if you are a musician like myself! We had been climbing some pretty tough climbs that day, but couldn't find a place to stay in Hindman, so we thought that we might as well make a tough day tougher and bike another 20 to Hazard. But as we roll into downtown Hindman we stopped for a bathroom break and what do I spy but an awesome mural of musicians. I of course have to check it out which lead to Kristen seeing the shop it was associated says I MUST check it out. Turns out we are at the Appalachian Artisan Center. They make dulimers and guitars and banjos and have a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. I start playing a wooden folk banjo and what happens but we have a free place to camp at the settlement school just behind the building AND I record a radio show with them!!! (Airing this coming Wednesday and you can listen online. More details ASAP.)!! Pretty much this is why I am on this bike tour. It was such an incredibly special night and even Robert got on the air to talk about England his doing this ride to raise money for Stroke survivors.MOMENT: We're in coal country now, big time. But as we roll into Elkhorn City, KY what road are we one? PATTY LOVELESS DRIVE. Of course Kristen and I had to snap some photos of that! I also stopped in a store where they had GIRL SCOUT COOKIES. We appreciate the small stuff on this ride.
Megan made me a license plate for my bike!
(still got to get the music notes drawn on)
MOMENT: We're climbing a particularly tough climb... I look down at my speedometer. 3.9, 3.5....3.1...2.9....TWO POINT NINE MILES PER HOUR. That's the slowest I've biked on this trip so far. But who made it to the top. Me. I'm learning a lot about tenacity in these mountains.
beautiful misty mountains in Hayter's Gap...right before the climb
MOMENTS: And by moments I mean lots of them. Because we were in dogs-who-like-to-chase-you central. And by chase I mean sneak up from a yard at full blast heading at you with teeth barred and wanting to puncture your tire, your pannier, or your foot. I seriously felt like I was in a video game.........To give you a picture: We're riding along when three come at us. We ride.. Robert and I are in the back. "I'm going to stop," I say. "No, ride, ride!!" shouts Robert. I Heyells this crazy men yell and startle them and we continue on. We have figured that this probably happened once every 11 miles or so for the last three days. In the evening as everyone gathers we tell dog chasing stories. These remind me of those fish stories fisherman like to tell...... but I will tell you I fell asleep two nights ago dreaming about being chased by dogs.
Moment: Kristen, Megan, and I roll up to the Freeda Harris Baptist Center. How do we get in? We look around trying doors. Finally, the gymnasium opens! Who is there but Robert and Mark! Party in the gym that night! We introduce Robert to all things American: Kraft Mac n'cheese, girl scout cookies, chex mix, pancakes... you name it. We all sleep on pads on the middle of gym floor with the ice machine rolling...Moment: It's been a long, cold, rainy day. Robert and I are the last survivors. Megan and and Kristen getting picked up 18 miles back by our amazing host, Linda due to Megan not feeling well. We make the final push in the wet evening rain. But it's okay because we get to stay at the Victorian Rose, Linda's guesthouse. (EVERYBODY WHO IS BIKING... STAY WITH HER SHE IS AMAZING). Devin is there too and so the five of us get to stay in this crazy house with TV and soup and grilled cheese (another introduction for Robert) and laughs and dog chasing stories.
Linda's Victorian Rose guesthouse. Relief after a cold, rainy day.
THE GANG:
2nd of four big climbs that day...but we made it!
Megan and Kristen: Friends from D.C. riding together. Kristen to Colorado and Megan to Portland. Super fun, ride my pace, listen to great music and OTHER GIRLS on the route. (That's kind of big deal). Also, Megan made me an awesome license plate for my bike! :-)
Robert: from England. Avid bicyclist who could be racing on ahead of all of us but instead is biking with us. Such an amazing guy. He had a stroke 4 years ago, was in a coma for six weeks and in the hospital for several months after. He now does volunteering with stroke victims, helping survivors see that "life is for living" and that so much can be accomplished after having a stroke. He is truly inspirational. You can follow his blog here: http://travelblogs.mapquest.com/79706/roberts-american-adventureMark: Mark has been talking about doing this for years and years. He's now at the stage in life where it's "now or never." His son just moved to Oregon so he's got a bike, a trailer with a plastic tub with his gear and off he is going. Mark is such an inspiration because he's not the fastest or the fittest but by golly, even if he's walking up those hills he is doing it and making it into camp each night. I don't know if I will see Mark or not this ride, but the couple of evenings I got to spend with him were really nice. When I don't think I can do anymore hills, I just think of him and his pure grit.
Devin: You met him before but we hooked up with him at Linda's Victorian Rose (the amazing guest house we all stayed in after a cold and rainy day of epic proportions). He had left his GPS locater in Hazard and I fetched it for him. He has a nice knack for appearing out of nowhere. Like when we rolled into Berea and I hear a "hi." I look to my right and there he is. "Do you have a place to stay?" I ask. "Not yet." So we head to my hosts and Devin gets a place too! I think he'll probably be popping back up on this blog sometime again before its all said and done.
One other thing: I have been thinking about whether to write anything about this or not, but I don't think I can not say anything. Where we have been biking has pretty much been through some of the poorest areas in the country. I knew that going in, but I don't know if I can really write about where we biked. Driving a car as a passerby you would never see these roads and the communites, but on a bike following the Transamerica you do. It's startling and I honestly felt like I was in a foreign country. I'm not going to write more about this on the blog at this time, but I've got a lot to say about it if you ever want to ask more.
MORE PHOTOS:
NOT LYING.
the top of the Hayter's gap climb. SO HAPPY to see the county line!
my first turtle save!
made a stop here for lunch... then decided to push on...only to get caught in a downpour two miles down the road!
first experience city park camping. But the mainenance crew brought me a cherry slushy!
Looking out at the "Grand Canyon of the South"
"The Breaks" (Megan, Kristen, and I had the best lunch here!)
PATTY LOVELESS DRIVE!
So my new nickname is Chain Grease.
We don't quite know how it always seems to get all over my leg that is not on the chain side....
Megan's giving up her Long Haul Trucker for this...
Had to give Robert an authentic American meal..
amazing magic in Hindman. Appeared on a radio show too!
beautiful handmade dulcimers
wow, some really amazing banjos
our little campsite in Hindman behind the Settlement school
Linda's place... look hard. Yes, there is a mannquin in the yard
I couldn't help take a picture
Go Coty!!
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