Day 17: Buckhorn Dam Campground, KY to Still House Hollow Farm, KY (60 miles, 796 total)
Well, Anne Katherine and I have been riding for several days straight (everyday since Waynesboro). Since you all got to loaf around on the sofa eating nachos for Memorial Day Weekend, we are going to take a bit of a rest tomorrow. We are less than twenty miles from Berea, KY. Tomorrow, we are only going that far and then we are going to stay in a hotel and do some laundry! I think we have been saying we need to do laundry for about three days now; well, we still have not done it. Stinky.
Today was as hot as it has ever been with lots of steep climbs. At one point, we climbed what I would call the steepest hill to date. It was only about 75 yards long, but it was so steep that in my absolute lowest gear I had to pedal out of the saddle and I was dying (from AK - I called it quits about halfway up, but the problem is that I then had to PUSH the dead-weight of the bike and trailer up the rest of the way. I don't know which was worse!). Exhausted, I reached the top to find five angry dogs charging me. Searching for my breath, I had no energy to yell at them, so I unclipped my Halt and aimed (but didn't spray) for the big one. Instantly, the big dog skidded to a stop and ran away with his smaller accomplices. It seems as though this dog had been sprayed before and knows when to back off.
Later on in the day, on an empty farm road, I did have to spray another dog. This one saw us from what must have been 500 yards away and started charging. I saw him run down the hillside, through the side street with the boarded up buildings, through some thick brush, through the creek and up an embankment to us. Since he was barking viciously the entire way, I was in no mood to toy with him. As soon as he set foot on the road I let him have it. It did the trick, he turned tail and went back the way he came. I hope he has learned his lesson like the previous dog did. Maybe that lesson will keep him from getting hit by a car someday too.
Anne Katherine seems to have the ability to attract the dogs more than I do. On these days with more hills, I tend to be a bit further down the road than Anne Katherine, but if I spot a dog that looks like trouble, I circle back and try to let A.K. know what to expect. However, plenty of these dogs seem to be fine letting me go by unbothered, but for some reason get the urge to charge at her. Maybe they don't like her bike or maybe in the dog world it is now uncool to be a chaser all the time. Modern dogs are all about the casual chase, I guess. Anyway, all this adds up to the fact that Anne Katherine had to spray a dog that put her in danger too. So, now I guess we can feel comfortable knowing that we have experienced the famous dogs of Kentucky. I hope there are no more.
Early on in the day, just outside of Booneville (where we stopped for our usual grocery lunch), we came across our first cyclist going the other direction. His name is Allen; he plans to cycle through all 48 continental states! He started back in March by cycling down the entire Atlantic coast. Now he is on his way back north. He said he hopes to be done by the middle of October. Hmmm, perhaps that can be the next epic?
The interesting thing about today was the fact that between Booneville and here there was practically nothing except for farms and a few homes. There was a small market a few miles outside of Booneville, but after that (for about 30 miles) there was nothing. That combined with the heat put a drain on my water. We showed up here and I had just a few sips left. Had we needed to go any further, I would have knocked on the door of a house and asked for water.
Anyway, so the best part of the day has to be our destination. Last night A.K. and I were deciding where to go today. Our guidebook suggested we go to Irvine, KY for the night and stay in a hotel. The problem is that Irvine is more than 5 miles off route. We've decided that unless there is something interesting to see, we are not going off route unless we have to (i.e. Waynesboro). So our other options were to bike all the way to Berea (just shy of 80 miles total) or call these two Bed and Breakfasts listed on the map and see if we could afford them. They were both just past Irvine on the route. Outside of Booneville A.K. called the closest one and they were booked for the night. She tried calling the second one but got no answer. We started to prepare ourselves for a long day.
In Booneville, A.K. called again. This time she got through and spoke with Jamie Snowden. Jamie gave us directions to the house and told us not to worry about the rate. After many more miles of pedalling we finally arrived at the Still House Hollow Farm. We were greeted by Jamie at the door. We put our bikes in the back and met Hiram, Jamie's husband. After some chatting, we learned that this was not really a B&B, Jamie and Hiram just welcome TransAm cylcists into their home. They siad that they spent two years travelling on a boat and were treated so well by so many that they like to return the favor. Amazing people.
A.K. and I both took hot showers (I shaved for the first time in days) and came downstairs to the smell of dinner. Over dinner, we had a great time chatting with them about life, travel, cats, their beautiful house and farm and Hiram's experiences with learning to tend to cattle. It also turns out that Jamie spent a few years in Mobile, AL (AK's hometown) and knows many of the same families. Small world. We dined on chicken, bread, beets and salad (both the beets and the lettuce came from their garden and they were delicious). While we ate the Snowden's cattle grazed in a nearby field. They seem to float through the tall grass at that distance. For dessert we had homemade angel food cake topped with ice cream, whipped cream and blueberries. I ate like a horse and had two servings of dessert.
After dinner, A.K. and I took a little walk around the house. The kitties, Sara and Wolf, follwed us as we expolored the garden and yard. This home and area is really beautiful, and the history to the house is very impressive. It was built around 1830.
Anyway, we are now up in our room getting ready for bed. Both A.K. and I are very happy to have stopped here. The Snowdens are very special people, they are so very generous and we have really enjoyed our time with them.
Ok, off to bed. As I said, we are going to take it easy tomorrow. We need it.
Jeff
2 Comments:
Hombre, since when did you start shaving? You need to grow in one of those pimp pencil thin mustaches.
Adrian
I would never guessed that you would use the halt so often. Make sure you have some left for the Rocky Mountain Lions.
-Reeb
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