Day 9, Kentucky indeed...

First of all, check out Mark Nelson's blog to find out what this incredible picture is all about...

Day 9, Lookout, KY – Buckhorn, KY 96 miles (680 total)

Time on bike: 10:20:40

Avg: 9.3 mph

Daily Ascent: 6150 ft (64 ft/mile)

Max: 38 mph

Kentucky: Dogs, trailer homes, 4-wheelers and liquor stores. I was chased by a number of dogs today. Nothing too ferocious, but annoying enough that I had to bust out my doggie pepper spray (Halt!). One was particularly clever. It was a beagle mix and it would chase for a while, then look away, as to not get sprayed, and then chase again. It seemed to have the system figured out.

Trailer homes. I don’t ever remember seeing so many trailer homes before. They’re everywhere. What amazes me are the elaborate porches that are built around the trailer homes. That and the $30,000 vehicles parked in the driveway.

4-wheelers. As soon as I hit the state line I saw almost as many 4 wheelers and dirt bikes than dogs. People were driving them on the road, they were in the backs of pickup trucks, there were even a number of the kiddie, power-wheel 4 wheelers.

Liquor stores. I’d bike through the hills and go through several towns. The towns would have abandoned auto shops and abandoned general stores, but the one business that they did have that was still open was the liquor store. Several times that’d be the only store in the entire town.

On a side note, did you know that over half of Kentucky is covered in forest land and that they have more running water (rivers and streams ) than any other state other than Alaska. Cool beans, huh?

Can I just have a day of cycling where I DON’T have to climb over 5,000 ft!! Sheesh!

Most tempting piece of litter on the side of the road today: Twizlers. Least tempting: blue jean shorts.

I got a couple “Get off the road!” yells from the hillbillies today, but believe me, it’s NOTHING compared to what I’d been getting in Uganda as far as harassment goes! Try being the only white guy in an African village for 2 years. You develop some pretty thick skin.

My favorite was when a guy going the other way in a Chevy Cavalier with 2 different colored fenders, both were different than the color of the actual car. He had a cigarette in one hand and he leaned out the window which was either rolled down or busted out and hollered, “Dontya betya ‘s easyah ridin’ lahk dat d’n dey udder’s strait up er yah, ain’t it?” My response… “yeah.”