IMPRESSIONS

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MONDAY    JUNE 16, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
30	BREAKS INTERSTATE PARK	9.6		616

CATASTROPHIC BREAKDOWN

If I didn’t know better I’d say our little group is coming close to the third stage of group dynamics - - norming. The others, of course, are #1: forming, #2: storming, and #4: conforming. We are also settling into two riding groups—one faster and one slower. I’m in the slower one along with Kurt and Hugh. For some reason I can not seem to be able to gain strength in my legs. It’s aggravating to lose strength and energy on hills. Again, my gearing does not help. No one else seems to be having the same problems. If I do this ride again I think I’d go with 42-32-22 chain rings in the front and a range of 12-32 in the rear. My butt still hurts but may be improving. I’ll know for sure the next time I have to be in the saddle for 7 to 8 hours.

Had breakfast at the JDM Deli-Market six miles from Birchleaf, VA.

The roads were decent for the most part until we got to Haysi and then we had three brutal climbs of 1.5 to 2 miles in length in our approach to Breaks Interstate Park and then a nasty one miler to the entrance along with several smaller ones within the park itself.

The park is quite nice with an EXCELLENT restaurant!! Chowed down for lunch for very little money. I honestly expected to pay quite a bit more.

Bring groceries because the store has slim pickings! Very basic canned goods are available and the proprietor will engage you in conversation and rude jokes punctuated with unusual props.

Sure looks like our stay at the Hostel in Damascus was not friendly to us. Merle is sick as a dog, Dick is also ill. There was a young lady who stayed in a separate room in the Hostel and was very ill. Her friend took care of her and I think Merle and Dick were undone by her as they have similar symptoms. Dick has more of a stomach problem caused, he believes, by the sardines we gave him. Bad meat in a can, Dick. There’s a very crude joke there but I won’t go into it. They’ve been sick since yesterday so Hugh, Kurt, and I missed it all by being in Council and not doubling up the day. Whew!

Yesterday I started hearing this strange chunking noise coming from my bottom bracket. It would make it if I back pedaled and was quieter if I forward pedaled. Soon as I had my tent up and gear put away, I put the bike up on the picnic table and started messing around with the pedals. The situation got really ugly as the bearings froze up and made the ugliest of noises. My heart sank! I felt a small panic attack coming on realizing I was in the middle of nowhere and with no idea where to get help.

Called the Sheriff’s Office in Elkhorn City but got no answer so I called the Park Superintendent’s office who turned me on to a shop in Grundy called the Mountain Bike Shop. I had no idea where Grundy was but was told it was about 7 miles away. Sure the hell was not in any map I had with me. I called the shop, explained my situation, and gave pertinent information to help the owner locate the right parts. Since his was a mountain bike shop I was not hopeful. He asked what spot I was in and said he’d be at the park at 10AM. Cool!, I thought. But what is this going to set me back? Budget busting fear gnawed at me but I also realized I needed to get the work done or I’d not finish the trip. So off we go.

Funny how God works in mysterious ways. This is the first way in several that manifested themselves throughout our trip where we faced some sort of adversity or decision yet circumstances and events proved to overcome those difficulties. In this situation, the group was torn between hanging around to wait for the bike to get fixed (so we could stay together) or go our separate ways. That decision was made easier by Dick and Merle being sick and even though they’d already been there two days, were not well enough to keep going. So that resolved itself. Let’s see what tomorrow brings and who does what---just in case I can not get the bike fixed and need to wait for parts.

In any case, Hugh and I wish for more layover days. Firstly, because we see no reason to kill ourselves and secondly, we have no fixed time to be back. Dick thinks we may be taxing ourselves and that says a lot coming from a guy who rides in hilly country!

So far we’ve climbed 33000 feet. That’s over 6 vertical miles! And along the way have noticed the bizarreness of the Post Office buildings---trailers (mobile homes) with faded horizontal red, white, and blue stripes. YECH!

TUESDAY    JUNE 17, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
Rest	ELKHORN CITY, KY

THE STRANGEST APPARITION

Normally I do not title rest days but this one is unusual enough to warrant a title.

Woke up at 2 AM to a huge rainstorm. I’d left the fly unzipped and the rain sprinkling through the net woke me up. Fortunately not much water got in. Zipped up and went back to sleep with the raindrops pounding on the fly. Very soothing. When I finally got up at 630 the rain had stopped but the place was a mess. BIG HINT: never put your tent on the dirt. Make a bed of leaves or pine needles first; then set the tent on it or you’ll end up with mud splattered all over the place.

At 10 AM, I hear this engine growling up the hill. I figured it was the bike mechanic so I looked down the road to confirm it. Saw a Cadillac rolling up and blew it off to a false alarm. Then I looked a bit more closely and the Caddy had a bike rack on the roof with a couple of mountain bikes mounted on it. It also had "ROK SHOX" for a license plate. Guess who, right? How bizarre, I thought! As it got closer I saw the poor Caddy had had its share of not-so-kind encounters with trees. The interior was a parts shop as was the trunk.

Owner’s name is Mike Young. He’s 42, married, with one son. Quite a character. Worked in the coal mines for 22 years but now does occasional jobs for them. For this he needs to down into the earth 1400 feet and then 5-10 miles laterally to get to where he needs to be. The temperature down there is generally 56 degrees year round, humid in winter and dry in summer. He explained how that is but I can not remember it. He also described the different ways to get coal out of the ground. Sometimes the manner of coal removal causes peoples’ homes to settle down into the earth for years afterwards. The settling will result from ground shifts or the re-settling of a huge boulder. Not really too far out of the realm of reason considering how large the holes are they dig that far deep.

He also suffers from silica in the lungs and has a hard time breathing when he exerts himself. It still does not keep him from doing what he loves---riding mountain bikes and developing new and challenging trails.

Fortunately I did not trash my axle so about the only things needed were bearings. Unfortunately he did not have the right bearings for the bike so he had to return to his shop and look around for something suitable. He had a sealed cassette with him but it was too short. I told him if he could find a cassette that fit I’d just as soon have it than new bearings. His shop, by the way, is not 7 miles away but more like 16 so it takes about 45 minutes to get there. He left at 11 and returned about 2. Replaced the bearings with a sealed unit and also adjusted my rear derailleurs so that the chain would not drag across the tops of the teeth.

I was a happy camper again. His rates are more than reasonable. Phone number is 1-888-257-5290.

Tensions were running a bit high trying to determine what was going to happen next. Dennis decided to go to Pippas Pass at about 11 AM. Dick was feeling better but not well enough to go on so he and Hugh got a room in the Park hotel. Merle moved on to Elkhorn City, (just down the road a few miles) and got a room. He still is not well and I think he just needed a better location to spend the night. I hope I do not catch what he had. He was miserable. Kurt flip flopped between hanging around and going on. Finally went to Elkhorn City and split the room with Merle.

I packed up my tent and made it to the restaurant just before the skies opened up. It had been promising to rain for a while so I got there just in the nick of time. Kurt and I had an enjoyable lunch and lazed around bullshitting about all sorts of issues. Fun. I enjoyed relaxing in conversation after that bit of stress about the bike. In retrospect I am lucky to have made it as far as I did considering how shot the bearings were. Got to be Someone looking after me.

Stayed at the gateway hotel near Elkhorn City. It was not too bad and a cheaper alternative than the Lodge at the Park. $36 vs. $78. Along the way got offered a ride to Berea. Boy! Was I ever tempted! Especially with the forecast being a 90% chance for rain and thunderstorms!

Ate supper at the Breaks Restaurant. Just super great food at very reasonable prices!

WEDNESDAY    JUNE 18, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
70	PIPPAS PASS	10.4		686

THE HOME OF IN-BRED JED

Up and at 'em early since I could not sleep and it was hot and muggy in the room. Damned A/C units stop functioning properly in the middle of the night and you never realize it until it is too late.

After thinking we would never do so, we left Virginia and arrived in Kentucky this morning. 16 days to cross Virginia! Good gracious, that’s a long state!

Well, well, well, I think I got the crud Merle got. Just what I needed. My throat hurts, I have a fever, and am getting hot flashes. At breakfast in the Rusted Fork Restaurant in Elkhorn City, I got some salt to gargle with throughout the day and also had a large OJ.

While in the restaurant, I took a picture of a really old advertising sign which we’d never consider making or putting up today. It read, "Oh, baby, chocolate dairy drink, ain’t dat sump’n." It showed a Black kid holding a glass of the drink. I’m surprised it’s still on the walls. Maybe I’m being too politically correct.

About 10 miles outside Ash Camp we picked up a headwind that lasted most of the rest of the morning. Great! All I need now is rain to make the scene complete: hills, wind, rain, and a cold. This is MY idea of fun.

Also began to hear the dogs of Eastern Kentucky and was chased by three of them. I would have liked to vaporize them.

Just outside the Sycamore school I had this inbred looking semi-retarded asshole come clear across his lane into mine as if to run me off. It happened to Hugh, also. I’ve already written the Governor of Kentucky about this incident and about the dogs. No answer, yet, of course.

For lunch, Hugh and I stopped at the Shelby Valley Restaurant. It was not much of a place but the waitress was really sweet. Hugh asked her where we could buy fruit in the area and she said there was none. A couple of minutes later she brings us two bananas she’d had in her lunch bag. She did not want anything for it, either. So, seeing there was more than one way to skin a cat, we left her a larger tip!

Kurt, the cartographer, acquired a map of Kentucky and found a shorter, less hilly, route outside of Dorton. So for those of you about to embark on the trip, take heed: take route 610. Hugh and I took Route 611 and faced not only a hill but construction on Route 1469. Since we went up the hill, I must say the six mile downhill was quite fun. What goes down, must come up. Outside Melvin we had another two mile hill to climb. Not nice. And yet another brutal one miler near Bevinsville. Fortunately, the road to Pippas Pass was not so bad but it was upward inclined. Maybe I’m just a wimp, but you, the reader, may be thinking, "a one mile hill? That’s not bad." That’s what I thought when I did the first one. However, when you have them one after the other----ahhh! That’s another story, eh?

Have already made one observation about folks in Kentucky. They love to have their chickens and roosters. Cocks crowing all the time. The homes are on opposite sides of most streams and access to the houses is by lots of little bridges crossing the streams. Quaint looking if not for all the trash in the streams. Why people insist on being pigs is confusing to me. This is one part of the state that is very beautiful and to see it trashed like this is depressing.

Also got to see the first few dozen of many hundreds of coal trucks. It is not fun to be on the same side of the road as those guys. The drivers, for the most part, are good. It’s just that the trucks are LARGE and bits of coal fall off the back. I’d not want to be conked on the head by a piece of immature diamond.

By the time I got to Pippas Pass Hostel, I’d climbed 3200 feet on the day. The hostel is run by Charlotte Madden. Her grandfather and father built many of the buildings on the campus. She has 2 masters degrees and started the hostel in 1976. Since that date the number of riders gets fewer and fewer. Not so much because of lack of enthusiasm but in 1976 there was only one trail across the US. Now there’s the Northern trail, the Southern trail, one across Canada, one down the East coast, one down the West coast, and one down the Rockies plus other shorter trails.

She has a nice place where overnighters can use the dining room and family room to eat and sit around in. The only disagreeable part was the location of the sleeping area. It slept six in bunks and 2 on couches and was located adjacent to the house in an almost basement setting but rather cramped. There were kitchen facilities in there but to use a bathroom you needed to go to the main house via the front yard. Needless to say, the trees always got watered well!!

In the dining room, there was a lovely view of a cascading babbling brook just feet away. Since Dennis had been there from the day before, he took it upon himself to make us a spaghetti dinner with all the fixings. Quite good. There was none left. Mrs. Madden gave me tea, honey and lemon for my cold. Quite nice of her. She basically opened her house to us. When her husband got home we chatted for a while and then all of us went our separate ways.

The college in the town, Alice Lloyd College, was started in 1916-17 as a place where Appalachian girls could get a decent education. Today it offers pre-med, nursing, and pharmacy degrees. It’s almost like a work-study college for underprivileged kids. Current enrollment is about 500.

A new face today is Alarick. Dennis buzzed his head to keep him cooler. Alarick wants to finish the trip by the 15^th of August and then will move on to China to study Chinese. I believe he is a 26 year old professional student.

THURSDAY    JUNE 19, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
53	BUCKHORN PARK	10.7		739

UP AND DOWN AND UP AND DOWN AND UP AND DOWN

It was foggy when we left the hostel at 7 AM. I am still feeling sick. Started out sunny and I was sweating profusely by the time I made the climb out of the hostel to the shopping complex 8 miles distant.

Had breakfast in Hindman at the Napier Drug Store. Another one of those drug stores with a sit down lunch counter/soda fountain. I may be ill but my appetite sure is not. Figured that I may as well kill two birds with one stone so I bought some benadryl while I was there. Hopefully it will dry me up and let me sleep better.

The ride along Route 550 was very pretty and for quite a ways had a creek paralleling it.. Quite scenic and peaceful. Since it was such a beautiful road, level, and quiet, I knew I’d pay for it later on. That’s kind of a bizarrely negative way to look at things but on this trip it happens way too often. Of course, I DID pay for it.

It still looks very backward here. Poor, coal mining country. Lots of mines scattered throughout the hills. Coal trucks pop out onto the road from all sorts of little hidden driveways leading to these mines.

Passed through Dwarf and picked up some snacks to munch and drink. Met "Biker Brian" from San Diego. He’d been on the road 34 days. Looks like he’s shooting for an under 50 day trip across the US. I do not understand the need to hurry on a trip like this. Too much pain, not enough time to relax and take in the scenery. But everyone has their own reasons. As long as they do the trip and other people get to see bicyclists do the trip, that’s what is important.

On Highway 80 I got the privilege of climbing a 1.5 mile hill which culminated 5 miles of ascending and descending. So much traffic! Fortunately the road had a shoulder so we could avoid most of the coal trucks. I meant to get a lump of coal but never got around to doing so. Got off Highway 80 by coasting down a long stretch and taking the also-descending off ramp. You guessed it! Got on Route 15 and climbed for 1.5 miles. GEEZ! When will this end, I wonder. While stopped at a service station to whizzzzzz I looked up and saw that the station also offered a tanning salon. Well, it seems that everywhere you go in Eastern Kentucky you will find a tanning salon. It’s either Sue-Lee’s Beauty Parlor and Tanning or Betty-Ann’s Beauty Salon and Tanning Parlor; Joe-Bob’s Eat ‘n Git and Tanning Salon, etc. Walk into a convenience store and…………….you’ll find a tanning salon. Very strange. And speaking of strange, what do you buy at this shop?

Hugh and I stopped for lunch at a little Pizza Place along the road and had spaghetti. We were almost finished and along comes Merle. We thought he’d gotten lost but he had a flat tire a couple of miles shy of Highway 28 while on Highway 15. It was when we were rocketing down a hill so we never heard him.

Wound our way along the crest of some hills and went to the R&F Dairy Bar (7 miles from Buckhorn) for a milkshake. It was abysmally hot and humid. The temp made it to 88 degrees and with climbing hills, having the sun bake your back, feeling ill, and throwing in some humidity just for the fun of it---not nice! Got to run into Alarick. Cooled off, we went to Buckhorn. On the last downhill approaching town I got up to 43 MPH. Wild and Woolly!!

Was all worn out when I pulled into town even though I only climbed 3000 feet. Set up tent and will probably only get to Booneville tomorrow to the Presbyterian Church Hostel. It will give me a chance to rest for a long period of time vs. trying to make it all the way to Berea.

FRIDAY    JUNE 20, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
20	BOONEVILLE	10		759

THE TACKY MOTEL

Well. Looks like Kurt has the same crud I had. Which is the same crud Merle had. Knowing how it would affect him, I suggested to Kurt he should not attempt going on to Berea but taking the opportunity to rest, drink plenty of fluids, and sleep as much as possible.

We left and the group will split up today. I know I would stop in Booneville. Hugh went to see a friend in Ervine, Dennis, Merle, and Dick went on to Berea. Climbed a 1.6 miler (not a friendly hill) then blasted down the other side. At the bottom a man in a truck stopped me to say that my friend (Kurt) had a flat and needed help. So I pedaled back up a mile the hill I just went down, found Kurt’s bike but no Kurt. I yelled for him with no answer. Tested his tires and they were full. Began to get a bit concerned. Visions of Deliverance dancing through my head. Where the fuck was Kurt? Then I saw he was missing his water bottle top and was truly confused. Wasn’t sure what I would do next and contemplated climbing back up the hill to look for him. Then I see him walking down the hill towards me. He’d gone to retrieve his water bottle top! Shot back down the hill and pressed on.

Am feeling a bit better but still under the weather. Speaking of which was hot and humid. The trip is beginning to not be fun. Then again, if I were not sick or if I had better gearing I’d not be saying this.

Hills, hills, hills all the way to Booneville. While in town we stopped at the Farmer Market Restaurant and had the nastiest pancakes I’ve yet to eat on this trip. Found out where the Hostel was and headed out that way. The Adventure Cycling maps may have it as the Methodist Church but they are wrong. The "Hostel" was a pavilion with a shower. All of it outdoors. I did see Alarick’s name in their register. Kurt went to check on the motel and said it was a dive—but an air conditioned dive. At $28 for two we took it. Damn if this wasn’t the tackiest motel I’ve ever set foot in. The TV got 2 stations, the magazines were 3 to 4 years old. The sink stopped up, the water to the toilet needed to be turned off after every flush, and there was no phone. The landlady was Mrs. Goodman and she is very nice, though. Let us use her washer and dryer to do clothes. At least, psychologically, we feel better now that we have clean clothes. Kurt slept and I ran errands then I, too, took a nap.

For dinner we went to Donna’s. I felt like I was in an Outer Limits episode. Very surreal and had a weird feeling in my gut (no, it was not heartburn!) I guess it was the atmosphere, the way people spoke to one another and how they interacted. Realized it was Friday night and this place was pretty well dead. It is also a week and a lifetime away form Damascus, the tornado warning, and the flu-infected girl at the Hostel.

For a touch of the 20^th Century, Kurt and I went to the Mini-Mart down the street from the restaurant. It was brightly lit and about as modern as anything I’ve seen in any city. Felt like I was teleported back to reality.

SATURDAY    JUNE 21, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
60	BEREA	10		819

A DAY OF IMPRESSIONS

Today is the summer’s longest day. The sun will not set for quite a while. Kurt and I went back to Donna’s for breakfast as it was open at 6 AM. Thank goodness it was cool. I think Kurt is feeling better. I know I am.

Let me paint a picture for you of what this morning was like. Start with a broad brushed stroke of air thick with mist, the smell of tall grass, the scent of many daisies, and clovers. Brush in a serenade of cows lowing in the distance accompanied by the deep throated croaking of bullfrogs. Airbrush in some chirping songbirds along with bobwhites, robins, jays, and crows along with butterflies dancing in the sun’s rays. Using broad, brash strokes, throw in some springs cascading off rocks creating tiny waterfalls everywhere. Then overhang the road with constantly dripping water. Canopy the roads with an umbrella of trees and vines. Then add a touch-up of sunshine peeking over the horizon and you have a painting only the masters can give you. This is what I see most mornings. I especially enjoy seeing the sun rising in my rear view mirror. It gives me some measure of comfort to know I am headed West.

With the above scenario painting a positive picture of this countryside, there is also a negative side: so far the negative impressions I have of Kentucky are: hill people; poverty; neglect; ignorance, "Deliverance"; trailer homes perched precariously on cement blocks; coal trucks; mad dogs; trash alongside roads; run-over, dead animals.

Today was not a good dog day. I was pursued by 6 dogs. I sprayed two and stopped them dead in their tracks. One of the bastards ambushed me so I nailed him good. When I looked in my rear view mirror he was in the middle of the road clawing at his face to make the hurt go away. Every time these sonsofbitches come at me, the hair on my arms raise up and I feel a surge of adrenaline course through my body. I’d just as soon kill all of them. Maybe their owners should get a good whuppin’, too.

Too bad we had to deal with hills! These things will be my undoing! Going down them I hear my jacket popping like a machine gun. It’s especially cool at speeds exceeding 35 MPH.

Got to Berea but not without a surprise: Hugh wants to drop out of the ride! He’s tired, has lost weight, and does not think it is fun anymore. Can’t say I blame him about the fun part. I told him I was in no rush and would therefore stay with him. We’d take a slower pace and more rest days. Plan on going only 40 miles tomorrow and then resting. Let’s see how he fares. Merle said he’d stay along with him, too.

It was hot today again. When we arrived in Berea we went to the campground. I’ve seen better. Few flat spots to put our tents and is designed for RVs. We should have stopped at the campground on the right hand side of the road vs. ours which was on the left. The bathroom is air conditioned, though. Gave thought to sleeping in there!

Berea College was founded in 1855 by John G. Fee and Cassius M. Clay as a one room school house built by the community. It drew up a constitution in 1858 that made it Christian, non-Sectarian, and anti-slavery. It was forced to close in 1859 by the pro-slavery factions in the area but re-opened in 1865. It serves much of the mountain area.

Chowed down at Mario’s. I feel like an oinker. Helps that I am also feeling better. Stocked up on groceries just in case tomorrow proves to have slim pickings.

SUNDAY    JUNE 22, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
42	CHIMNEY ROCK PARK	10.5		861

AN UNEVENTFUL DAY ENDING IN A CRAPPY CAMPGROUND

Well, Kurt is feeling better. Good. I am still not 100% but much better also.

Breakfast was at the Family Restaurant. Not too bad. Just as we were getting ready to bail out the rain began. So a little wait was in order. When it ended, about 30 minutes later, we took off.

The first 10 miles were great. I thought I was in heaven and the average speed shot up to a whopping 11.8 MPH. Whew! What a rocket! Then the rollers began. One after another. Climb, descend, Climb, descend, Climb, descend. It got really old and I am getting discouraged. I refuse to quit but I have to admit the temptation is there.

Finally got in touch with Danny. He is thinking about not going back to school this fall. I am disappointed. He may get a job as an assistant manager at McDonald’s. He also participated in the firing of an employee who was doing drugs on the job. Too bad for the fired guy but I am glad he’s not serving food to people.

The dogs are still a pain in the ass. Four or five came out again today. I zapped another one. While rounding a curve I got to see a very large dog along the side of the road but unlike many loose dogs this one was dead. One less dog to harass riders. Son of a bitch was as big as a deer—at least that’s what we thought it was until we came closer to it.

Hugh busted a spoke so Dennis and I hung around to help him. Luckily it was not on the drive side of the wheel.

Stayed at Chimney Rock Campground. It sucks!! At least last night we had a restaurant and food stores nearby. This place does not. I guess it is because Burgen, Lexington, and Harrodsville are close by and people get their groceries for the weekend there. Even the restaurants here have shitty hours. The park caters more to RVs than tenters so we ended up paying $48 for basically one spot and access to a circle of grass when full sites for 2 people were $15 but allowed only one tent per site. I do not understand this one tent bullshit. As long as it fits on the site what the hell should they care?

Our quest for a restaurant was almost an effort in futility. Had to hunt around for quite a while before finding one. Went up and down hills, to the waterfront, etc. looking for a place to eat. Not even a fast food place. And this on a weekend!!

Finally settled on a restaurant who’s name escapes me but was on the approach road to the campground, just before the big bridge. It’s on the right side of the road and faces the lake. Had a very good dinner. At least that part of the evening went well.

BACK PEDAL

PEDAL ON TO WEEK 4

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