Sunday, June 29, 2014
Getting Ready for the 4th
Last week, we decided to decorate our bikes with American flags! Multi-purpose: half decoration for the 4th, half an attempt to make cars be nicer to us (we passed a kid going the other way on the TransAm who said it was working for him). Here they are in all their glory.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Day 14: Leitchfied to Owensboro
Total mileage: 63 |
| Mango margarita (in a big beer-like stein) in Owensboro with our lovely warmshowers hosts. |
 |
| On the waterfront in Owensboro. Ohio River. |
 |
| Very cool fountain with different bits streaming down at different times. The design folks did a really good job with the waterfront revitalization in Owensboro. |
 |
| Falls of Rough Lake State Resort Park. (In Kentucky, they seem to be really into the "state resort parks.") Looks a lot like Falls Lake (NC), except with a fancy lodge and cabins. We had breakfast here this morning in a lovely gazebo. |
 |
| "Airport." Falls of Rough Lake State Resort Park. |
Friday, June 27, 2014
Day 13: The Underground (Cave City to Lietchfield)
Total mileage: 47ish.
A short ride this morning brought us from Cave City, KY to Mammoth Cave National Park, home to the longest underground system of caves in the world! We got there super early for our tour due to the change in time zones the previous day. Unfortunately, they don't let you explore the caves on your own, so we had a leisurely breakfast to kill time until 10am.
The tour itself was a bit tedious, as these things tend to be (Ranger Rose did a rather good job, considering the circumstances). But we saw some pretty neat rock formations along the way. Here's a terrible photo from inside the caves to prove that we were there:
After the tour, we rode the remaining 27 miles to our warm showers hosts in Lietchfield. Part of the ride was on a rather bipolar one lane road that couldn't seem to decide whether it was asphalt or gravel (thank you, Google maps). Bumpy but beautiful!
When we arrived at our destination, our hosts showed us the way to our camping spot at a county fairground. The site, complete with showers and bathrooms, seems to have (quite literally) been installed with touring cyclists in mind! Fascinating. Our host unlocked the faciliries for us and evem helped Sonja fix some parts on her bike rack.
We were lucky enough to spot a Dollar General on our way to the campsite, so we were able to make ourselves a delightful little picnic dinner (mostly canned).
Of note: the fireflies in Kentucky are particularly beautiful. One woman told us that there seemed to be more than usual this year. We've enjoyed evening shows pretty much every night. The evening we spent at the church a few nights ago was especially gorgeous!
A short ride this morning brought us from Cave City, KY to Mammoth Cave National Park, home to the longest underground system of caves in the world! We got there super early for our tour due to the change in time zones the previous day. Unfortunately, they don't let you explore the caves on your own, so we had a leisurely breakfast to kill time until 10am.
 |
| Map of Mammoth Caves (the orange part is all underground!) |
The tour itself was a bit tedious, as these things tend to be (Ranger Rose did a rather good job, considering the circumstances). But we saw some pretty neat rock formations along the way. Here's a terrible photo from inside the caves to prove that we were there:
 |
| A dark stairway in a dark cave! |
 |
| At the entrance to the caves |
 |
| View from our afternoon ride |
When we arrived at our destination, our hosts showed us the way to our camping spot at a county fairground. The site, complete with showers and bathrooms, seems to have (quite literally) been installed with touring cyclists in mind! Fascinating. Our host unlocked the faciliries for us and evem helped Sonja fix some parts on her bike rack.
 |
| Views of the fairground - unfortunately no creepy abandoned rides |
We were lucky enough to spot a Dollar General on our way to the campsite, so we were able to make ourselves a delightful little picnic dinner (mostly canned).
Of note: the fireflies in Kentucky are particularly beautiful. One woman told us that there seemed to be more than usual this year. We've enjoyed evening shows pretty much every night. The evening we spent at the church a few nights ago was especially gorgeous!
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Day 12: Bardstown to Cave City
Today was a very full day! We rode 82 miles, starting early in Bardstown this morning. After a glorious morning ride through fields of golden, freshly-cut wheat, we broke for an extended brunch at a cute little gas station in Howardstown.
As we were sunscreening up, we spied an interesting looking van that had passed us earlier on the road. Then we spotted someone wearing cycling gear! Naturally, we were very excited. We introduced ourselves and met Ian, who was riding from Dayton, Ohio to San Francisco (check out his website at iankallay.com). The mysterious van was his support vehicle, driven by his brother.
We chatted for a while and then he joined us for the next 16 miles of our ride (he was kind enough to slow down a bit for us gear-toting cyclists). It was fun to have someone else to talk with! Unfortunately, he refused to change his plans and detour with us to Mammoth Cave National Park. So, we said good bye at a fork in the road.
Several minutes later, as we were admiring the striking Greek revival architecture at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, we spied the no-longer-mysterious van! We introduces ourselves to Ian's brother, Shane, and got to spend a while getting to know him as well. We tried to convince him that he should drive us across Kansas, which we predict will be a rather boring state.
Both Shane and Ian were very friendly and we're so glad we got to meet them!
We rode to Munfordville (new timezone!), only to be heartbroken by the lack of pickles at the local convenience store. We spent the next hour and a half moping, drowning our sorrows with gatorade, and eating too many wasabi peas. We ended up having to ride a bit farther to get to a real grocery store. So here we are, in Cave City, eating dinner at a local park.
 |
| Fields of corn this morning |
As we were sunscreening up, we spied an interesting looking van that had passed us earlier on the road. Then we spotted someone wearing cycling gear! Naturally, we were very excited. We introduced ourselves and met Ian, who was riding from Dayton, Ohio to San Francisco (check out his website at iankallay.com). The mysterious van was his support vehicle, driven by his brother.
We chatted for a while and then he joined us for the next 16 miles of our ride (he was kind enough to slow down a bit for us gear-toting cyclists). It was fun to have someone else to talk with! Unfortunately, he refused to change his plans and detour with us to Mammoth Cave National Park. So, we said good bye at a fork in the road.
Several minutes later, as we were admiring the striking Greek revival architecture at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, we spied the no-longer-mysterious van! We introduces ourselves to Ian's brother, Shane, and got to spend a while getting to know him as well. We tried to convince him that he should drive us across Kansas, which we predict will be a rather boring state.
 |
| Alix and Shane by the SAG vehicle |
 |
| Unfortunately, the monument doesn't have a Lincoln statue inside |
Both Shane and Ian were very friendly and we're so glad we got to meet them!
We rode to Munfordville (new timezone!), only to be heartbroken by the lack of pickles at the local convenience store. We spent the next hour and a half moping, drowning our sorrows with gatorade, and eating too many wasabi peas. We ended up having to ride a bit farther to get to a real grocery store. So here we are, in Cave City, eating dinner at a local park.
 |
| A new Kentucky delicacy? |
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
A Rather Strange Day
We're not sure why today was so weird, but it just kind of was. We got going a bit late this morning after eating a delicious breakfast prepared for us by our generous host Kim and getting a tour of her expanding gardens. She even gave us fresh squash, okra, and raspberries to take with us for lunch (thanks, Kim)!
When we set out, the weather was still windy overcast, although weirdly sunny at the same time. When we stopped for a break, we decided that we would try to do a longer day than planned (85 miles rather than 50 something). Soon after, we ran into some cyclists headed the other direction: a father/son pairing riding from Pueblo through Kentucky. Looked like fun! (any takers, parents?)
As we left them, we continued to battle some pretty brutal headwind. And the sun kept getting hotter! We were riding what felt like the same hill over and over, through the same rolling pasture land. About 7 miles before Bardstown, we saw a sign for a winery on the side of the road and decided that enough was enough. We took the turn and enjoyed an interesting berry wine tasting, safe from the wind and sun. We enjoyed chatting with the employee who served us, a woman about our age. I think she enjoyed the company, too, since we were the first customers all day!
By the end of the tasting, we had firmly decided that we wouldn't be going further than Bardstown tonight. So, we headed off to Walmart for dinner and looked for a good place to camp.
When we set out, the weather was still windy overcast, although weirdly sunny at the same time. When we stopped for a break, we decided that we would try to do a longer day than planned (85 miles rather than 50 something). Soon after, we ran into some cyclists headed the other direction: a father/son pairing riding from Pueblo through Kentucky. Looked like fun! (any takers, parents?)
As we left them, we continued to battle some pretty brutal headwind. And the sun kept getting hotter! We were riding what felt like the same hill over and over, through the same rolling pasture land. About 7 miles before Bardstown, we saw a sign for a winery on the side of the road and decided that enough was enough. We took the turn and enjoyed an interesting berry wine tasting, safe from the wind and sun. We enjoyed chatting with the employee who served us, a woman about our age. I think she enjoyed the company, too, since we were the first customers all day!
 |
| Chuckleberry Farm and Winery |
By the end of the tasting, we had firmly decided that we wouldn't be going further than Bardstown tonight. So, we headed off to Walmart for dinner and looked for a good place to camp.
Berea
We haven't posted about our days in awhile! It's been a fun couple of days. Berea was really good. We were delighted to see Sonja's friend Hilary on Berea, and she graciously shared her apartment and food with us. We had a lovely dinner on Monday and then walked around downtown Berea for a bit. What a beautiful campus! We were bit jealous of all the trees and garden spaces on the campus. We weren't jealous of the super loud pedestrian crossing signals, though. :)
The next morning we spent a few hours in the coffee shop and met two delightful women who had been college friends while since years ago. After some library time, we went over to the college bike shop to get a few things checked out. There we meet these crazy people. They were emanating stress with every move and all of this oozing stress was being videotaped by professional looking cameramen. Apparently there's this crazy bike race in which people race the trans am trail (the one that we're more or less following) in absurdly quick amounts of time. For instance, the people we met were averaging 200 miles a day, and had been reading for 18 days. They were acting pretty rudely, but who would be on their best behavior with that sorry of absurdity? Mostly we felt bad for the poor college kid who these racers were demanding fix their bikes. We were all feeling pretty frenzied, even after they left. It was super weird, and we are so certainly never doing any crazy races like that!
We dodged thunderstorms on the way to our warmshowers host's and made it there without getting too wet, even with a wrong turn and some bonus miles. We had a great dinner with Kim and get family and really enjoyed seeing their beautiful home.
The next morning we spent a few hours in the coffee shop and met two delightful women who had been college friends while since years ago. After some library time, we went over to the college bike shop to get a few things checked out. There we meet these crazy people. They were emanating stress with every move and all of this oozing stress was being videotaped by professional looking cameramen. Apparently there's this crazy bike race in which people race the trans am trail (the one that we're more or less following) in absurdly quick amounts of time. For instance, the people we met were averaging 200 miles a day, and had been reading for 18 days. They were acting pretty rudely, but who would be on their best behavior with that sorry of absurdity? Mostly we felt bad for the poor college kid who these racers were demanding fix their bikes. We were all feeling pretty frenzied, even after they left. It was super weird, and we are so certainly never doing any crazy races like that!
We dodged thunderstorms on the way to our warmshowers host's and made it there without getting too wet, even with a wrong turn and some bonus miles. We had a great dinner with Kim and get family and really enjoyed seeing their beautiful home.
 |
| One of our new favorite roads. Between Berea and Lancaster, KY. |
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
An Evening in Berea
We enjoyed a lovely evening in Berea last night, staying with Sonja's friend Hillary. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Berea College, its definitely worth looking up! The college's mission is fascinating, and the campus is beautiful, too! Here we are after strolling the grounds for a bit.
 |
| Sonja and Hillary |
Questions
While staying the night in Berea, the gateway to Appalachia, we've begun to mull over some questions that have occurred to us during our trip through the mountains. While riding, we've had both familiar and unfamiliar experiences, seen both familiar and unfamiliar landscapes. We've wondered about the flora we've seen, the people we've talked to, the crops growing along the roadside, and (more than anything) the ubiquitous signs of coal mining we've encountered around ever turn. So, we offer a list of questions that we have pondered, but to which we have yet to find the answers. Here they are:
1. How is coal extracted, processed, and delivered?
2. How much of the working population of Coal Country works in the coal industry? How has this changed over the years?
3. Who runs the mining operations, and where are they from? What percentage of coal money returns to the counties in which the coal was extracted?
4. What is the prevalence of emphysema, lung cancer, other mining-related diseases? What is the cost of this to the communities, especially considering the aging populations in these areas? How has water quality, road stability, population distribution changed since mining began?
5. How different is the flora of eastern/central Kentucky from that of North Carolina? What about the landscape? We had the distinct impression yesterday that we were riding through central NC.
6. In general, how does the flora change east to west across the mountains? (For example, we have seen fewer ferns since leaving the NC area.)
7. When did dollar generals become the norm in small rural communities? Did they replace general stores? How has access to fresh produce changes over the last few decades? How has the food people eat changed and to what extent are people eating what they want to be eating? How has the cost of that food changed?
8. Can you accurately predict a driver's behavior based on car make, model, and color?
9. What is the range of religious beliefs in Appalachia? How does this intersect with everyday life/social gatherings, etc? What are the differences between different types of Baptist churches (ex. Free will vs. Traditional)?
10. How can we make Sonja's hair behave in any consistent or predictable manner? What more bits need to be chopped to make it fully presentable?
11. What are the most prevalent crops grown in Appalachia, and how do those change through NC, VA, and KY?
Of course, we have other questions too! But we think that's enough for now.
1. How is coal extracted, processed, and delivered?
2. How much of the working population of Coal Country works in the coal industry? How has this changed over the years?
3. Who runs the mining operations, and where are they from? What percentage of coal money returns to the counties in which the coal was extracted?
4. What is the prevalence of emphysema, lung cancer, other mining-related diseases? What is the cost of this to the communities, especially considering the aging populations in these areas? How has water quality, road stability, population distribution changed since mining began?
5. How different is the flora of eastern/central Kentucky from that of North Carolina? What about the landscape? We had the distinct impression yesterday that we were riding through central NC.
6. In general, how does the flora change east to west across the mountains? (For example, we have seen fewer ferns since leaving the NC area.)
7. When did dollar generals become the norm in small rural communities? Did they replace general stores? How has access to fresh produce changes over the last few decades? How has the food people eat changed and to what extent are people eating what they want to be eating? How has the cost of that food changed?
8. Can you accurately predict a driver's behavior based on car make, model, and color?
9. What is the range of religious beliefs in Appalachia? How does this intersect with everyday life/social gatherings, etc? What are the differences between different types of Baptist churches (ex. Free will vs. Traditional)?
10. How can we make Sonja's hair behave in any consistent or predictable manner? What more bits need to be chopped to make it fully presentable?
11. What are the most prevalent crops grown in Appalachia, and how do those change through NC, VA, and KY?
Of course, we have other questions too! But we think that's enough for now.
Foods from the Road
 |
| Sauerkraut, pickled beets, peas and cucumbers from a produce stand along the road |
 |
| our (lunch) diner feast in Honaker, KY |
 |
| Mountain City, TN: canned spinach, avocado, canned black-eyed peas and tomato mix, carrots, pickles. The canned spinach is not as good as the canned other greens (collards, turnips, mixed greens) which are slightly flavored and a bit less mushy. The sidewalk outside the funeral home was delightful. |
 |
| Dinner our first night. Squash and cucumber from a produce stand, carrots, cheese, sunflower seeds, rehydrated hummus, cashews, hardboiled egg, salsa. |
 |
| Dinner the first night. Canned salsa is surprisingly good! |
 |
| Little flavor packets! Paprika, rosemary, black pepper. |
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Our Favorite Signs
Resume safe speed
Banner Elk, NC
Speed monitored by radar and other electronic devices
Southern VA
Slide ahead
We still haven't figured out what this one means, but it definitely isn't as much fun as it sounds
The best vitamin for a Christian is B1
Damascus, VA
:)
Banner Elk, NC
Speed monitored by radar and other electronic devices
Southern VA
Slide ahead
We still haven't figured out what this one means, but it definitely isn't as much fun as it sounds
The best vitamin for a Christian is B1
Damascus, VA
:)
Day 8: to Walmart and Beyond
Total mileage: 75
Today was hot. We had a long walmart excursion, a lovely gas station siesta, and a swim in the river. Didn't get into Boonville until eight, but it was so worth it
Camping behind an amazing church with a shower for cyclists.
 |
| Welcome sign at the church |
 |
| Pretty clouds last night |
 |
| Who doesn't pump up their tires at the Walmart? |
 |
| Stealth pumping continues |
 |
| All the green beverages |
 |
| Kentucky's local soda |
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Day 7: (Haysi, VA to Hindman, KY)
Total mileage: 76!
 |
| Breaks interstate park |
 |
| Taking a break at the Breaks |
 |
| Sinja and her sexy safety vest |
After the climb, we stopped for breakfast at a dinner in Elkhorn City, on the recommendation of a helpful stranger. Alix ordered lots of food, Sonja ate vegetables (etc.) from the grocery store next door :)
 |
| Alix in front of the awesome diner |
The food took some time to get to our table, but the atmosphere was quite pleasant - lots of friendly characters to keep us entertained! When we (finally) got up to leave, we found out that the stranger from earlier had already paid for the food. People are apparently wonderful in Kentucky, too!
Our day continued with three big climbs and a few smaller ones as well. We were pretty tired by the time we rolled in to the Save-a-lot this evening, where we purchased 2lbs of carrots, canned beans, canned tomatoes, a giant can of turnip greens, a block of cheese, a large jar of pickles, and two bananas for $8. Can't beat those prices! (Although we're getting pretty fond of the Dollar General as well). (Note: like Dollar Gs, pickles are becoming a regular habit of ours - we seem to be consuming at least one jar every day. We think this is a safe and healthy obsession.)
A solid and somewhat successful attempt to fix Alix's gears finished out the day. In any case, we know more about bikes than we did two hours ago.
We hope you're enjoying the blog! Please feel free to comment because e love to hear from you.
Day 6: A Couple More Hills (Damascus, VA to Haysi, VA)
We missed our daily blog post last night because we couldn't get service in Haysi, VA (or at least not in the church yard we decided to camp in). Yesterday was a busy day! We headed out early from Janice and Dave's and immediately got caught in a heavy downpour. Thankfully, things cleared up enough for us to tackle a substantial hill and descent down the other side. The valley on the other side of the mountain was spectacular: a pastoral scene of sharply rolling hills and farmland. Next, we stopped at a roadside stand to buy some cucumbers and peas. The helpful man there taught us how to pronounce Haysi (hay-sigh). A few miles down the broad, we treated ourselves to a bit of southern culture for lunch in the form of fried green tomatoes, supplemented with our new favorite dollar general canned veggies.
After lunch, we were heading up Big A Mountain when another storm rolled in. We decided it might not be the most prudent decision to continue, so we sought shelter at the nearest building. We decided anyone with such pretty plants in their yard would be fine with us huddling under their porch! No one answered the door, but then the man drove in the driveway and his wife came up from the basement. They were both SO kind and sat in the basement talking with us and watching the rain for about an hour. And they had a cat with baby kittens! They were just a day old and amazingly tiny - they hadn't evened up their eyes yet. We were both amazed!
After the storm, we made it over the mountain just fine, then cruised down to Haysi. We had a brief stop for water and surprise watermelon at a gas station, and chatted with a cycling tourist headed east.
 |
| Feasting. Honaker, VA. |
After lunch, we were heading up Big A Mountain when another storm rolled in. We decided it might not be the most prudent decision to continue, so we sought shelter at the nearest building. We decided anyone with such pretty plants in their yard would be fine with us huddling under their porch! No one answered the door, but then the man drove in the driveway and his wife came up from the basement. They were both SO kind and sat in the basement talking with us and watching the rain for about an hour. And they had a cat with baby kittens! They were just a day old and amazingly tiny - they hadn't evened up their eyes yet. We were both amazed!
 |
| Alix, her beef jerky, and our bicycles outside our kind rescuers' house |
We've decided maybe our blog should be called People Are Amazingly Nice. Because they are.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Day 5: Banner Elk to Damascus
 |
| First new state! |
A wonderful bike mechanic in Damascus tuned up our bikes for free upon arrival (thank you, Bill!). Then, thanks to the kindness of yesterday's Warmshowers hosts, we met up with their friends Janice and Dave here in Damascus. Another good beer at another wonderful local brewery (they had a great black IPA), and a pleasure to be inside watching the rainstorm, not out in it! It was lovely to spend some time with our hosts here, who took us in with less than 24 hrs notice (and who aren't signed up for any of this crazy Warmshowers business)!
 |
| Small pot of flowers on large painted white stump. Mountain City, TN. |
 |
| Adventure Damascus, home of the kind bike mechanic. |
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Day 4: Hills, Hills, and More Hills! (Moravian Falls to Banner Elk)
After a lovely breakfast, we said goodbye to our lovely Warmshowers hosts and hit the road. 60 miles and many (thousands of) feet of climbing, we were happy to get off the road and out of the sun. Our ride today took us up a gorgeous winding road that morphed into a killer hill right before connecting to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Unfortunately, by "connecting" I mean "running parallel to" for several miles. After riding up the hill of death, it was an easy decision to bushwhack through the poison ivy rather than ride the extra miles (the wrong direction) to the connecting road. Sonja intelligently wore her rain pants for the occasion, while Alix forged boldly ahead (hoping that the thick layer of sunscreen on her legs would protect her from the plant). Neither has developed signs of damage from the event, but its really too early to tell. We'll keep you updated.
Next to our previous climb, the hills on the Parkway seemed perfectly tame. We snapped a photo or two in an attempt to capture and share the beauty of the NC mountains:
Next, we descended 1200 feet into Banner Elk to meet up with our Warmshowers hosts. After a shower and a snack, John and Kathleen treated us to a beer at Appalachian Brewing Company in Boone.
We look forward to a smoother (read "less hilly") ride on the way to Damascus, VA tomorrow!
 |
| Doing battle with some noxious weeds |
 |
| Sonja climbing things |
 |
| Cheers! |
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
quoteboard edition
Woman at convenience shop: I hope you a all have enough water!
Us: oh, we do, thank you!
Woman: well, may the angels go before you on the highways
Us: oh, we do, thank you!
Woman: well, may the angels go before you on the highways
Day 3: farming, haircutting, and some biking
Total mileage: 21
We had a leisurely morning today, sleeping in until half past 7. We spent the morning helping Edward and our fellow wwoofers with the pigs, piglets!, chickens, and cow. We meant to get a picture of the 13 adorable piglets, but couldn't, so you'll have to imagine! :)
Alix stretching post ride
We had a leisurely morning today, sleeping in until half past 7. We spent the morning helping Edward and our fellow wwoofers with the pigs, piglets!, chickens, and cow. We meant to get a picture of the 13 adorable piglets, but couldn't, so you'll have to imagine! :)
 |
| Molly the cow |
Alix cutting Sonja's hair... both our miles and our hair got shorter today!
Right before getting to our host's for the night we stopped to buy peaches. This amazing man opened up his shop for us, gave us apple cider slushies, then wouldn't let us pay for the peaches and Apple butter we picked out. Fantastic.
We've found that (almost) everyone is amazingly nice, and (almost) everyone warns us about all the terrible people out there. So far our faith in humanity has only increased. Peach guy, case in point.
Alix stretching post ride
Our warmshowers hosts put amazing signs up pointing the way along their driveway.
Monday, June 16, 2014
day two
Total mileage: 86
Met up with Sonja's friends Therice and Max for lunch in Lewisville today. Amazingly well coordinated arrival at liberty family restaurant within 20ish minutes of each other! 
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)