total miles: 3,245
total miles today: lucky number 23, oops.
number of cats at the tree house i get to stay at right now: SIX, and a pregnant mommy!
number of times i almost quit yesterday: almost 12
check out the map link, look how close i'm getting!!
Well howdy y'all. I apologize for the lack of updates as of late, I ain't had much time to type out in these here woods. (please read the rest of the post out loud, in a southern drawl, for your own entertainment.) I think I forgot my roots and all of sudden picked up the local lingo that I love so much.
That being said, I am still comfortably making my way through Appalachia country - which is actually pronounced APPA-LA-CHA, we got it wrong in the West- and hoping to be in the big VA tomorrow, if I can get rolling early enough.
The last few days have been more than tough as I hit a huge patch of POURING rain. Pouring, pounding, crazy rain. And I hail from the great city of Seattle, so you know I don't lie.
However, I did manage to find my train hopping lovely little sister, Channing, in Kentucky. I found her in a similar state as me; homeless, hungry, tired, and ready to eat a gallon of moose tracks ice cream, on the ground at a Shell Gas Station. We must come from the same family or something, Thank God she is crazy enough, like me, to wander thousands of miles from home, and still find each other in the middle of blue grass Kentucky on a Wed. night. Wonderful.
Well we also found Hope, in Berea. Literally, Hope, a wonderful college student residing in my new favorite Southern Town, was kind enough to let us crash at her pad, cook up feasts of Spaghetti, and enjoy a warm bed and roof for a few nights. It was a much needed recuperation for me. Not my sister is the first familiar face I have seen in what feels like years. Needless to say, it was difficult to peel myself away from them to head back on the road, solo as always, and into the storm. It took a lot of bananas, peanut butter, and coffee to motivate for that late morning.
The great news, I'm hoping though, is I am officially in the heart of Appalachia country, and it is crazy beautiful. Aside from the over the top humidity, which is always nice when you sweat all day already, this state is absolutely stunning. I feel like I'm in another country, or maybe in the jungle. There is something familiar about all the green trees that makes me feel at home, and happy to be out of the corn for awhile.
After arriving in Buckhorn, KY two days ago in the pounding rain, I found refuge at the state park and in the local diner nearby. The next morning it was still pounding rain, and flashing lightening all around my tent, so obviously I had a very late start, still in the rain. I have not made it too far the last few days, because well, I would rather make it East all in one piece, and its a little hard to want to pack up a dripping wet tent, slide ever so gracefully into dripping wet spandex, and bike ever so swiftly into sheets of rain and the looming threat of lightening ahead.
After a good five hours of rain biking yesterday I made it to Hazard, KY. Literally hazardous to my well being. I tried to find a church to crash at, because that has repeatedly proved to be the best place to crash if there is no campsite, or if you cant afford a hotel room. I spent an hour riding around the town, pedaling through the rivers of water in the road, and was unable to find even a single soul on the streets to tell me what to do.
Defeated and soaking wet, I finally gave in and checked into the glamorous hotel down the road, and spent the next hour, okay the next nine hours watching TV. I forgot how addicting CSI can be. Although maybe not the best decision to watch a show about crime, while you are biking alone through the rain, in unfamiliar territory. It helped that there was an amber alert repeatedly flashing on the screen for a kidnapping that occurred that morning, in the same county. yikes.
Once again, hoping to get an early start was a failure this morning, i just could not peel myself out of bed to get going, and I quickly decided after 23 miles that I would be done for the day. So here I am, in Hindman, Kentucky, feasting at a bed and breakfast in the trees. Dave greeted me in the driveway with a tall glass of Southern Sweet ice tea, and made me a baked potato for supper. Just before I ordered take out and drank at least five more teas. Supposedly there is an ice cream Sunday on the way. Could I ask for anything more?
Also, if you want to know the best diet in the world, go on a bike tour. Not only is this a summer boot camp weight loss program, but you get to eat everything you could ever want, and more; and still feel starving. At least that's what happens to me. No joke, I usually have to eat dinner at least twice, and I could still eat dessert all day. I guess I'll have to start training for iron man Hawaii or something so I can keep burning the millions of calories I eat every day. Good thing New York City is not known for pizza and bagels or anything, I think i might be doomed.
Gearing up for a century ride in the morning to get across the Virginia border. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I keep wishing I could bike 300 miles everyday...then i would be there in no time! For now, I'll keep spinning along on my granny gears, hooving all the donuts in sight, and practicing my southern accent.
See you all on the other side of these hills!
ciao ciao.
s.
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