Hindman, Kentucky September 8, 2016

This is our third day in the Kentucky Appalachians, and we’re afraid the mountains are going to chew us up and spit us out. Our first day out of Berea was a great day in spite of the fact we encountered two loose dogs shortly after leaving town. We had armed ourselves with spray bottles of ammonia on the advice of a Kentuckian, but these dogs surprised us. One of them bit my right rear pannier, then ran off. Dave used his ammonia, but missed the dogs. Nothing like a shot of adrenalin to get one going. We rode about 55 miles that day, and there was a fair amount of climbing, but nothing bad. The roads are very windy, some not in very good shape, and drivers are very polite, but almost too much so. Cars would line up behind us until we could pull off the road to let them by. We stayed in a funky little guest house which was really very nice, even though when I pulled into the driveway I wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. The yard was really cluttered: a rusty old pickup with flower boxes where the engine used to be, old lawn furniture, a mannequin dressed nicely, etc. But our room was great. And better yet, Dave had missed the place and had ridden the 4 miles into Booneville, so Linda, the proprietor, and I drove in and picked him up (there was a big hill to climb back to her place), and she stopped at the grocery store and the liquor store so we could get food and beer for dinner! And another great small town story. Linda called me just after I had pulled into her driveway because her boyfriend, the constable in Booneville, had seen Dave and figured we had missed her place.

Day two, yesterday, was in my opinion, our hardest day yet. Lots of climbing, steep grades, which required some walking, one lane roads (we were really in the backcountry) with dilapidated houses wedged between the mountains and the highway. I fell over once trying to get started on a hill, and the panniers saved me from getting scraped up. And it's hot again. 50 miles, but we were beat. We had planned to ride to Lookout today, which would have been 70 miles, but we decided to take it easy and ride just 20 miles to Hindman since there was a place to stay. Tomorrow we'll do the 50 miles to Lookout.

Here is what I wrote on Monday, September 5, Labor Day:

Here we are in Berea, Kentucky taking a day off. The weather has cooled off here for the last several days, which is a pleasant change from the heat we have had since Minnesota. Our Adventure Cycling map says that Berea is the gateway to the Appalachian Mountains, so we decided to take a day to rest up before we tackle them. And one of Dave’s bike sandals has fallen apart, so he’s at a hardware store hoping to fix it since there are no bike shops close by. So tomorrow begins the last leg of our trip. We have ridden 4,036 miles in 76 days of riding. I had estimated that the trip would be 3,800 miles, but we took three detours, one to Eagan, Minnesota, to see Dave’s nieces and nephews, one in North Liberty, Iowa, to see my son, Graham, and his family, and one to Edwardsville, Illinois, to see friends who used to live in the neighborhood, and also friends at home who were sweet enough to drive to Edwardsville to see us! That was really great!

Now to back up a bit to catch up on where we have been. We left Minneapolis on July 31st, and went southeast to get back on the Adventure Cycling route and ride along the Mississippi River Road. We crossed into Wisconsin near where the St. Croix River meets the Mississippi, rode on the Wisconsin side, then crossed the river into Red Wing, Mn. (where Red Wings shoes are made) to spend the night. All the way we were surprised at how pretty the river valley is, and how interesting the river towns are. The fall foliage along the river is supposed to be quite spectacular. And the riding was easy as long as it stayed close to the river, but it occasionally went west up onto the bluffs, which made for slow climbing. We had two long climbs on our day into Wabasha. A couple of days later, we did have to cross the river to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to stay since there were no motels on the Minnesota side. We stayed at the Affordable Inn, which was affordable, but to give you an idea of what it was like, they tacked on a $20 deposit which was reimbursed after they checked the room before we left. But there was a Taco John’s next door, so Dave was happy.

After LaCrosse, we crossed into Iowa and rode in the rain (which was welcome) to Lansing. It was a cool little town, and we stayed in a beautiful room with a kitchenette even, on the second floor of an old building on the main street. A storm blew through while we were eating dinner, and afterward we took a walk down the single lane street by the river and the railroad tracks. Lots of houses built on the bluffs to overlook the river. Lansing was our last river town for a few days, as we headed west to Elkader, where we camped in the city park, The next morning was Saturday, and there was a very small farmer’s market. I bought a bunch of cherry tomatoes and ate most of them right away. Vegetables are hard to come by eating in restaurants. That day we rode to Dyersville, and the next morning we stopped at the Field of Dreams. A group of men had just finished playing a game by 1860 rules, and there were a lot of people there just to see the field (like us!). Souvenirs were being sold, and Universal Pictures gets all of the money. I wish I had read the signs more closely, but the family that owned the field doesn’t get any income from the field. I thought the rows of corn in the outfield were farther apart than in ‘real’ fields so the players could walk through them. Dave disagreed and was determined to find a field with rows that far apart. But he had no luck. Then nice riding alongside beautiful rolling hills planted with miles and miles of cornfields. We camped in Cascade the night before we got to North Liberty, and the elderly man who was mowing the park the next morning said a cyclist riding through once asked him what in the world they do with all of that corn. We spent two days in North Liberty, and took Christopher to the swimming pool both days. We grilled hot dogs and corn on the cob one night. Mmm! After North Liberty, on to Muscatine and Burlington. We crossed into Illinois at Burlington, and the river road along there was really beautiful. We stopped in Nauvoo, Illinois, where the Mormons settled for a short time until Joseph Smith was killed and the rest were run out of town. It’s apparent why they liked Nauvoo, as the temple is built on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River. There is a visitors center that tells the Mormons’ story, and old Nauvoo has been restored. A worthwhile stop. We met a young man there who had quit his job in Minneapolis and was traveling by bike to visit friends and family, and he intended to eventually end up in Florida. He was funny, and we heard his life story. He took our picture and put it on his Facebook page. Dave saw later on Facebook that he had met some other cyclists and he was altering his route to ride with them. That night we stayed in Keokuk, Iowa, and we got to watch a barge maneuver into a lock. It was pretty interesting. The barges are huge. Our next stop was in Hannibal, MO. We crossed the river on the interstate bridge, and as it always seems, it was uphill all the way, which means slow going with cars whizzing by. But there was a wide shoulder. We had dinner that night with a couple who passed us on a tandem, then stopped to wait for us near town. The next morning we toured Mark Twain ’s home and the museum and gallery. The gallery had a number of Norman Rockwell ’ s sketches and paintings of the Tom Sawyer illustrations. Very worthwhile. On to Wright City, a town who everyone who has ever driven to St. Louis is familiar with. After spending the night there, we headed south, got on the Katy Trail at Marthasville, and headed east to St. Charles. Old St Charles is great (neither of us had ever been there), and we stayed at a B&B on our way back from Edwardsville. To get to Edwardsville, we rode on the Katy Trail until it ended in the middle of nowhere. We were off the Adventure Cycling route, so we were dependent on Google maps, which did a good job. After we crossed the Mississippi at Alton, we rode on the levee trail and stopped at a tower that overlooks the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Our stay at the Barchengers’ house was fabulous. We were hot and tired and in need of a home cooked meal, and even better, it was great to see familiar faces. And then Steve and Terri Wallace arrived the next day, so it was perfect! Erv took Dave to a bike shop so he could buy new tires, and we all went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center near there, so we were able to almost finish the Lewis and Clark theme. We found out that the museum at the arch is closed for renovations. We had considered riding into St. Louis to see it. Thank goodness we didn’t!

After that break, we backtracked to St. Charles and headed south into the Ozarks toward Cape Girardeau. We are gluttons for punishment! The Ozarks are the worst. Hilly, windy roads, hills close together, steep grades. It took 6 days to reach Cape Girardeau. We camped one night on the way, and we bought our dinner at the Dollar General by the park. We had cheese, salami, crackers, and Hormel chili (which I heated on my backpacking stove), and beer (Dave borrowed a cooler from the camp hosts). It was a feast, and a great night to be camping. The next day we had ridden about 40 miles struggling up the hills and complaining that the people at Adventure Cycling find the hilliest routes, when we came to an intersection with a sign that said the park we had camped at was 16 miles down the road to our left. Are we suckers or what? The. night before we got to Cape Girardeau, we stayed in Marquand, MO, at a B&B, which was in a house built in 1903, beautifully restored. We had dinner at the Durso Hills winery restaurant, where we were expected because the owner of the B&B, who lives in St. Louis, had called and told them we would be there for dinner. That’s a small town for you. Next stop was Cape Girardeau but it wasn’t easy. We were lucky to be taking a break on a covered porch of an empty building when a thunderstorm came through. It lasted about an hour and a half, and we each had a nice nap. At the edge of Cape Girardeau, instead of taking a detour like sensible people, we slogged through mud in a construction area. We arrived at Renate’s house practically covered in mud. Fortunately, she recognized us anyway and let us stay. It was our good fortune! We had a great visit there. I had met Renter on the bike trip to Bhutan four years ago.

That’s all for now. If we survive the next few days, I’ll write more.