Back to civilization. We’re on a layover in Berea, Kentucky. There’s internet real restaurants and a very quaint college town to wander around. Yesterday when we arrived I called caryn to let her know I’m safely in camp and asked her to post a quick message to let everyone know that I would catch up today. Little did I know she would get all sentimental and philosophical on me. Once again I’m reminded of her undying support and enthusiasm for this adventure. Actually I just think she’s worried that I might come home early and screw up her very busy summer schedule. On Thursday we had a very hilly ride, but only 42 miles ending up at Breaks interstate park which is a huge state park partially in Virginia and Kentucky. Sadly we lost another member of the troop this day. Ollie crashed on a long steep down hill. He is one of our most experienced riders and no one really knows what happened. The first people on the scene found Ollie crumpled in the ditch. He was dazed and probably with concussion had no idea what happened. The best we can surmise is that he was simply going too fast and hit a crack or something else in the road and lost control. He was taken to a hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee. It turns out he has several broken ribs which punctured his lungs and required surgery. His wife pam flew in and reported that the surgery went well and Ollie will be fine. We have all been devastated by his accident and are all now being very, very cautious down the hills. I’ve set 25 m.p.h as my personal speed limit. The night at the breaks interstate park turned out to be fantastic. In the middle of the night we got a sound and light show that was amazing considering my only separation from the elements is the flimsy 5 one thousandth of an inch material of my tent. With the added noise of the pounding down rain it was really something. My tent has become my secure dry cocoon. First thing Friday morning we crossed our first state line. One down nine to go. Long day, big hills, 70 miles, coal trucks, loose dogs that live to chase bikes. No one could have prepared me for the desperate poverty that we saw all day. It was not fun. The we got to the end of the day and pulled into the 80 motel all excited that we’d be sleeping indoors with plumbing. Unfortunately this place would make the bates motel look like the ritz carlton. There is no way to describe the place and the people hanging that would give you a realistic idea of this place. Conditions improved somewhat on Saturday. 65 miles with about 4000 foot total ascent, but no trucks because it was the weekend. Some chasing dogs but I worked out a pretty good routine. I would constantly scan both sides of the road looking for the lurking beasts. As soon as I saw one I would accelerate as hard as I could and try to go faster than them. I didn’t realize that a dog can run at close to 30 m.p.h. the system worked because most dogs were lying on porches some distance from the road. The bike being a stealth vehicle allowed me to vector past the point a racing dog would typically meet a furious pedaling bike. So far the whole group has survived unscathed from the dogs although alice had a dog either run into or bite at the rear portion of her bike, but she was able to escape. The camp Saturday night in Booneville, Kentucky was quite interesting. It was a church hostel. The camping is free, but we leave a generous donation. There was a big grassy area behind the church for our tents. Cold water shower, cold water only sink, and porta potty. Yesterday was a treat. Out of coal country and into rolling hills with beautiful farm land. We rode 58 miles with only one commercial establishment. We rode a stretch of one lane road and went for 30-40 minutes without seeing a dog or car. Enjoying a very relaxing day in Berea. We’ve met several cyclists following the same route. This is very common because of the popularity of the transom. We typically see the same folks for a few days and then either we or they take a rest and we lose them. A kid named matt riding alone on a bike that loaded I couldn’t pick up. He just graduated from the citadel in Charleston and is riding the route to honor his dad who did it in 1976. Nice kid, I hope he makes it. Then there’s Vicky who talked too much for me to get very close. Understandable as she’s been riding alone since last year so any human contact turns her mouth on. Ted and lisa are riding mountain bikes pulling a trailer call a bob. (see picture below) they are from Molokai. Hawaii. He accrued 90 days of vacation and she has a partner who’s running the business. Our trip is sponsored by Adventure Cycling Association. It was founded in 1974 as a cycling advocacy group. They’re based in Montana. Their main mission has been to lay out and produce maps for safe cycling. To date they have completed over 38,000 miles of routes all over the U.S. to put this in perspective there is aprox. 41,000 miles of interstate highway. The ACA maps that we are using have great detail and turn by turn narrative. It’s kind of analog gps. They provide the van that used for support and our two leaders, andy and dave. They,ve made all of the overnight reservations and take care of all logistics. On an alternating basis one rides his bike each day and the other drives the van. There are just enough rules to keep us safe without the whole thing getting too regimented. Between them keeping track of us all on the road each day is a daunting task. Even with the great maps a few go astray every day. I have been very careful to stay on route so I don’t waste any energy. The daily ride is enough without adding mileage. I’m going to suggest to ACA that they should provide each bike with a GPS locator and have some kind of base unit that would show each bikes location. I think the saved gas for the van would cause this to pay for itself in a very short time. Enough for now.