Day 14: Hindman to Booneville; Heat, Hills, Humidity and my Spirit Bird

May 19, 2015

Hindman, KY (Quiltmaker Inn) to Booneville, KY (Presbyterian Church campground)

(Note to readers regarding the elevation profiles; the profile is calculated from Point "A" on the map to Point "B" on the map. Since I am traveling east to west on the first half of this transcontinental journey, my route of travel is usually shown on the map as being from right to left. However, the elevation profile is shown from left to right, so it must be "reversed" in your head to understand it.)

Climbing Today; 4,585 ft -- Total So Far; 38,787 ft

Waking this morn at the QuiltMaker Inn, I was packed and rolling west before anyone else awoke. The early morning fog was lifting into the hills.

As I glided alongside a stream, a pileated woodpecker took flight and flew down the road ahead and landed in a tree about 100 yards away. As I reached him, he did it again, and again, and again. It’s as though he was leading me on. I saw several pileated woodpeckers on today’s ride, and each seemed to be leading me. Perhaps I have found my spirit bird? I climbed the 1st steep hill, and then the next – my leg felt much stronger after the rest day.

This box turtle is much more colorful than what I see in Oklahoma and Arkansas;

Colorful Turtle (or terrapin or tortoise or whatever)

Cemeteries are interesting in eastern Kentucky. Because flat ground is so limited, many cemeteries are built on the hillsides. I saw many that were nearly impossible to reach and care for, due to the extreme steepness of the hillside. Erosion will soon be exposing those coffins. Here are a couple of the nicer ones;

Eastern Kentucky has the same beautiful streams as Virginia, but I didn't photograph many of them because they are littered with trash. When one crosses into eastern Kentucky from Virginia, it’s like you have entered into a third-world country. The poverty is rampant, and many of these folks live in squalor worse than many inner city ghettos. When you are constantly faced with worry about food, I suppose that litter in the streams is a low priority. As I cycled out of Hindman, I noticed that the elementary school seemed to be a busy place; in fact, school is out but the school is also used as a family resource center to distribute food. The same thing was being done at the next small town, Emmalena, and I saw this repeated in many other towns. These people are poor. Here’s a store with “food stamps accepted,” something you see often;

Many of the roads have rumble strips on the fog line and on the center line. There is no shoulder to speak of. Cyclists are forced to avoid the rumble strips along the fog line, and passing motorists don't like to have to cross the center line rumble strip to avoid the cyclists. It's a bad design.

I cycled along and approached Hazard. Yes, THAT Hazard, as in Dukes of Hazard. I kept an eye peeled for Sheriff Roscoe P. Coaltrain. I didn’t see him, but I did see a real coal train being loaded.

Train Cars Slowly Moving Forward to be Loaded With Coal

At a store outside Hazard I stopped and got a breakfast sandwich, and found a shady spot outside to eat it. A car parked nearby, and the cutest little girl with curly hair leaned out of the back window and asked me in a deep southern accent, “Is that your bike?” She drew out the word "your" as though it were "youuurrr." When I told her it was, she asked, “How do you pedal it with all that stuff on it?” This time she drew out the word "stuff" till it was about twice as long as normal; she said "stuufff" instead. That made me laugh; the little girl had hit on the essence of my problem. If I would just get rid of all the load I was carrying, the bike would be easy to pedal! I then checked my email and noticed I had a message from a stranger who had been reading my journal and offered to help me find lodging when I entered her city. The combination of that little girl’s question and the offer of help from a stranger lifted my spirits and I set out with renewed vigor and attacked the next hill.

The roads are carved into the hillsides here. Here’s a photo of a road being held in place with steel pilings. Note the railroad about 200 feet directly below.

Steel Pilings Keep the Road From Falling on the Railroad Below

Much to my surprise, apparently Superman hails from Kentucky; why else would there be a Krypton Lodge?

In case I hadn’t mentioned the steep grades;

Hey, The Road is Steep for Bicycles Too!

And a couple of other miscellaneous photos includes a shot of crossbedded sandstone;

And a plaque dedicated to Murdoch of Buckhorn, whoever that was;

Murdoch of Buckhorn; He Loved Baseball, Education, and God

Four of the ACA group of 11 caught me and passed. One is a fellow named Jim who used to live in Muskogee, close to my home of Tulsa. There were a lot more hills and it was another tough day but I eventually made it to Booneville where I camped behind the Presbyterian church along with the ACA group and Josh and Dan;

Booneville Presbyterian Church Provides a Cyclist Campground

The church had built a crude shower facility, with one shower fed by cold water only. It was SO COLD it was painful, but still I was grateful to be clean. I assure you that no one dallied in that shower. The ACA group eats well; there is some economy to be had from a larger group, as they can purchase large proportions that an individual rider couldn’t justify. They had tacos and had leftover food that they offered to Josh, Dan, and me. We gladly accepted...

Today's ride: 70 miles (113 km)
Total: 725 miles (1,167 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0