Day 15: Booneville to Berea; Camping Details, A Typical Day

May 20, 2015

Booneville, KY (Presbyterian Church Campground) to Berea, KY (Motel 6)

(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; 3296 ft -- Total So Far; 42,083 ft

Sunrise found us facing a cool morn with a heavy dew.

Last night was a bit chilly. My lightweight summer sleeping bag wasn’t quite enough and I would have put on a long-sleeve jersey, but every time I woke up I just rolled over and fell back asleep. I like my tent, it’s the perfect size for me. It’s a 2-man tent, although if you did try to sleep two men in it there would be room for nothing else. But with just me, it leaves enough room to put some gear inside and be able to wiggle around and change clothes. The rain fly stakes out a bit from the door and forms a “vestibule” that I can use to store panniers and other gear that doesn’t need to be inside the tent but yet it is still protected from the weather. So here’s a picture of my view in the tent;

My "2-man" Tent is Just the Right Size For 1 of Me and My Gear

And here’s a photo from inside the tent looking at the “vestibule” area;

The Vestibule area is Handy as a Gear-Storage Overflow Space

Many 2-man tents have double doors and each door has a vestibule area. Mine only has one door and one vestibule; that way I save some weight. If you were to sleep two folks in it, there is some loss of convenience with only one door, but I bought it to use as a large single person tent.

I packed up what I could inside the tent (deflate the air pad, roll it up and store it back inside its bag, do the same with the pillow, then stuff the sleeping bag into its bag, then place all the loose things in the proper pannier), then went to prepare some breakfast. Breakfast this morn consisted of instant oatmeal and instant coffee. My Jet Boil stove heats water extremely fast; that’s really all it was designed to do. So I “cook” things that can be made with hot water. Here’s a picture of the setup;

Notice the Jet-Boil Slashes Just Begiining to Turn Yellow as the Water Heats

In the above photo, notice that the slashes on the JetBoil side are just beginning to turn yellow on the bottom; when the yellow fills all of the slashes than the water is done and boiling. It only takes about 2 minutes, so you have to be attentive once you fire it up.

Rolling out, I rode part way with some of the ACA group. Julie taught school in Korea and is headed to graduate school after this trip.

Julie, Riding With the ACA Group, Taught School Last Year in Korea

Dogs are notoriously bad in Kentucky, as many rural folk let them roam loose. Julie was actually bitten on the ankle today by a chasing dog. Kathryn (remember her from the Quiltmaker Inn?) wrecked trying to escape a dog and then had to contend with the growling monster. Several ran after me today, and I was concerned once that I might run into one crazy mutt who insisted on criss-crossing in front of me as I was escaping. Some riders carry pepper spray to ward off dogs (brand names such as "Doggy No"), but most don't.

I stopped on occasion to photograph old buildings.

I'm Attracted to Old Buildings and Like to Photograph Them

Here’s “my old Kentucky home” (not really mine of course).

I Wonder Whose "Old Kentucky Home" This Once Was?

A place built by Abel Gabbard in 1890 has fallen into disrepair.

A rider heading the opposite direction stopped and chatted a bit. Jeremy is British and is riding west to east, so he is nearing completion. He is traveling light and fast, and has someone who is traveling by car that supports him. He gave me news of Daniel and James, as he had stayed in the motel with them last night. Interesting how this works; as riders pass each other they exchange news. I can envision that’s how news traveled in the pioneer days of our country; as people met up they exchanged news of others they had met.

Jeremy, British Cyclist, is Traveling Light and Fast West-to-East

A gentleman along the route has seen so many cyclists go by that he posted this amusing sign.

You Have to Love Folks Like This, This Sign Amuses a Lot of Cyclists

I rolled into the town of McKee and stopped at the Hometown Mart, a combination convenience store and restaurant. I joined a few of the ACA group at a table and had a great BLT and a piece of strawberry cake. They have an interesting collection of model cars built by the owner’s husband.

Lots of Work to Assemble These Model Cars

This gentleman was wearing an attention-getting shirt.

Despite the Ominous Slogan, This Fellow was a Really Nice Guy

Folks there were very friendly. I met a gentleman who owns a motel nearby, and he regularly has cyclists as guests. He estimated he had some 300 cyclists already this year, and that about 3,000 come through the city annually (I didn’t ask, but I assume that means both east to west and west to east riders combined). He’s working with local and state officials to make McKee more bike-friendly. It’s reassuring to know that some folks are taking notice.

I rolled into Berea and located the Motel 6 where Daniel and James were staying. Josh and Dan had camped at a friend-of-a-friend’s back yard, and all five of us met for dinner at a home-cooking buffet place and refueled for tomorrow. We all said our goodbyes knowing we may never meet up again; such is the trail. And indeed, as it turned out, this was the last time I'd meet up with Josh and Dan...

Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 777 miles (1,250 km)

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