2 Day Mileage: 67.4 + 52.5 = 119.9
Total Mileage: 1,101.9 2
Day Time: 5:37:10 + 4:47:32 = 10:24:42
Total Time: 4 days 5:37:34
MSquared Velo Snapchat Day 18
MSquared Velo Snapchat Day 19
I sit here writing today's blog in a Motel 6... But we'll get there.
We woke up from the "church" to rain and I looked at Ryan and we thought it might be a good day for a day off. Au contraire... We must make moves out of Kentucky.
The first 17 miles of the day was excellent riding as we raced bottles and balls down the gross brown Kentucky River. Then mile 18 arrived and I have officially logged 1,000 miles!
The rest of the day was typical Kentucky. Barking dogs and trailers. Seriously... Almost nothing happened and there was not much to look at besides about 15 crushed turtles who were enjoying the hot pavement too much to watch for cars. Oh yeah and I dropped a starburst :(
Before finding our stay for the night (another Pavillion behind a church) we met a nice local who introduced us to a Kentucky brewed ginger ale called "Ale 8". We each got one for free. It was delicious and refreshing.
Day 19 is upon us and we woke up with our eyes on the prize... The prize being Berea, KY. Really
not much of a prize, but progress nonetheless. We have been checking the forecast every morning for the past week and it has said scattered thunderstorms for that time. We have gotten pretty lucky thus far not getting caught in a heavy shower. Today is looking promising...
Yesterday we got barked at a lot and chased down only once. Today was different story.
On my snapchat story for day 19 you will see me being chased by two dogs. Those were the second group of the day and by far the tamest. I got chased by at least 10 more groups of dogs and each one worse than the next. I have dog pepper spray and I moved it from my handlebar bag to my back jersey pocket. Each encounter I held out the spray but could not get myself to use it as freaked out as I was.
Turns out, with some advise from Mike, screaming and barking right back at the dogs does most of the work the pepper spray would do. I had no problem doing this... It is just like screaming at the pedestrians in New York City to get their attention. We all evolve from the same place...
Honestly though, some of the dogs just wanted to play, but some looked evil and it was scary as hell. It ruined my mood for some of the ride as I had to be on guard all the time. That required more energy... Energy I need to bike!
Anyway... Only a few miles from our final destination of Berea we could see storm clouds rolling in. Ryan and I were able to enjoy one of the best hill we've been on before the rain hit.
]  |
| 6% grade for 2 miles downhill |
With no letting up in sight, we decided to reserve a Motel 6 and ride through the rain.
It was exhilarating, wet and cold. No motel was more necessary than after a ride through the rain. Also we all desperately needed to do laundry and take a warm shower. For $15 each, it is more than we get in most places.
There is nothing like getting a tiny motel room with 3 guys you just met less than a week ago.
To end the day, Mike reached out to a bike mechanic, Paul. Paul showed up at the hotel and checked all our bikes. I asked him to check and see if my wheels were still "true" and the back one was waaaay off. Then Jamie noticed a broken spoke. When we turned the wheel it wouldn't even budge past the breaks. Then another broken spoke was noticed. It was not something Paul could fix there so I am meeting him in Paint Lick 8 miles away tomorrow morning. He will fix it then and give me an extra spoke to take with me. Labor is free!
I will worry about the rest tomorrow. It's time to enjoy the motel bed and the end of the Truman Show.
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