Third video!

The third video is up! From Blacksburg, VA to Hindman, KY!

Oh, Kentucky

It’s been a few days since we’ve gone into KY and I’ve already experienced all the rumors we heard about the state. We’d heard about being chased by dogs, coal trucks blazing by, and interesting behavior by locals in general. It’s the first time I’d go into the state so I was pretty pumped.

We had a pretty pleasant night before in the Breaks Park where the group watched the sun go down from a nice overlook. You could see roads in the distance and cars look like little toy cars.

 

The next morning we rode into KY, and of course we all took a picture of the sign as soon as we crossed state lines. Right behind the sign there was a road where coal trucks were already riding into the roads. This was only a taste of what was to come. It’s crazy how as soon at you cross into the next state things are completely different.

 

The second rumor that turned out to be very true is about the dogs. Everyone had warned us about how the dogs in this state are not leashed and they will run out at you and chase you as soon as you head by their house. This has turned out to be annoyingly true. I’ve never been chased by so many dogs in my life. How do we deal with this do you wonder? Different people have different techniques – some people bark back, some yell and wave their hands, and what I do which is just ignoring them and pedaling through. It’s so nervewracking because the dogs are right there at your feet as you’re pedaling by, barking/snarling/wanting to eat you..but I haven’t been bit yet so I figure its working for me. Just the other day someone sprayed this “Halt” spray in front of them and that did the job very well..the dog didn’t even want to chase us coming behind them due to the spray. It’s crazy how people will just leave their dogs out there unleashed, but that’s how its been here.

The first few days in KY were pretty different from what we’ve been experiencing lately. There were a lot of coal trucks and close and rides along routes that looked like this..in the rain..not so fun.

But lately the scenery has been changing, especially since we’ve left the Appalachians behind. The rides are getting flatter and more like rolling hills. We’ve been going through a lot of lakes and pretty areas, which has been a nice contrast to the darker, more coal mining oriented areas we went through first.

One awesome achievement I’ve had is doing a century – riding 100 miles. That day was ridiculous..I got rained on in the morning, got lost later in the day and had to take a scary ride along an interstate..but I got it all done and by the end of the day I was feeling pretty good.

Another good thing I’ve been getting into lately is milkshakes and ice cream..I’ve become sooo addicted it’s not even funny. By the end of the day I’ve had at least one or two. Here you can see us hitting up a dairy spot for some delicious goodness.

 

 

Well..it’s getting dark and I gotta head back. Till later. :)