Day 9: Lebanon,VA to Elkhorn City, KY
distance: 61 mi
Day 10: Elkhorn City to Dwarf, KY
distance: 75 mi
Day 11: Dwarf to Berea, KY
distance 101 mi
total distance: 710 mi
We crossed our first state border! Kentucky! It is surprising that towns of neighboring states, even if only separated by a few miles, can be so noticeably different from one another. Shortly after entering the state, we had multiple encounters with dogs chasing after us. Before starting this trip, I had read multiple stories of people getting bitten by dogs in Kentucky, which did not make me feel very good about this. So far we have been able to avoid any incidents, but when a dog starts running toward you, barking and looking all vicious, you better hope you can ride fast enough to escape.
We have been riding through a lot of rural towns. Some of these places have a population size of under 100 people. Can you imagine? That population is smaller than the number of students in my college chemistry class. We frequently find ourselves driving through a town, wondering where the town center is, only to realize that we have just passed the one building that can be found in the town, which is either a post office or a grocery store. That's it. Out here, there is barely anything that really makes up a town.
Yesterday, we arrived in Dwarf. We were all hungry and trying to look for a anything that might sell food of some sort. After half an hour of riding we came across this store, which from the outside reminded of an abandoned trailer. One door, no windows. But it had a "grocery store" sign on top. Though skeptical, we dared to open the door and found ourselves inside a well stocked, albeit small, shop. Dinner for us all! I had some microwavable dish and together we consumed a 2 quart jug of ice cream for dessert (or appetizer).
Today we arrived in Berea, a much larger city compared to the small towns we have encountered thus far. We have been riding through hills all day long and pushed ourselves to finish the day at 100 miles!
There is so much more I could write about on the people and places I see and the things we encounter on our rides, but really, at the end of the day, I'm just beat and trying to digest everything that has happened in just one day.
