Day 16 - Berea, KY to Hazard, KY - 96.2 miles

Today was 96.2 miles from Berea to Hazard, KY.  It was the most climbing of all the days so far - just over 7,300 feet of climbing - and some of the climbs were relatively legit.  Meaning, they weren't short little punchy things.  They were anywhere from 3/4 of a mile to 1.5 miles long at 6-7% grade.  Not as long as what is to come, but longer than anything I've done so far.

(heading out of town)

(you know it's going to be a long climb when you see a sign like that)

(first climb of the day)

(look where it goes)

Today, I met two of the TransAm racers - Shen-chih Wang from Taiwan and Ben Hastings from Chicago, IL.

Shen and I rode together for a few miles.  This is his first time to the US.  Last year he rode 4,000 km across Austrailia and in the past has participated in a number of trans-continental races.  He said he's really enjoyed it, but he'd like to come back and ride it as a tour so that he can stop and site-see more.  There's been so many places that he'd like to see.

I pushed on after a little while, but when I stopped at a convience store to resupply, both Shen and another racer, Ben, pulled in.  Shen wanted a selfie with me and that was cool.

(catching Shen)

I know I say this every day, but it was really pretty out there.

Things varied quite a bit today.  It seemed like most of the time I was riding through a forest with trees on either side and sometime above me.  There were a lot of hills and quite a few switchbacks (both going uphill and downhill).

But, at other times, there would be a hill to my left and a dropoff to my right.  Or a brook to my right.  There were houses right next to the road (some very old) on rectangular plots with a small yard.  There would also be small bridges crossing the brook leading to a house or two on the other side of the road.

As I rode along I could really sense the history and age of the area.  There were a lot of old, old houses and old wooden barns.  I talked with the guy that checked me in at the hotel I'm staying at and he said some of the families here go back almost 200 years.  Judging by some of what I saw, I believe it.

Kentucky is known for dogs chasing cyclists and up till today, I've only had one pack of dogs chase, but they didn't even leave there yard, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal.  Well, today changed that.  I was chased by 2 or 3 groups of dogs.  Thankfully, nothing came of it, but now I know why Kentucky has the reputation it has.

Most of the day was overcast, but the sun did come out a few times.  And, the rain did too, but not much and not bad.

(sometimes, there were just open fields where someone had a house, but that wasn't too common)

(lots of winding climbs)

(there were a few rolling plains today, but not much)

(I think I saw 5 barns in this one shot)

(brook to my right)

(relatively new house along the way and quite a bit back from the road)

(an old Baptist church)

(really neat cathedral made of logs - like a log cabin)

Tomorrow is another day in the adventure.  I'm hoping to make Breaks, VIRGINIA - the last State in my journey.  I don't think it's quite as much climbing as today, but there will still be a lot.  I'm getting close to the Appalachains and/or the Blue Ridge mountains.