Appalachians behind us

First, we uploaded some new pictures. They're in the bike pictures slide show in the right hand margin.

We're in Berea, KY, "The Gateway to the Appalachians", I guess that means they're behind us.

We were going to try to post a couple days ago, but the library was closed on Sunday. A lot of things were closed on Sunday including the coal mines. Crossing Eastern Kentucky, we didn't see a single coal truck, which was great. I guess they drive like crazy and pass close.

So last time we posted we were in Rural Retreat, VA. The next day we made our last high climb up and over to Damascus, VA. The grades were gradual, and we were able get up pretty quick, so we stretched the day out at the end with a 1500' wall that took a solid hour to get over. It was steep and long. Kristin called it Mt. Doom. I think it's actually called Clinch Mtn near Hayter's Gap, VA if you want to look it up.

We spent that night in a church that's left open for cyclists near Rosedale, VA. No showers again, but they had a watering can and hot water from the tap, so we got creative.

The next day was a day that songs will be written about. We rode 50 miles to Breaks, VA at the border (we missed the post office, getting there after noon on Saturday. If you sent something to Breaks, it'll come back to you. We learned a lesson). Then we rode 61 more miles all the way to Hindman, KY to get over 5 big hills and a big gap in towns to stay in. We counted down the hills as we went but ended up with one last steep one up to the bed and breakfast run by the Knott County Historical Society. It was a great place to stay. The proprietor, David, met us at the top of the hill with 2 glasses of sweet tea. We drank those, and he brought out two more. It was great to sleep outside away from I-81, but we stayed up way past our bedtime talking.

Then we've had a couple shorter days to recover from the long day and to deal with the heat. Last night we stayed behind the Presbyterian church in Boonesville, KY. A big thunderstorm came through, but we'd set up our tent under a little shelter they had there. There we a couple East bound guys there who gave us some information.

The bikes continue to perform well, and we're holding up. There was a 48 mile gap in gas stations today that we had to suffer through nearly running out of water. We should have filled the extra bottles that were empty in our panniers.

Thanks for all your emails. We're having fun.

The numbers

102--Highest temperature observed on a bank thermometer (Elkhorn City, KY)
15--Dogs maced. We found Halt! Dog Repellent--The Mailman's Best Friend
1--Roadside repair. I broke my chain climbing up to Breaks, VA on the epic day. I need to downshift earlier.
0--Flats tires (we're not counting fixing Carol's tire at the Bergmann's house).
5--Turtles on the road, 2 saved by us. We couldn't stop for the others.
11--Other cross-country cyclists. 8 East bound, 3 West bound. 4 had support vehicles.
720--Miles traveled so far.