Starting point unknown, but goal is to get to Berea, KY so he can pick up mail before post office closes for long weekend.
Beattyville, KY to Berea, KY
Biked 48 straight miles in the rain. Made it to Berea at 11:34 AM. Post office was closing at noon. Very invigorated because he found 7 pieces of mail!!!! THANX TO ALL. Getting a motel and a small bottle of tequilla tonight. Lonely webmaster wishes she was there... :o(
Hey, I made it to the post office with 56 minutes to spare...if I missed it I would have had to wait until Tuesday!!!!!!!! Up at 5:40am for a 48 mile sprint in the Kentucky rain. It was worth it...to all of you who sent mail that was there...THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! If you sent it and it wasn't there it should be forwarded to Goreville, IL. Thanks again...it made my day!!!! Gotta go...time to celebrate!
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5:40 AM up and at’em. Rain from 3 AM on. Thunder and lightning in the distance since midnight but stars still visible. 41 miles to go - 5 downhill in rain, then 36 more to mail.
Socks and riding shoes still wet from yesterday’s rain. No sense in putting on dry ones. They’ll be wet in no time anyway.
Packed up tent in a drizzle. Five minutes into ride, the rain came. Rode 16 miles in pouring rain and early daybreak to Ravenna, KY. Could not have gotten any wetter. Poncho kept my upper body reasonably dry. A few cars passed - maybe 4 or 5. One monster hill - Cobb Hill - broke 800 mile barrier in the middle of that hill. The tenths of a mile on the odometer changed so slowly at 4.8 mph - seemed like 20 minutes to go from 799.6 to 800.0. More Kentucky rain! Actually easier riding in cool rain, than hot sun - but the wind chill on the downhills is pretty cold. Finally up ahead a diner! Breakfast! with a glowing orange sign saying “Open”. The Wigwam. I enter, dripping wet and try to dry off and change into a dry shirt. Once you’re wet you just can’t get any wetter!
Nice morning chat with locals. The usual stuff. One guy told me of a shortcut to Berea and the waitress reminded me that if I miss the post office in Berea, I’ll have to wait until Tuesday because of the holiday. The thought of spending three days in Berea will surely light a fire under my ass!
Got “roaming” indicator on the cell phone. Quick called Peg to let her know I’m OK. Told her I’d call last night but there wasn’t a phone booth in the field I camped in and no cell service either.
I leave The Wigwam and just before I cross the Kentucky River, I spot this giant sign with a gigantic American flag atop which says, “In the name of Jesus, Rebuke the A.C.L.U.” OK, on to Red Lick Road - the shortcut to Berea. Came to a “Y” and wasn’t sure which way to go. I’m off the map now and going on verbal directions. I see a pick-up truck approaching and flag it down to ask the driver which way to go. He says, “Go left and you’re gonna ride ‘a piece’ to 421 then turn left and go to 21 and turn right and that will take you to Berea.” Well - “a piece” turned into 23 miles! (In the rain - okay, I said that already) So for the next hour and a half I pedaled and pedaled. Passed a lot of turtles crossing the road - half alive, and half dead. The whole ride I’m worried that the post office is gonna be closed when I get there. Every time I think that, I pedal faster and hear the Wizard of Oz music where Miss Gulch is pedaling - you know... da...da...da...di...dah...dah, da...da...da...di...dah...dah...!
Then I think of another Wizard of Oz analogy. Dorothy and company make it to the Wizard after much effort, only to be told they still have much more to do. Which leaves them disappointed. I’m feeling my efforts to get to Berea may just be the first visit with the “Wizard” and the post office is gonna say, “Go Away, Come Back Tuesday!”
Okay, so eventually it’s 10:30 AM and I have the phone number of the post office. I decide to try and call because I figure I still have 10 - 12 miles left. But alas, I can’t get a signal. So little by little, mile by mile, I pedal and then I see it... a sign: Berea City Limits. I let out a Whoop and now have to figure out exactly where in town to find the post office. I ask the driver of the first car that isn’t moving and she tells me these long winded directions and that I have about 3 more miles to go - ARRGHHH!
Well, eventually I get there. Lots of activity in the parking lot - Yes! They are still open. I stop to take a quick picture; the picture of the day. Had to be that! Inside were two clerks who both seemed really happy to be working there. Very cheerful. One of them came out with my mail - a pile of about 7 or 8 items. Wow - now that’s more like it! I sat outside against the building and read every letter. Thank you to all who wrote - It is so reinforcing and supportive!!
From there I went and made a few phone calls. One in particular to Laura Flandreau, co-worker for 21 years. She actually lived in Berea briefly. I promised her I would call her from Berea when I got there. She gave me some info about the town and it was great to talk to her again. She is someone who knows a little bit about adventure, having hiked the Himalayas among many other travels.
Next order of business, find the town and a motel. Quick bike ride through the town showed Berea College, The Boone Tavern (a hoity-toity kind of hotel) and lots of arts and crafts stores and shops (or should I say “shoppes”). Passed a library with Saturday hours until 5 PM - that’s good. Found a motel - Knights Inn. Looked good. Clerk said, “You want a room on the ground floor right?” I said, “Of course.” He’d seen my type before. I’m now on the Transamerica Trail. I’m gonna call it “TAT” for future reference. I have a feeling you’ll be hearing a lot about the TAT, starting tomorrow. In the room I run a piece of rope from the coat hanger rack to a lamp mounted over the bed. It’s basically a clothesline to hang and dry all the wet stuff - tent, socks, poncho, etc. After a shower and clean clothes, I am once again Tourist Man.
First stop, library. Email and “Where’s Jasper” update. Then on past the college. Reminds me of Faber College from “Animal House”. Wandered in and out of some craft places, trying to get a feel for this town.
Peppered throughout the town were these individual 5 foot tall hands, each distinctively painted or decorated. The hands symbolizing the essence of Berea - work with the hands, create with the hands, serve with the hands, etc. Very cool.
Now I’m ready for the celebration - a drink or two or three at the Boone Tavern. I enter and see a hotel registration desk and a large group of people that look like they are entering a wedding reception. I realize they are entering a dining room. So where’s the bar? I give up and ask the desk clerk and he says, “Sir, this is a dry town, you’ll have to go to Richmond, it’s 12 miles up the road.” ARRGGHHH!
So I left and found a coffee bar on the way back to the hotel called, Coffee Conspiracy. Had an iced mocha something or other and imagined it was something else. Back to the room for letter writing and phone calls.
Late night buffet across the street. 11:30 on a Saturday night at a restaurant in Berea. The crowd at the next table is trying to decode the Bible. One fellow (the Bible study leader?) keeps saying in a southern twang “the Bah-bal this” and “the Bah-bal that”. On the widescreeen TV is Channel 36 ABC - Lexington, KY. I was drawn to this station because 25 years ago I worked at a Channel 36 that was also and ABC affiliate. WENY-TV in Elmira, NY. So how coincidental - another ABC channel 36!
OK, lights out.
Total for the bike today by the way: 50.15 miles, 4 hrs. 16 min., 842.2 miles total.