Son, Are You Packing Out There?

August 23, 2022

Ok now this is funny…or at least I had to laugh.

I had ridden about 50 miles today and decided I wanted some lunch. So I did what I’ve learned to do, I pulled into the gas station in Fordsville, KY. The usual choices were there, Hunt Brothers Pizza and fried chicken (and strips). A local guy struck up a conversation about where I came from and where I’m going…pretty standard stuff. And he gave me a recommendation for a diner in town versus eating at the gas station…yeah!

One more mile up the road to the diner…jackpot! Every local and every workman from a 25 mile radius was at the diner. I was basically interrogated by every person sitting within a table or two from me. Folks were asking questions about the route, studying my map, offering up short cuts, telling me stories, etc. Then an older, local regular came in and sat down at my table. He asked me some of the same questions, plus one more…”Son, you’re packing when you’re out there, right?” “No sir I’m not” was my reply. To which he responded, “You should be. There’s a lot of crazy people out there who are packing. You’re a brave soul. I can tell you at least three people in here are packing. “. In that vey moment a rare thing happened, I had no response. I do now have dog spray, but no gun (more on dog spray in a moment).

Nice ride today from Sebree (sad to leave those nice people) to Falls of Rough. Falls of Rough, Cave in Rock… who names these places? Lots of farm land, planted fields, rolling hills, blue skies, and puffy clouds. Temperature was comfortable but humidity was once again high. Traffic was light and drivers were very courteous. All in all a good day, and then I got to talk’n (wow, I’m sound’n like a local) to another cyclist going east to west. He had just come through eastern Kentucky a few days back and was sharing…

One washed out bridge and one road is totally gone. There appear to ways to navigate around the damage but it requires some carrying of the bike and hiking. Not fun when fully loaded the pea soup green machine weighs in at about 75 pounds. And then there are the dogs. He was chased quite a number of times and by as many as 8-10 dogs at a time. He gave me some dog spray and I am going to use my lock and cable to defend myself (only if necessary). The third issue is because of the damage and large number of displaced people, finding a place to eat, get water, and sleep may be challenging in a few locations. So once again, a replanning exercise is underway. I told you the other day that riding seems to be the easy part of this section of the journey and this reinforces that sentiment.

Ok need to get some rest. Hope you’re all well.

Ian

Picture of one of the damaged areas in eastern Kentucky that I will have to navigate. Picture from Troy (the cyclist I referred to in the blog)

A graveyard of ATVs in eastern Kentucky. Picture from Troy.

Another damaged area that will need to be navigated. Picture from Troy.

Today's ride: 71 miles (114 km)
Total: 1,158 miles (1,864 km)

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Michele GordonYa know ……just say it and I’ll come and take you through the rest of Kentucky …….drop you in hilly va 😌
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1 year ago

Keith Adams",,, 'I can tell you at least three people in here are packing.'. In that vey moment a rare thing happened, I had no response."

I may not have actually *said* so but my immediate response internally would have been "And _they're_ the ones that worry me most." But as a guest in their world that's not for me to say out loud.
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1 year ago