Spoiled Rotten in Knott County

July 7: 107 miles from Harrodsburg, KY, to Booneville, KY

We had very nice weather today and the ride was very pretty. The first half of the day's trip continued through the rolling hills of Kentucky, meaning that you can wear yourself out quickly if you try to power over every one of them since there isn't enough time to recover on the slight downhills - I have to continually remind myself of this fact.

We had lunch in Berea, which is a nice college town and the location from which I posted last. Berea is the starting point for the Appalachians, so both climbs and descents increase in length. This type of riding appeals more to me so I was a happy camper. Also, we were shaded more than we've been since probably Idaho by the overlying trees - another plus.

We stayed at Linda's Victorian Rose B&B 2 miles before Booneville. Linda and a guy who she hired refurbished an old church (built 1915) and the pastor's house into this beautiful B&B. Linda also drove us into town to pick up some dinner, and cooked us a great breakfast in the morning. There was another group of 3 cyclists riding East to West who stayed there, too. These guys rode most of the way from Hindman before hitching a ride for the last 10 miles or so because it was getting dark and there were some mountains yet to climb! The ride from Hindman is only 67 miles but they admitted that they didn't leave until 11am; by contrast, Larry and I leave by 7 unless there's a short ride planned or some other good reason to sleep in...I'll give you one in a minute.

July 8: 67 miles from Booneville to Hindman, KY

As mentioned before, Linda cooked us breakfast but not until 7:15a. We slept in because we knew it would be a short ride (for us). Nevertheless, we still left well before 11am.

The first half of the ride was mountainous, but the second half of our day was spent following a small river around the base of the mountains so we made pretty good time. We were only on the road from 9a-4:30p, which is a very shorty day for us. The weather was beautiful and there were plenty of trees for shade, so once again I was very happy.

We've staying at the Knott County Historical Society, which is run by a gentleman named David. In the guestbook's 2008 section we saw photographs of the infamous Jack and Nancy Haar, and hope that next year there will be riders looking for our pictures! David has taken wonderful care of us. We ordered some takeout dinner, and he's also given us this delicious sweet tea, a couple of baked potatoes loaded up, some hot dogs, and two massive bowls of ice cream. Dare I say my stomach couldn't handle any more? I dare.