Another day, another heat wave. Whatcha wanna do today? Oh, I think I'll go for a bike ride. Woo Hoo!
Twenty days into my journey, I take my first look at a map: I think that makes it more exciting:
Amazing how the camera really captures my enthusiasm, eh? So I pedaled a lot, and there was a hill, and a mean dog chased me, a guy with a gun in his truck window yelled at me, I saw a Long John Silver's bag on the side of the road (can't disagree with that choice,) and there was another hill. Wash, rinse, repeat. If anyone doesn't see the pattern here, give yourself a pat on the back. At least you managed to turn on the computer, right?
This is a church in Buckhorn. The church is a log cabin, which is sorta cool, but the real attraction here is the congregation -- several thousand bats. They occupy most of the church. I sat in the shade for a while and watched them fly around. It's kinda freaky to see bats during the daytime, but it definitely livened up the afternoon.
I pushed onward to Booneville, where I stayed at the Booneville Presbyterian Church's bike pavilion. The church was very crowded because of a tragic accident that claimed the lives of two sisters -- one attendee told me that it was the biggest funeral the county had ever had. About 500 cars were parked in the fields next to the church, with their owners waiting in a line to pay their respects. The line actually stretched around the side of the church and halfway across the back -- putting everyone near the bike pavilion. Keep in mind, this is in a town of 191 people. A few people took time to ask me a few questions and give me advice about the upcoming terrain -- the first kindness from a Kentucky resident that I have experienced, and in a very unusual situation.
With any luck, I'll make Berea tomorrow, which will mark the last significant ridge of mountains until I reach the Ozarks in Missouri.