2014-07-08: Day 13 The Appalachians, Hazard to Boonville, KY
Post date: Jul 9, 2014 8:28:22 PM
We rode through the Appalachian Mountains today. I have conducted an informal survey by reading logs and asking other riders if the Appalachian Mountains were tougher to cycle than the Virginia Mountains. I got a split opinion. Having now done it, I can personal say that the Appalachians are easier. The climbs are shorter perhaps 1 mile in length compared to the multi-mile climbs we were enduring in Virginia. We have only 40 miles of mountains remaining before breaking into the Kentucky blue grass country starting around Berea, KY. Jon and I are both feeling that the worst days of climbs for the summer are behind us.
We have slowed our pace down just a bit to arrive in Berea tomorrow afternoon. Jon’s wife, Debbie, is flying into Berea tomorrow night to join the traveling band of nomads that we have become.
To describe the Appalachians, I will steal a word Jon used. They are like the surface of the earth is wrinkled. All of the ridges are very homogenous; the same height , covered with the same hardwood trees. We are traveling the valley floors along small streams with the ridge lines about 500 feet above us. Many valleys are lined with cliffs of layered sedimentary rock including some coal veins. These valleys are narrow and I feel a bit like a rat running a maze. The twists and turns in the mountains ensure you can never see far to the front or far to the back. A person in the olden days could get really lost back in here. Here is a view climbing out of one of the valleys.
Despite the abundant natural resources that this region has provided, the area is economically depressed. There is quite a bit of generational poverty. Riding the back roads, there are some homes that are very American middle class, but there are many others that look like a junk yard - lots of broken down vehicles, old furniture, and piles of wood laying around the yards. The houses are in disrepair. It is really sort of sad. I will not post a picture of a private house but here is a typical business in the area. You can extrapolate the region from this picture. Tonight we are camping behind the Booneville Presbyterian Church. We never actually talked to anyone at the church but our ride maps list this church as a
place that allows cyclists to camp. We asked a police officer in town for directions and he ensured us that cyclists camp here all the time. They provide a cover pavilion with picnic tables and electricity, a cold water shower, a sink, and an outhouse. Awesome! We found a cyclist log. There have been 46 cyclists riding cross country that have used the pavilion since April 4th of this year. We added our names and sincere thanks to the list.