Today I had the pleasure of touring Berea,Kentucky. I am throughly impressed with this place. The story starts in 1855 when an ardent abolitionist wanted to start a school where everyone was allowed to attend. White, Blacks, Indians and Women, a concept unheard of before the Civil War. He was givin the land to start his college by another abolitionist named Cassius Clay.( Not related to the boxer.) There was an interruption during the Civil War but it has continued with its original Christian based philosophy ever since. Today this beautiful school operates 100% on private funds and pays 100% of the tuition for every student. The students must come from Appalachia; they must have academic potential and their families must not have the ability to pay for College. Every student must work at least 10 ... read more

This was a wet one! Gosh it rains a lot here! After a snug night in my tent, I woke up and started getting ready to go..... just when the deluge hit! I could not have timed it any worse! Darn it! Much of what I have got wet! ? Part of the adventure I guess! I stuffed all the wet stuff in the bags, loaded my bike and headed out. One thing I have not mentioned much is the barking dogs. I think every resident in this state must have at least two dogs. Many are running free and love to chase us Bicyclists down the road. I haven’t felt really threatened yet, but it does get the heart rate up a bit! I rode about 39 miles of the intended 70 mile day and ... read more

Today was a long and hilly day. There were four separate climbs of about 8-12%. Each was a couple of miles to the top. The first one reminded me of those ski jumps they use for the freestyle skiiers. Starts out gradual and ramps up near vertical toward the top. The top of that hill was about 20’ wide before it plunged back towards the hollow at the bottom, In each Hollow there is a settlement with a lot of barking dogs. Fortunately none of them were that threatening, although it is unsettling each time one chases you down the road. It is hard to try and out run them with 80 lbs of gear. Then there are the Coal Trucks. The drivers must be in the same fraternity as the logging truck drivers. The complexion ... read more

Forgive me non bicyclists but I’m going to get into some bike talk today. I woke up this morning dreading the feared Hays Gap Hill. I have read about it and heard about it since I started planning this! To my surprise it didn’t seem so awful! Fortunately after reading about some of the tough climbs on this route, I added a larger sprocket,( 34) to my cassette. It has provided me the ability to spin the pedals even when I am going uphill. It is much easier on the legs rather than mashing the pedals at a slower cadence. I’m not going very fast, but it’s all about saving the legs. The geography is really changing. Now I am going up and down the hills nonstop. I saw very little flat terrain today and don’t ... read more

I’m sitting here on a rocking chair,( They really like rocking chairs here in Virginia), on the deck of our cabin waiting for the rain to at least slow down a bit! Bruce is already out in it making his way to Abington,( 12 miles), where he will pick up a rental car and drive back to his brother ‘s house. Although this was a scheduled day off, I am eventually going to ride about 10 miles up to Glade Springs where I will finish the day resting the legs for tomorrow’s brutal climb up to Rosedale, Va. It is reported to be one of the toughest climbs on the Trans America Bicycle Route. Yesterday was a fabulous day on the bicycles. We rode 62 miles through some of the most beautiful country we have ever ... read more