I'm shnooring some wireless here at the Booneville public library. It is a small town but it has a library.
We had a beautiful ride today. So far, so good. The Appalachians so far are hilly but so incredibly beautiful. I love the hills actually. I like climbing and I LOVE coming down. The traffic was fine so I don't know what everyone was going on about. Maybe it gets worse as you get deeper into the hills. Did you know that this area is the home of the Hatfields and the McCoys and their famous feuding? Just found that out myself.
It is so muggy and warm and lush and buggy I feel like I am in the tropic. Riding along today, it was so beautiful it almost made me want to cry. You know that feeling? Not sadness at all, just so beautiful it makes you feel all emotional and weepy. And I know what you are thinking, and it's not that 'cause I just finished my period a few days ago. Speaking of my period, I was thinking the other day "the only thing worse than sleeping behind a gas station with no bathroom, water, or shower, after a long day bike riding in 95 degree heat...is sleeping behind a gas station with no bathroom, water, or shower, after a long bike ride in 95 degree heat, and getting your period". Then I thought about how lucky I was that I didn't have to give birth behind a gas station with no water, shower....etc. THAT would really suck.
We only rode for 60 miles today and we thought, with all the hills, it would take all day but we rolled in to Booneville around 3:45pm. About a mile outside of town all these rain clouds and thunder came rolling in and about 2 min. after we settled ourselves under the gazebo in back of the Booneville Presbyterian Church, it started to just pour!! Thunder, lightening, and huge raindrops. It was perfect timing. We have really had such good luck that way. We all took cool showers in the little outdoor shower they had set up, and then headed into town to the library and grocery store. We will make dinner under the gazebo and sleep under it too. Then tomorrow head to a campground out past Hazard. We are thinking we will be in Virginia around the day after tomorrow. Everyone is feeling strong and in a good humor. A friend asked me, back when we were in Kansas near the halfway point, "does it feel like you are still riding away from Davis, or does it feel like you are riding towards Washington, DC?". At the time it didn't really feel like either, it sort of just felt like riding through Kansas. But just today, it really felt like riding to DC.
L,
D
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8 comments:
OK,
Now that I have a little time, I started tracking your progress on Google maps. You seem to be heading south, and DC seems quite a bit North. is it the roads or the camp sites?? What happened to the shortcuts Yonah was looking for?
Also, could you please let us know when you are expected back in Davis. We're planning a trip to Humboldt to see Eric's family (out only break this summer), and we're worried we might miss your welcome back home celebration.
Love
Juana
Your pictures are WOW wonderful!!
It reads like the stay in Berea was the recharge you folks needed and the mountains are being good to you. I love the idea of flying down the road after the climb up! (I am not even going to try to spell the name that is as long as the mountains are large - I need spell check.)
The idea of finishing a long nice ride,getting to the gazebo and then---- it poured while you can sit and watch is very nice too.
Your sons have spirit! I love their posts.
Wishing you all the best,
LJ - Bee Reader
Alright Yonah!
-Jeff Bryant
From the web--some of your compatriots--there is a bunch
of you out there..who knew?
Yvette
Cross-country cyclist David Kroodsma negotiates traffic Thursday on Rapid City’s Main Street. Kroodsma, of Amherst, Mass., and another cyclist are touring the country to raise awareness of climate change and global warming issues. (Seth A. McConnell, Journal staff)
“Biking across this state you feel the wind, believe me,” said Kroodsma, of Amherst, Mass., one of two scientists making a cycling tour not only to increase awareness, but to offer simple solutions to the issues of climate change and global warming.
Although cycling is an obvious symbol of an environmentally friendly mode of traveling, that isn’t the purpose of their trip, Kroodsma, who arrived in Rapid City on Thursday, said. Traveling companion Bill Bradlee stayed behind in Wall.
“We’re not saying that everyone should ride a bike or live in a mud hut,” Kroodsma said.
“Our message is very simple: Global warming is a serious issue, and there are some really great solutions.”
Decreasing dependence on imported oil and increasing the efficient use of energy can be accomplished by doing home energy audits or by simply changing to more energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, he said.
People should not give up driving, “but we should be demanding 100-mile-per-gallon cars,” he said.
States such as South Dakota have enormous economic potential to become energy producers through development of
wind farms and continued research on biofuels, including ethanol. “We should be relying on the Midwest, not the Middle East,” he said.
“We need to research better ways to produce bio-fuels,” he said. “They’re not going to do the research until we demand it.”
Kroodsma said he and Bradlee ride about six hours per day, often stopping to talk with people and update their Web site, RideforClimate.
“Fifty to 90 miles is a good day for us,” Kroodsma said.
“I love bicycling because you get to see everyone and stop in every little town,” he said.
Kroodsma, 28, earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Stanford University and was formerly employed at the Carnegie Institution of Washington’s Department of Global Ecology. He has bicycled 15,000 miles from California to the tip of South America.
Bradlee, 39, received his master’s in environmental studies from The Evergreen State College in his native Pennsylvania and has worked for the Union of Concerned Scientists and the League of Conservation Voters.
Kroodsma said he originally expected more resistance to global-warming issues in the generally conservative Midwest but says the pair’s message has been well-received.
“This shouldn’t be a liberal or conservative issue,” he said. “It disappoints me that it has been politicized.
“Global warming affects the whole world, but we as Americans have a special opportunity to make a difference because we are such world leaders. If we lead, other nations will follow,” he said.
Kroodsma said the time is now to take action to stem the effects of climate change.
“It’s in the next decade that we’ll set ourselves on a different course for a better planet for our children and grandchildren,” he said.
On the Net:
Follow the environmental cyclists on their Web site, www.rideforclimate.com
I love your moment in time of seeing, breathing and feeling the beauty around you that is so completly fulfilling that you feel weepy.
I have experienced that space in time while hiking in the sierras or sailing when everything just seems perfect!
Thank you for the reminder that those moments are still out there.
LJ - Bee Reader
Oh Oh Oh ..did you ever see the comment about the quilting bee you might have gone to. Someone you obviously met locally from Owsley
County (I am writing that from memory.) was inviting you..but you were having breakfast and maybe off to Booneville. Well..how cool
and lovely to have made so enthusiastic an impression. Quilting is still a big deal in the south and in new england. Kentucky is a mighty beautiful state in many places. Maybe you'll pass those fancy horse farms and maybe you'll run into a ShaKer Village..there is one
near Lexington..but I have to look at a map to see if thats on your route..hope the day is bright and cool..we finally cooled down this morning..and I feel great..hope you do too. Love Aunt Bee.
Hey Matt & Djina - I put my notes from the KY visit in a blog page on the site with the photos.
Thanks for a great time. Stay safe.
Cheers -
Ken
I love Berea. Glad you were able to get recharged there. It's actually a little sustainable ag hotbed as well.
Last Thursday I got a call from someone traveling through Napa who wanted to taste our wine (she found out about us in a local publication where we advertise that we have an organic vineyard and "garagiste" winery.)
So these two very nice gals (one is an eighth grade science teacher and one is the director of Georgia Organics!) showed up at our house to taste wine on their bikes! They flew to San Francisco from Atlanta for a bike tour of the Sonoma and Napa wine countries.
We ended up feeding them dinner, and providing hot showers and a tent spot. I think we've launched a new part of the tourism trade in the Napa Valley.
And not to make you jealous, but one of their other dinners was happening in on a Slow Food dinner in Sonoma County. OK, definitely not Kansas.
Your doing great!
Love, Jill
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