Saturday, August 5, 2000

We rode from Booneville, KY to Hindman, KY, a distance of 64 miles. Within the first mile I began to think that this was going to be a hard day because we were going up a steep hill in the lowest granny gear and having to work very hard. After we had gone 50 miles, our average speed was less than 10 miles per hour. The last 15 miles were relatively flat and our average speed for the day was 10.7 miles per hour. We climbed over 4,200 feet during the day, as much or more than we did crossing the Rocky Mountains. Just to the east of Buckhorn, KY we encountered a hill that was as steep or steeper than any hill we had encountered on the trip. We ended up walking the hill because the lowest granny gear just was not low enough.

The weather in the morning was cloudy and cool. By noon the temperature was above 80 degrees and the sun was shinning brightly. We past several fields of tobacco, and most of the people we see in Kentucky are smoking. Once again we did encounter several more dogs.

Between Buckhorn and Chavies, KY we saw a very large coal strip mine. There were trees along side the road so I could not get a picture of the mine. We ate lunch in Chavies and watched giant coal trucks go back and forth on the highway that we were taking after lunch. Just past Hazard, KY we came upon another coal strip mine. It appeared that all the coal had been removed and they were in the process of reclaiming the land. I was able to take pictures of this mine.

We found a motel in Hindman. We arrived at the motel, the same time that Paul, the gentleman from England arrived. However, there was no restaurant any where close to the motel. We were able to call a restaurant and have Pizza’s delivered.