Day 58 – It All Evens Out

By Mark Heggestad
Remember yesterday when I said it was another perfect day.  Today was not so perfect.   Not bad – just not perfect.  Stressful, is what I would call today.  The weather was perfect again, but a few other things took some shine off the day.  Three things to be exact: navigation, dogs, and traffic.

The day started with great roads, similar to yesterday.  Unlike yesterday there were a lot of twists and turns, and my map directions leave much to be desired at times.  I didn’t get lost, but at times I was stopping every couple miles to double check and triple check where I was.  Just to make sure.  Not a big deal, but it really slows me down and takes a little fun out of the day.

Then there are the dogs.  I have not mentioned it yet in my blog, but I have been dreading this part of Kentucky.  When we meet other bikers coming from the east one of the most often repeated complaints is the dogs on this part of the route.  The same dog bit three TransAm bike racers last week before someone finally did something about it.  I don’t get why people have these dogs in this area, but it is a problem.  Knowing it is coming is stressful enough.  Over the course of the day I have been startled many times by the sudden barking and snarling of a dog, only to realize that it is fenced in or straining at the end of a chain.  But there were also occasions where they came after me.  My current strategy is to shout at them and outrun them.  So far that has worked, but the heart is usually pumping pretty fast by the time that ordeal is over.  I have pepper spray, which I have moved from my saddle bag to velcroed on the front of my bike.  But when I see or hear a dog I have to make a decision: pepper spray or bike fast – I can’t do both.  So far the biking fast has worked.  I think I still have at least a day more of this nonsense.

And finally, at the end of the day I biked U.S. highway 421 for 29 miles.  I don’t know if I hit it at the wrong time of the day, but I consider it the most congested no-shoulder road I have biked thus far.  Fortunately the Kentucky drivers are still pretty courteous, although a few drivers went out of their way to let me know their displeasure in sharing the road with me.  I inhaled in a lot of exhaust fumes on that part of the route.

I biked 75.2 miles today, from Harrodsburg, KY to four miles east of McKee, KY.  By the time I quit, I was exhausted, but it was a stressed out exhausted, not a physically exhausted.  I prefer physically exhausted.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring a little less stress.

Looking out over the top of the trees

One of the roads biked this morning

One of the roads biked this afternoon

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 28, 2017 at 5:42 AM

    Thankfully no serious run in with the dogs....keep using your effective strategy of going fast with the pepper spray ready. Nice 75 mile day, given the challenge of Highway 421!

    ReplyDelete

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