Day 60 – The Last State

By Mark Heggestad
Today’s bike ride of 74.6 miles started in Emmalena, KY and ended at the Kentucky/Virginia border.  That makes nine states completed and one state to go.  Can’t believe this journey is down to the last state.  I feel like the end is in sight.  But I may be getting a little ahead of myself as Virginia is a long state: there are still over 550 miles to go.

The day was once again defined by perfect weather:  high 80’s, moderate humidity, and little wind.  Sunshine all day.

The hills were challenging today.  They are still steep and they are getting higher.  I consider today one of the more challenging days so far.  A couple hills had elevation grades as high as 14% and they are bigger than the previous days.  There may have been a few less hills, but the ones that were there took a lot out of me.  I had to stop for a periodic breather part way up on a couple of them.  Also, I think my legs were a little fatigued from yesterday’s record climbing.

And there were dogs.  I lost track of how many times I was startled by a dog today.  It doesn’t help that I am overly paranoid about them at this point.  A few took chase to me, but no encounters as frightening as yesterday.  I am hoping the dog problems are behind me.  All the horror stories I have heard from other bikers refer to the dogs of eastern Kentucky.  So I am assuming there is some sort of magical line between Kentucky and Virginia that separates the bad dogs from the good.  Or more accurately, the bad dog owners from the good!

When I did break from my surveillance for dogs long enough to look up and gaze at the scenery I was never disappointed.  The hills of Eastern Kentucky are lush with forest and hills.  It is beautiful.

Examples of the "hills" I biked today.




Note the layers of hills in the background.
Note the road in the middle of the picture.

Example of roads I biked today.
Note abrupt decline.

Another example of roads I biked today.
Sharp turns and beat up roads limit the speed of my descent.
But allows me to take in the scenery.




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