Phase 5, Day 4. Logan-Beaver, WV

79 miles. Should have been much easier but the over 6000' of steep climbing made it a grind. 

West Virginia mountains. Better to see it yourself. 

Beaver Creek coal mine. Most hard work far below ground. 

Orchard Hill Rd.   Who wouldn't wanna ride a bike?

Coal is alive and well in Southern West Virginia. I spent most of the day among the coal mines, the coal communities and sharing the road with the giant coal carriers. 

Riding conditions in WV are not as pristine at they were in KY. Sure, some newer roads have nice wide shoulders but most country roads have little to no riding shoulder and the road surface is often full of cracks, holes, loose rocks and bits of coal. 

Leaving Logan at sunrise and heading southeast to follow the Guyandotte River soon was distressed to discover my little country road a nightmare. The main highway I tried to avoid was closed so all the traffic, trucks, and everyone else was on MY road. A harrowing first hour, but at least it was only 7am.  Reaching Man, WV I turned up the Buffalo Creek Canyon and things soon improved. 

The economy, and quality of life, seems much improved since leaving KY yesterday. Now back into tidy communities...but they still like their Dollar General. 

Coal mining is dangerous business.  I saw many memorials, roads and bridges dedicated to nearby tragedies. I spent an hour following Buffalo Creek all the way to its origin and passed 20 miles of rural communities that were all wiped out in the Buffalo Creek Disaster of 1972 when a dam burst at the top of the valley. The huge wall of mining slurry and mud killed 125 and demolished most of the towns I went through. Crites, Latrobe, Braeholm, Accoville and Kistler...all gone. The people eventually came back and rebuilt with no sign of the tragedy left today but they are still talking about it, and I don't blame them.  

The coal mines are massive sometimes mile-long factories. The miners work underground, 1500' one miner told me, and use heavy equipment to breakdown the coal seam, then the loose coal rides along miles of conveyor belts to a central site outside where it's loaded onto trucks and trains. I was surrounded today by big men driving big trucks and wondered what they made of my flimsy rig. Surprised to find out the drivers, even the enormous coal carrier guys, would slow down to pass safely and often give me a wave or horn blast. When I stopped to check the routing at the top of Buffalo Creek one dude even pulled over to see if I needed help with directions. 

At dinner in Logan last night I spoke to a nice couple, Greg and (I don't recall her name). We talked about coal mining and Greg had a look at my routing for today. 4 hours into my day Greg pulled up in his work truck and stopped to check on me. We talked some more and then he got back to work....and so did I. 

Lots of climbing. Highway engineers in WV don't bother keeping the grade at 6% like most places, I was climbing 9-10% grades for miles today. Substantially steeper. Topped out at 3500' at one pass.  

Southern West Virginia is one of the most scenic places I have ever seen and unlike anywhere I've ever been. It's hard to describe but it's gorgeous. If you've been here you know what I mean, if you haven't I highly recommend. 

I left the big hills and coal trucks behind and coasted downhill toward Beckley and neighboring Beaver, WV where today's ride ends. Now I must get back to being a responsible adult but I plan to return to Beaver on or about Aug 29 to continue this journey. 

Phase 5, Day 3. W. Liberty, KY-Logan, WV

110 miles. Lots of up and down. Fabulous. 

Rail Trail in East KY?  For an hour? 

Loretta Lynn born here. Now a museum but closed on Sunday like everything else around here. 

West Virginia. 11th state of this journey.

Another rest stop. Hour 6. Thanks coach!  Pro tip: Always check for ticks when done.. 

Tonight's hotel, and Cinema 8, in an old quarry. 

Final score: Ben-8, Dirty Dogs-0. Offense is the best Defense, right? 

Great day with a little bit of everything. Once again out early and riding in and out of foggy valleys. Sunday mornings even better than Saturdays when riding in the Bible Belt. 

Followed Carney Creek for an hour then turned NE to join, if you can believe this (in Eastern Kentucky) a beautiful rail-to-trail route for about 18 miles. The Dawkins Line Trail (an abandoned coal rail) is not paved but crushed limestone which was much like last year's Missouri crossing on the Katy trail..great! Through a few narrow passes and over many rivers. Didn't see anyone for the hour+, certainly no cyclists, but it was really nice. I stopped to take some pictures and then decided to enjoy the moment and listen to the birds for 10 minutes. 

Speaking of that, with a very long day ahead, such as today, I struggle with a strategy so that I can enjoy it without wiping myself out. My style of riding, no matter how far, is to just go until I run out of gas. My clever wife Carrie suggested maybe I should stop to rest every couple of hours. Stop? Huh, never thought of that. I did and it worked great. Even ended the long day with some gas in the tank. Thanks Coach!

At Haverhill, KY crossed the Levisa Fork (tributary to Ohio River) bridge and into West Virginia. Still looking for signs of Coal Country I soon found it in Odds, WV...Loretta Lynn's birthplace. Must be officially in coal country now.

I love the unexpected historic nuggets along the way. Yesterday was Daniel Boone Nat'l Forest, today Coal Miner's Daughter. Tomorrow? 

The hills are getting bigger and canyons much deeper, but always so green covered with thick forests. The fall colors in WV must be amazing. 

Folks in Eastern Kentucky, I found, to be quite reserved and not approachable. I always said Hello but it never sparked a conversation. The West Virginia mood is much more upbeat. I noticed many WV families, on this Sunday afternoon, outside enjoying the day together...often saying hello and waving to me as I passed by. 

I spent the last couple of days riding through one of the poorest regions of the country. In most towns there is nothing left but a gas station/convenience store. The bigger towns consistently had the same businesses: Dollar General, McDonalds, and sometimes Family Dollar was across the road. That's it. There is nothing else left. I imagine the people struggle mightily and perhaps that's why they don't say much to a goofy stranger on a bike. 

One guy, about my age, sparked up a Hello during my fuel stop in Salyersviile, KY. "Where ya'll headed?"  "To the sea." I said. "I never seen no ocean. I bet it's nice...my wife went once."

This journey across the country has opened my eyes in many ways. The people of Eastern Kentucky struggle, there is no doubt, and sadly there seems little hope for them. Spending a few days among the underprivileged, again, reminds me to be thankful for what I have. 

Tomorrow to Beaver, WV. 

Phase 5, Day 2. Lexington-West Liberty, KY

85 miles.  The weather cooperated and so did most of the dogs.

Spent most of the day doing this....


....and this too.

We don't need no fancy sign!

Poured down rain all night but woke to dry weather and a nice tailwind all day. 

As I have said, riding early on a weekend morning is the best. Everyone is still sleeping and leaving Lexington at 630am on a Saturday was sublime. Not a soul. 

Eventually left horse country and at about 40 miles it began to get much more hilly. The Appalachian region is not well defined geographically, I haven't reached the mountains yet but today was spent going up and down substantial hills entering what's known as the Appalachian Plateau. It's very scenic and lush with cattle farms dotting the many valleys. 

Highway 460 runs straight along today's route but I searched for quiet back roads for much of the day. Eventually the road would always rejoin 460 but then I would soon get to another country road and go that way for an hour. Today's biggest challenge? Dogs. I had some farm dog encounters in Indiana but they seemed tame compared to Eastern Kentucky's Junk Yard Dogs. Nasty looking things. Approaching a farm house I learned to keep an eye out for the dog so I would see him first. Also, no freewheeling past the farm house...that bicycle clicky-clack when coasting was a sure giveaway. I had to get up to speed and peddle hard so he had little chance of matching my speed once he spotted me. 

You know those decals the WW2 ace pilots stuck on their planes to show how many shoot-downs they had?  I'm thinking of getting little doggy stickers for my bike now. 

Must say Route 460, a busy highway with no dogs, was a nice respite but I soon got bored with that and went in for more exciting action at the next road just to enjoy the scenery and (mostly) relaxing riding. 

I noticed today at each stop for a drink or snack the local accent gets thicker and thicker. It's hard for me to understand the real locals...they probably think the same about me. 

Stopped for an ice cream at the general store in Grassy Creek. They have ice cream, drinks, gas...bullets, and horseshoes too. What more could I guy need?  

Staying in West Liberty, KY. Not much in West Liberty but it's the only hotel within 1/2 day riding so it will have to do. 

Tomorrow is a big day for me. 110 miles with 7000 feet of climbing on the way to Logan, West Virginia. I wonder how many dog races I'll have.

Phase 5, Day 1. Louisville-Lexington, KY.

90 miles.  Hot and humid but a good warm up. 

Just don't say "Looeyville"

Fog lifting. 

Another fancy barn for the fancy horses. 

Lots of Distilleries along the crick. 

Great day to begin the last phase. I was hampered a bit all day with Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman" going round-and-round in my head. Aaargh!!

Anyway, so fun to get out and continue the adventure. The day-to-day routine is so well established now that I don't spend time fretting about it in the morning. I just get up, have a coffee, and go. Most critical is to get out of town as early as possible to avoid the traffic. 

Super foggy in Louisville at 6am and didn't take long to find the back country roads but spent about 3 hours riding in and out of thick fog through, what I imagined to be but couldn't see, nice countryside. Eventually the fog burned off, the sun came out, and it was green grass everywhere! Kentucky bluegrass I would guess. 

This is horse country of course, and the countryside is covered with manicured grassy pastures surrounded by miles of wooden fence, sometimes white, sometimes black, covering rolling hills as far as you can ride. I don't know anything about horses but I would think this is a sweet spot if you do.  

When planning these rides I spend a lot of time sitting with maps and Google Street View to find the best routing and the coolest country roads that look quiet and smooth. The planning paid off. It's hard to avoid all the traffic but I did well today. Between Frankfurt and Versailles there was a particularly great 15 mile stretch along McCracken Pike following Glenns Creek. Beautiful riding under the thick canopy of trees. Passed a lot of bourbon distilleries along the creek...some long ago abandoned and some newer massive operations.  All very quiet though. 

Along McCracken Pike I also passed a few neglected rural communities with what appeared to be abandoned houses, but they were not.  Started to notice guys sitting on their collapsing front porches. Did a double take the first time and waved, he waved back. I waved to the all the hillbillies (can we still say that?) and they always waved back. 

At about my midway point today rolled into Frankfurt. Frankfurt is nice. It's the state capital but seems pretty low key to me. I did a quick spin through town and in 3 minutes saw both the old, and new, state buildings. Super quiet downtown, so quiet in fact that I searched and searched for a store to buy some water and struck out, so...this is a first..I had to ask for directions to a convenience store. In the state capital?  Yep. 

Eventually the sun warmed things up to 91 with, I would guess, 80% humidity. Not a problem until you stop moving...then the sweat starts to pour. That Frankfurt water was a good idea.  

Staying in Lexington tonight and got caught on some busy roads. I can avoid the busy roads all day until I get close to the hotel which is always on a busy road. Lexington seems fine and hosts University of Kentucky. University towns usually sport more bike friendly roads but not Lexington. I resorted to riding on the sidewalk for 3 miles at one point. You can get a ticket for that in California but there is no other safe option in Lexington. Visited the last bike shop I will see for the next few days...didn't need anything, just felt like I should visit. 

Tomorrow we (the bike and me) leave the big city, thankfully, and head into rural eastern Kentucky.