DAY 9: Goodbye mountains!

152 km (94 miles) - total: 1163 km (723 miles)

Hazard, Ky to Berea, Ky

As I set off this morning I knew one thing: I had enough of the Appalachians. I had enough of thinking how to gather my strength to overcome a hill or to focus on the steep descent. And so the story goes that after 9 grueling days I am finally able to put the mountains behind and I can look forward to the Great Plains of America. Still a bit to go before I can reach the open spaces though but I can safely say that the worst is behind me.
This morning I woke up to a low and heavy mist completely inhibiting visibility. I had to wait for it to lift so I started my day at the very late hour of 9am, quite late for a 150km day with several challenging climbs along the way. Although the big climbs are behind, today I had to deal with several short ascents and they were by far the steepest of the whole trip, with 15% plus gradient. The first half or so of the day was extremely slow and tiring. I cycled through a number of tiny villages comprising a post office and a handful of worn out houses and trailers. The hills got fewer and shorter and after about 100km the terrain began to flatten out and mountains gave way to rolling hills. It was a very encouraging sign, which gave me a lot of motivation. I stopped at a ridicolously shabby country store and I studied the map. It indicated that just before Berea the Appalachians would be gone! While the map tells me that I am making progress nothing can be as rewarding as seeing the scenery change around you.

This morning I was up early as I wanted to put in as much as possible before the heat but the mist changed all that. I took my time at breakfast and waited. The sun came out and stayed out for most of the day, it got really hot around 2pm and I took shelter in a gas station in the middle of nowhere and drank 2 lt of water and gatorade. I sat on a bench and fell asleep for a while. I woke up startled like I had missed a train, I bolted and grabbed my bicycle. Then the weather rapidly changed and I was caught in the rain for about 30min. At one point, during a long twisting descending road there was a break in the hills and I could see the plains of central Kentucky, I could not stop to take a picture as I was coming down pretty fast down that slope. But at that moment I knew that I had tamed the Appalachians for good!!

My hard fought battle with dogs continued today but I am proud to say that I outpaced them all. These little bitches come out of nowhere and are really dangerous as they pose a serious threat by running in front of the bicycle and getting caught in a spoke or something. Others just come out and start barking and try to lunge at you. I don't know if they would ever bite but I am not anxious to find out.

After a couple of hours of cycling today I stumbled upon the tiny village of Buckhorn where there is a most beautiful wooden church, the log cathedral, a massive building made of Kentucky log. Sunday mass was about to start, a group of people invited me to join but after a brief chat I thanked them and proceeded to continue with my journey. In the afternoon I completed my last big climb and passed through a small town called Big Hill. Apparently it is called Big Hill because it is located at the foot of what is considered the first 'big hill' of the Appalachians range. It certainly felt great to look at the hill and the sign indicating the gradient from my perspective traveling West. From there it was only a short push to Berea, which is a lovely university town, dubbed the "gateway to the Appalachians", if you heading East that is. The city itself is incredibly clean and well kept. It reminded me of an alluring small Yorkshire country village. Berea is a tourist attraction and the university, founded in 1855, has a distinctive history of allowing poor students to enroll without having to pay tuition. Arts and craft have also a very special place here, with many fairs and festivals all year round. I enjoyed a late afternoon stroll walking my bicycle through the college buildings which look a lot like Harvard in Boston. After today's ride sightseeing in Berea was the perfect reward, the icing on the cake of claiming the Appalachians!

After several days of climbing mountains, traveling through the shabbiness of trailer parks, sprinting from barking dogs, seeing confederate flags and bare-chested and tattooed men and the likes, I must admit that entering Berea felt like returning to civilization! It won't last long though, as the big open spaces of America, preceding the Rockies (impossible to imagine at this stage) beckon.


Political campaign signs are everywhere in Eastern Kentucky, particularly in Knott county where once you're elected you've got a good job.



The beginning of a very steep descent



The log church in Buckhorn


The interiors are based on Scandinavian architecture


The tiny village of Mckee, considered a 'jewel' in Jackson county, it was first settled by native Americans. The 2000 census revealed that 53% of the population live below the poverty line.



Mountains giving way to rolling hills...



...and countryside!



Arts and Crafts store in Berea



The famous college, this is Draper building