I guess I am in central Kentucky now. The hills are shorter and the dogs more friendly. In fact, all the dogs who chased me today did so without entering the road. Really, they just wanted to race and bark. I told them they were good dogs. Some of them seemed happy about that.
I witnessed something awful today, and I debated mentioning it, but bad things do happen. I was on route 55, which is a four lane divided highway with huge shoulders, protected by rumble strips, so I decided to take advantage of the relative safety after being on narrow roads, and eat something while sitting on the guardrail. As I was finishing up, I heard a crash and the screech of brakes about 1000 feet ahead, on my side of the road. I looked up in time to see a deer flying through the air, then drag itself into the woods. I muttered “Oh f**k.”
By the time I got there, the driver was quietly crying, and two other drivers had pulled over. I don’t know what the law says, but I asked all the people gathered around if anyone had a firearm to put the poor animal out of its misery. Nobody did. I have never done anything like this, but I was tortured at the thought of that animal lying in agony in the woods, and I was willing, at that moment, to trudge into the woods and do it myself. I hope the emergency responders tracked it down and did the right thing, but I have seen SO MANY dead deer in Kentucky, some mostly decomposed, that I am not sure they even scoop up the remains. It was very unsettling.
Nothing else notable happened for the first 30 miles, but I stopped at an IGA for some Gatorade and carbs, and, while I was watching the locals exchanging friendly small talk, one of them approached me and seemed knowledgeable about bike touring. Sometimes I am surprised that people who live on the TABR have never talked to a tourist, but Barnacle Bill was not one of those people! He has hosted bike tourists at his shop (Barnacle Bill’s Leather Repair: https://www.facebook.com/Barnacle-Bills-Leather-Repair-130539737022206/). We had a fun conversation while other locals came and went. This is why I love this rural route! They were all open and friendly, and it always makes me happy to tell them how nice Kentucky (and Virginia) drivers are.
I am afraid I have disappointed my Bourbon loving friends, because I ignored the Maker’s Mark distillery. Sorry!
My end point today was an amazing Bed and Breakfast called the Sherwood Inn (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Sherwood_Hotel), right next to the Kentucky Railroad Museum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Railway_Museum). It has been in the same family since 1885, but was rebuilt after a fire in 1913. Below, you can see a picture of Mike Johnson under a portrait of the founder, one of his ancestors. For my Rocky Mountain friends, you can probably see how this place reminds me of home!
Finally, I had dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and it was great. After the Thai restaurant (whose employees were all caucasian), I was a little wary, but it was excellent and authentic.
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