Letcher County

Day 28 Jenny Wiley State Park, Prestonsberg, KY - St. Paul, VA
Miles - 91
Churches - United Methodist, First Baptist, Alliance, Free-Will Baptist and Old Regular Baptist

Never again. It was a 1 start Hotel. I called the front desk at 10pm and asked if it is normal for the guests to be so loud outside our door. The reply was "I'll tell them to be quiet, otherwise I'll have to call the police!" Wow, it must be a normal occurrence. Even at 1am, I was awoken and could hear loud talking. I was pretty tired, so that didn't keep me awake.

I did wake up at 3:45, and since I knew we had internet, I got up and finished yesterday's blog. I finished it in time, before Glenn and I left with Jon and Neil to head to McDonald's. We met the rest of the crew at 7am for breakfast. I walked through the parking lot to get a few items at Wal-mart.

Glenn had pancakes at McDonald's, and by the time I walked back from Wal-Mart, he was already out getting the bikes ready, the coolers and water bottles prepared. He organized the snacks and food items too.

The camera crew were in McDonald's downloading files and stuff and because they didn't do the normal "interview" with Neil, we had to leave and follow the cyclists from the get-go. We quickly waved and hugged Jonathan Edwards "good-bye". About 20 minutes later, we get a honk, and Jon goes driving by. He decided to drive to NC to visit his daughter.

It was very foggy this morning. We had new cyclists join us. Matt, who is the Tomba's son-in-law. He has fresh legs. He is a good climber. We followed behind Caroline and Neil. We traveled down the main pike and then off some back roads. At one time, the cyclists were climbing up and up pass mobile homes after mobile homes with barking dogs and junk cars in the front yard. It is just my stereotype image of the Kentucky backcountry. Once they reached the top, the pavement changed and we were in a middle-class community with 3 car garages and manicured lawn dotted with swimming pools and trampolines.

At times the riders were under a canopy of trees. Other times 2 vicious dogs came out and attacked Neil. He fought back with his water bottle. One trek, they were riding up and up and up to a pass and down into a clearing. They were on a 4 lane highway, however for about 2 miles one lane was under reconstruction, so they just drove on the smooth pavement behind the orange barrels.

As we were driving through a winding 2 lane road, Neil stopped by Free-Will Baptist Church of Dorton, KY. They got an interview with the Pastor, and then Neil asked if he could speak one of the newest believers. That was cool. At 11am, it was time to begin their service so the #ConversationsCoasttoCoast continued on as the church service began.

I had to go to the rest-room, so I followed Christine to the bathroom, which was just inside the entrance of the church. They were singing a familiar Christian song.

Most of the day, our route was following a creek. Homes across the creek had individual bridges to the property. At times our road would cross over to the other side. It was a nice beautiful drive.

We calculated that the next town would be Jenkins, KY and that would be a good place for lunch. Giovani Pizza. Closed. So we chose Las Penasa Mexican restaurant near the city swimming pool. Glenn and I shared enchilada dinner. Glenn talked with our waiter. He is from Mexico, DF and came to the states when he was 18 years old. Neil wanted to do an interview/conversation with him, but since it was a Sunday afternoon, he was extremely busy and didn't have the time.

After lunch, the ride was immediate steep. Up Up and Up. Til finally we arrived in Virginia. We cut off and went through a tiny road that had bunches of switch back. A sign: Rte 633 not recommended for trucks over 30 ft in length. Glenn thinks the van is probably 30 feet in length. When we were making the switc-back, the front of the blue box scraped the ground. All day was beautiful. The ride was one of the best. I did take a cat-nap when I was mesmerized by watching the cyclists work so hard to climb up a steep mountain.

In the afternoon, the cyclists "crashed" out of exhausted. We stopped at a Valero gas station for a potty break and the cyclists were thirsty for water. I noticed a Magna ice-cream bar and then offered to get anyone one of these delicious bars. Neil, Christine and someone else took me up on the offer. Delicious. Brings back fond memories from Bolivia days.

We ended up the day in St. Pauls, Virginia at Western Front Hotel. Nice place. Glenn and I have a very unique room. Decorations are awesome. Neil immediately had a conversation with someone in town. I stood around to have him sign the release form, but I didn't know how long that would take, so Glenn encouraged me to go and check into the room and take a shower and get ready for dinner. Glenn finally came up to the room at 6:20pm.

We walked around the corner to Sugar Hill Brewery. Good food. But the service was terribly S.L.O.W. Glenn and I shared a meatloaf meal and we enjoyed talking and getting to know Matt. We returned to the room at 9pm. Now to finish this blog and get to bed. Now, suddenly the fire alarm goes off. Ugh. Blaring lights and fire trucks. We walk downstairs....outside for only 5 minutes. And we're back in our room. Good night.Read more