Distance: 98 miles Clay, KY to McDaniel, KY
Ride Time: 8:12
Average Speed: 11.9
Maximum Speed: 32 mph
Altitude Gain: 5410 feet
Average Temperature: 89
Kentucky has turned into a hilly ride and has been hot and humid. It is also a state of contrasts in lifestyle with what seems like extreme poverty living next to very nice homes and manicured lots.
In the afternoon, I rode around Rough River Reservoir. We found a campsite that originally told us they were full. It was operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. Kathie spoke to the host of the campground, Angie, and she decided to open up a campsite that had been underwater just the day before. It was a beautiful site on the banks of the reservoir.
While Kathie was arranging the campsite I was riding a hilly stretch of road to McDaniel, KY. As I reached the top of a hill, I decided to stop and have a snack and drink. I stopped at the end of a driveway. A man came out of his house and was shouting something. We walked towards each other and started talking. He was a recreational cyclist and was concerned about me having enough to drink. We walked back to his shop behind his house. He opened up his refrigerator and he had it stocked with water bottles. He said that most years he had met a lot of cyclists that needed a drink. I drank a bottle of good tasting cold water and used another to fill my water bottle. It was just the thing to perk me up for the remainder of my ride that day.
Angie spoke to me when I checked in at the campground. She told me where I could find Kathie and also told me to be careful in my future rides. She said the people of eastern Kentucky had a reputation of being unfriendly to cyclists. She also said to look out for dogs as I would likely have more chase me in eastern Kentucky.
A man in the campground helped me back the trailer into our camping spot. We mentioned that we were constantly receiving miracles on our trip. He asked if his sister could talk to us. His sister has been healed by a miracle and has written a book about her experiences. Her book is titled “Fearlessly Chosen” and her name is Stacey A. Lucas. We had an interesting discussion.
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