Day 79 - Phone troubles

Sorry for not posting, I've had some phone problems. I crossed into Virginia this afternoon.

Day 75 - Pit Bull Attack!

Both the route map and several westbound cyclists have warned that dogs in Kentucky are especially aggressive. There are few fences for some reason, so farm dogs just wander around unsupervised. I've been chased a few times but either outran them or scared them off by shouting "No!"

Not today.

A pitbull came racing out at me from a house at the bottom of a steep hill. There was no way to outrun or avoid it. I shouted, "No!" and "Bad dog!" but it didn't hesitate. It came up fast, snarling and biting as soon as it reached me.

I usually carry pepper spray but, in one of those terrible bike tour coincidences, only 3 hours earlier I'd noticed that the canister looked like it was about fall off, but got distracted before I could secure it. So it fell off somewhere, leaving me defenseless.

When the pitbull reached me, it bit first into my wheel, which is covered by a steel fender, and not very bite-able. It let go, and I lifted my leg, to keep away from the dogs mouth, and to kick it in its fucking head. It bit next onto my rear pannier, but the waterproof fabric is tough and the surface rounded, so it couldn't get a good hold. It kept snarling and biting down, but couldn't get a grip.

Meanwhile, I'm still pedalling forward up the hill, but also turning, keeping the rear of the bike between me and the dog. It wasn't close enough to kick, my bags were between it and my legs, so I kept turning the bike to keep it that way.

The dog was biting everything near its mouth, too stupid to focus on me. It bit my wheel again and again, and chewed on the panniers some more, but I kept turning the bike, avoiding its jaws, still climbing the hill, and eventually it gave up.

Day 73 - More photos

Day 68 - The road of frogs

Just outside of Popeye's home town,a series of levees and dams separated the Mississippi river from miles of planted fields. Tributaries of the river flowed through the fields, forming ponds and marshes, and in places spilled across fields and submerged roads and people's driveways, making it appear as though the crops and houses and farms grew directly out of the water. A waterworld.

The bike route followed a road through the waterworld, and when the muddy water swallowed the road, it was both fun and scary continuing forward where the road dissapeared, descending who knows how deep. The only way out was keep peddling and aim for where the road reappeared, nervously watching as the warm brown water rose - first over the ankles, then up over the chain to the bottoms of the panniers. Boat or bike?

On one section in this wet route, the road ahead seemed to be covered in gravel, but as I began riding through, the "pebbles" began frantically and hilariously hopping away. Hundreds of tiny frogs  jumped left and right, leaving an amphibian wake streaming to either side of the bike like a boat. I had to go slowly to avoid squashing them, like Bicycle Moses in some weird scene from the Old Testament.

Day 72 - Kentucky

In rural Kentucky, towns have names like Falls of Rough and Cave in Rock and no stores sell alcohol. Every quarter mile or so there is a church, and people are very courteous. I stayed in the basement of a Baptist church one night, and am happy to report that nothing bad happened to either the church or myself.

Currently, I'm directly across the highway from Lincoln's birthplace, staying in a motel that smells like black mold and dead people. I'm grateful though, I arrived 10 minutes before a raging thunderstorm.

Unfortunately, my internet/phone connection is so tenuous I can't upload any photos.

Day 67 - The Home of Popeye

I'm in Chester, IL, a cute town of brick bungalows strung along a bluff, overlooking the Mississippi river. It contains both a prison and a mental institution. Housing people against their will must be very profitable. The small towns that do are often the prettiest, while the ones relying upon other industries have empty Main Streets and boarded-up storefronts.

Day 66 - Photos

Some more pictures from the magnificent Ozarks.