Day Five (50.9 miles, 170.7 total): Bang! Goodbye Appalachia!

Bang! Flashes of white fill my vision... Bang! Bang! Im awake! That was a shotgun!

They just shot off the top off a tree no more than 100-125yrds to my left! Its 2:00am. Joel is up and awake now too. VRRROOOOMM!!!!! A truck flys up the road in front of the church. VVRROOOOMMM!!!! Down the hidden driveway into the back field. They shine their brights on and off at us then fly out of the parking lot. VVRROOOOMM!!!! Off they go. Now we are debating on what to do when we hear it again.... VVRRROOOMMMM!!! Back in the lot again shining their brights on and off. They pull to the front of the church. We can hear low voices and a truck door slam.

My knife is out, my finger is on 911 and I'm ready to go. Joel is on the same page. The truck speeds off again. No chance of calling the police now. We don't know who's related to who around these parts and certainly don't want to piss off the wrong people here. VVRRROOOOOOMMM!!! It makes another pass by. Joel and I are completely on edge now. I send a message to my dad to call me when he wakes up. No real chance of sleeping now.  Fortunately, a power company truck comes by to check out a power line issue. Thankfully we never saw the truck of crazies again.

Good Morning world! How about a nice bowl of buckshot! Later that morning we are packed up and ready to get out of Boonesville as fast as we possible can. Its pretty overcast with heavy fog, but we didn't care as long as we were out of there! Out on the road, we immediately hit the first climb of the day, its a long low grade accent. A good warm up without a good sleep. I'm getting better at these hills to say the least! At the top, Joel and I part ways, he has a different agenda but we will meet again along the journey. I truck on, music from my speaker driving me on along the narrow winding mountain highways.

Berea, KY is the gateway out of the Appalachian mountains and my goal for the day. Its a slow day with a few difficult climbs but nothing I can't handle. As the day goes on, it becomes more humid with steeper and shorter hills. The hills really do add up. 10 small hills are going to tire you out as much as one big hill will. The trees of the mountains become fewer and the golden grass of the farmlands become more abundant on my way west. I reach a gas station on top of a hill and figure its a good place for a break. I let Ella out to run around and stretch her little legs for a bit. After downing a Gatorade and a snack, I'm ready to roll and push on through to Berea.

One of the locals stopped at an intersection where I was checking my map and pointed me in the right direction. He said cyclists frequently make a wrong turn right there and he wanted to help out. He saved me quiet a few miles extra! Pretty soon I was almost to my destination, then there were the hills... Quite a few short steep unexpected hills at the end of a long day. I put the metal to the grindstone and away I went. It was slow progress but I made it!

Berea is actually a pretty cool little town and everyone was really friendly while I was asking around for directions! A few miles later and I was at the campground. The owner was very nice and of course she loved Ella! Soon camp was set up and I enjoyed a nice hot shower! Completely famished I decided to use my Cracker Barrel gift card and pedaled across the highway to enjoy some tasty food.

So here is the situation; I called ahead and asked if I could bring Ella in since I had no where to put her. They said yes that would be fine. I get to the Cracker Barrel, sit down enjoy some sweet tea and wait to give my order. The manager comes out and tells me only service dogs are allowed. I explain that I called and he interrupts, saying "no, you need to tell me she 'is a service dog'". OHHHH okay well I go along and he asks me all about my trip and then says have a nice evening, enjoy your meal etc. I completely devour every last crumb of food not realizing how hungry I was. When I get up to go pay, the manager takes my receipt, shakes my hand and says "I'll take care of that for you". It was the nicest gesture along with allowing my dog in. I am truly appreciative to the manager of that Cracker Barrel.

I am now fat and happy writing about today's adventures. I hope you continue to follow us on our journey across the US!  If you are reading and keeping up with our journey, please be sure to leave us comments. We love to hear your feedback and encouraging words!