Kentucky! [This Post Written and Edited by Doug Lybeck]

July 23, 2009

We crossed into Kentucky this afternoon. The transition from Illinois was dramatic: strip malls to rolling hillsides. Each home tends to have an immaculate 4-5 acre lawn surrounding it. The amount of time Kentuckens spend mowing their lawns must be astonishing! The countryside accompanies the property very well, alternating between lush trees, hills, corn, soybean and tobacco crops.
Kentucky's residents LOVE their enormous, perfectly maintained lawns
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Me and my first Tobacco field.
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Other cyclists have been warning us for weeks about the dogs in Kentucky. They are NASTY! It seems like every other house has one or two BIG, MEAN dogs sitting on the property, ready and trained to attack cyclists. They often come out of nowhere, remaining silent until they are at full speed, right on your heels. We’ve tried a number of techniques to evade them, some with better success than others. John often tries to stop ahead of the dogs, resulting in them loosing interest and wandering off. I’ve tried the “pedal for dear life” approach, which is not really advisable because if they have already caught up to you they can easily outrun the bikes. Everyone is now carrying dog-mace or pepper spray which seems to be the most effective deterrent. We’ve only had to use it once thus far, and Heather relayed her experience as “turning a ferocious killing machine into a whining puppy” in a matter of seconds. I hope I don’t have to use the ¾ aluminum pipe I now carry on the bike, but I will if I have to.
One of the few ways to fend off attacking dogs.
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Churches continue to becone of our most reliable and welcoming places to camp. The Bob and his wife Violet took us in in Shawnee Kentucky, and treated us like royalty! Violet cooked us a wonderful southern style dinner of cornbread, beans + hamhock, salad, coleslaw and spiral cut ham. Showers, laundry and an air-conditioned place to sleep were greatly appreciated.