Kentucky Charm

 

Kentucky geographically and geologically can be divided into east and west, the east still being the mountainous Appalachians, the West more open farmland with mainly corn. Now we know where all the corn syrup comes from. 

When riding over the border to Kentucky from Virginia it became clear that Kentucky has some of the poorest areas in the USA. There are also many loose dogs making it a hazard for cyclists - although I had more trouble with hornets. Every cyclist we met carries pepper spray and there were a couple of times we had to use it. Mostly we had success dispersing dogs with a marine/sport Horn. Often they were just bored. We did see an old border Collie teaching a younger one not to chase us bikes, presumably due to having learned by experience about pepper spray. 

We were warned about the kindness of people in Kentucky and this has certainly been true. It is typified by Michelle above,  who ran the coffee/gun/petrol store in remote Boxville,  who cooked us breakfast and refused to accept payment. We have also noticed that gas stations are also social centres in small towns, along with the churches. Michelle is also looking forward to the August 2 total eclipse as it will bring together all her grandchildren for the first time in many years when they all come to watch.

There was also a lovely dog experience when a beautiful Australian Blue Healer followed us to the top of a mountain and sat quietly with us while we had lunch. He must have heard our accents as we rode past.