Today was a day with long stretches without services, i.e., water, and hills. But not nearly as bad as those in Missouri. The weather was still nice with low humidity, low winds, and normal temperatures. It made for a good day of riding. As I progressed deeper into Kentucky there were two noticeable differences. First, the dogs are loose and they like to chase cyclists and two, it is a lot poorer. People are living in non-working RVs or homes that look like they should be condemned. I wonder who they voted for in the last election. No question, this is still Trump country. The farms are a lot smaller and it seems more like subsistence farming than anything else. The fields are smaller, much smaller herds of animals but they are still growing corn and soybeans.
When I got into Fordville around 6 pm I was going to camp at a campground 3 miles west of town. But when I got to the spot it was a rundown county recreational park in dire need of TLC. There was no campground. I gambled and rode the remaining distance to Fordville and as I was riding I remember that Maggie, the woman I met in Farmington, gave me a list of all the places she stayed in. She did stay in Fordville at the volunteer fire department. She me gave the phone number to the Chief. When I called he had no problem letting me stay there and said a few other cyclists have as well. So I got to sleep with the fire trucks.
Today’s stats: total mileage 97.3; average speed 12.6 mph; maximum speed 34.8 mph; total elevation gain 4493 feet; elevation loss 4698 feet.