Today was a big day for me. It was a day that we were going to enter into Kentucky but also the beginning of loose dog country. We did encounter a few of those on this day. The loose dogs like to chase cyclists and either go after our legs or our panniers. The dogs come in all sizes from 20 pound pugs to 120 pound beasts.
Last year when I rode this section of roadway I was attacked by a big white day in Breaks, VA. That dog sunk his teeth into my pannier and ripped it. There was no way I wanted to encounter that dog again. We were able to avoid the dog by hopping onto a new road under construction. As we moved down the road and into Kentucky I noticed a man walking alongside the road. About 500 feet past the man I stopped to check the app to make sure we were on the right road. We weren’t, however the man introduced himself as Mike. Mike gave us directions on how to get to Elkhorn City and said we could stay at city hall. Well Mike was Mayor Mike who I met last year and allowed me to stay in city hall. However, today was primary day in Kentucky so we would have to wait until the election was over and the results tabulated.
We did that by going to a bar for food and beer. When we got back to city hall the mayor was there and we also found there was a problem in how the election results were being portrayed. The mayor then invited us to stay at the community center. Officer Yeager of the Elkhorn City police department escorted us to the community center. The building was even better than City Hall so it was a win for us. Also the mayor brought use chicken salad sandwiches and pudding to eat. Thanks Mayor Mike for the hospitality.
Today’s stats: total mileage 51.37 miles; average speed 11.7 mph; max speed 50.4 mph; elevation gain 3704 feet, elevation loss 5039 feet.