Day 8 – Meadowview, VA to Lookout, KY

Welcome to Kentucky! As it turns out, Virginia is a really wide state. It took us 8 days to work our way (just barely) in to Kentucky.

Our route started about 8 miles from the hotel so we took the MCC to the start point just after 7am. Well, we tried to, but I got us lost in the first 2 miles. As I started to make the Uturn, Heidi asked me to stop the MCC in the middle of a 4-lane divided to snap this wonderful shot of the morning.

No fog this morning, but still chilly. Even with a vest and armwarmers, I was actually shivering. J “I’m a furnace” P wasn’t bothered by it. Heidi took the early morning light to snap photos of vehicles she wants.

Our first climb was just outside of Hayter’s Gap. 1,500′ of climbing in 3.5 miles. LOTS of twists and turns. The GPS tells the story of the switchbacks.

On the climb, we saw 3 other TransAmerica riders… tho they were going the other way so we really didn’t get a chance to chat. They seemed happy enough, but I think mostly because they were going down this pitch we were working our butts off to climb. It was a bear, but we both made it. This was definitely the most serious climb JP has ever done, and he finished it strong.

Today we both had our first mechanicals. JP’s front brake started sticking towards the end of the ride. Likely it’s just gummed up and started sticking from the heat and crud. He’s currently got degreaser on working on the brakeset and it should be back to normal by the morning.

My issue was a bit more adventurous. About 40 miles in to the ride, I couldn’t shift in to my large front chainring anymore. It seemed like the derailleur was moving correctly but it just wasn’t hitting the chain to cause it to shift. I thought maybe the derailleur had turned or shifted somehow, but everything seemed tight. I adjusted the limit stops and kept riding.

About 20 miles later, I stopped for lunch. When I went to get back on the bike, I realized my left crank arm was loose. That was the real issue. My right crank had slid over about 5mm due to the play in the left arm. I took the crank apart, reassembled, and everything seemed perfect. The derailleur worked like it should have and the crank was tight. I started riding again… about 2 miles later I realized I hadn’t tightened the crank arm enough and it was almost falling off the bike. I clipped out from the left and pedaled with my right foot until I had a safe place to pull over. I reset the crank (again) and tightened the hell out of it. Everything seems OK now.

In hindsight, I think the crank had been loose since I got the bike. I felt some “play” at the top of the stroke on the left side, but I thought it was due to something wrong with my pedals (they were a new set of Ultegra pedals that had never been ridden). Now that everything is tight, the play is gone. Lesson learned.

Towards the end of the ride, there were 3 serious climbs coming in to Breaks Interstate Park. It was approaching 90 degrees and it was sort of cruel and unusual punishment at that point in the day.

Of course the “Welcome to Kentucky” sign came on a downhill. Both Heidi and I missed it on the first pass and had to loop back. But, here’s the proof we made it 😉

 For some added fun, I got chased by at least 6 different dogs in the last 10 miles of the ride… including 2 dogs who were out in the middle of nowhere on a really steep climb. I ended up off the bike walking past them with a blade out in case they came at me. Seriously, Kentucky, put your dogs on a leash.

We’re staying pretty far off route in Pikeville KY. Given how long the day went, our evening has been dinner at Steak n Shake, some shopping at Walmart, and lots of prep for tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’re off to Buckhorn State park. Wish us luck.