Harrodsburg to McKee, KY

Ride Stats:
Distance -  79 mi.
Avg Speed - 10.0 mph
Climbed - 5170 ft.
Weather - 55 to 75 F, Thunderstorms most of day, mostly side Winds

We had a great breakfast that helped erase some of the pain from the Packer's loss last night.  There was rain in the forecast, and it hit hard with a big line of thunderstorms at mid-morning; and continued raining really hard until mid-afternoon. I got lost twice; once due to an error in the map and the other due to my not studying the map closely enough. I also made the mistake of trying to use my phone in the rain.  Bad idea. The battery is ruined, and AT&T is not being very helpful with replacing it.  It's a work in progress. 

Today's route was an interesting combination of really busy highway riding, and very remote rural roads.  I was on the rural roads during the rainstorm.  One of the few places I could stop to dry out was a Grocery Store run by an older couple.  He told me about a Korean journalist bicyclist that stopped and interviewed him and took a picture of him in front of some mounted deer heads that he'd killed.  He included the photo in a book and sent him a copy.  He figures he's famous in South Korea.

Late afternoon, the terrain changed to what definitely qualifies as foothills of the Appalachians.  At the town of Big Hill, I hit my first big climb of 800 ft with 6 to 9% grades.  It was about 45 minutes of just pedaling uphill in my lowest gear, with no breaks. The climbing really added up for the day, and my legs we're still reliving some of the stress during the night.

This is an example of a quilt pattern square on a barn, which I've been seeing throughout the state.  Not sure what the significance is.

When the sky darkened and the line of thunderstorms first hit, I found this dilapidated garage for refuge, and then pretty quickly moved on. 

These big hills started to appear later in the day.

Lots of  wooded recreational land here.