Today's Miles = 61.8
Average Speed = 9.1 mph
Maximum Speed = 34.8 mph
Total Miles = 812.6

When I was planning this voyage I consulted with a weather history databases to get an idea what sort of temperatures I should expect along the way. Since I am traveling mostly in the summer, I am rarely expecting evening temperatures below 40 and I selected much of my gear with those temperatures in mind.

That said, last night was cold. According to the weather reports, I'm passing through "near record low" conditions, and the temperatures have been dropping into the low 30's. Since my trip started pretty warm I've already mailed some of my cold weather clothes home to save weight. As a result, it was pretty tough to get settled in and warm all over. Wrapping my sweater around the footbox of my sleeping bag was the final trick that let me drift off.

I've been warned over and over about how bad the dogs of Kentucky were supposed to be, but haven't really had any troubles yet. I think that somehow the Canine Alert Network realized that they had let one slip by and sent out a search party to find me. A little after midnight I awoke with one dog on each side of my tent, barking at me incessantly from six feet away. My first thought was that if I ignored them they would loose interest, but they seemed intent on doing their best to scare this large strange lump out of their territory. Once they finally heard me stirring inside my tent they started to back off and by the time I had my flashlight in hand and my tent unzipped they had wandered over the next hill, barking all the way.

I planned a ride of over 60 miles today to help make up for the light day I had taken on the eighteenth. The terrain is rolling, with a few noticeable climbs, but things are definitely smoothing out now. To be honest, much of the day passed without me explicitly noticing my surroundings as I spent a lot of the day with my mind wandering. Around 7:00 in the evening I made it to Berea where I will be spending the night. According to my maps I've officially finished the Appalachians and will soon be entering the Little Ozarks.

Because the evening was expected to be in the low 30's again I opted to find a motel. I've been spending more nights in motels than I anticipated and I want to keep my budget under control, so I looked around for the cheapest lodging I could find. I ended up in a dive where I found a room without heat and graffiti on the interior walls. But the bed has three blankets and the shower has hot water, so I'll keep warm tonight.