First flat of my tour today, and not too difficult to get a new tube in there and find the offending tiny piece of metal. Looks like little bit of wire from radial tire. Having way way way too much trouble seating the bead on the wheel though. It’s just not going into place resulting in a flat spot on the tire. Been working on it over half an hour with help from fellow camper and his compressor. After breakfast, I tried checking the pressure, and his little compressor only got it up to like 15, so I used my mini pump to get it near 40 and the bead popped into place. Second flat happened a couple hours later. I think it was a pinch flat due to not enough air in the tire, so my last spare tube I made sure to inflate as much as possible.
Got chased by two dogs already in Kentucky. One was behind a fence, so I kinda relaxed, then oh crap, he ran through a hole in the fence and into the street. After that, I kept my small pepper spray bottle in my pocket and got it out as soon as I heard barking. I heard barking constantly.
The bike shop guy in Damascus told me this stretch would be the hardest with the climbs, and he wasn’t wrong. 70 miles and over eight thousand feet of climbing (Strava put it at less, but the cycling route guide said 8k, and it felt all of that). Four long steep steep hills. So steep sometimes even in the easiest gear it feels like doing squats with each pedal stroke. I still have yet to walk it up a hill on route though. All route miles have been pedaled so far. I’m not counting the bushwhacking hike a bike miles Google sent me on the other day.
Finally made it to the church around 1930, but my phone reception was spotty, so it was hard to coordinate with the guy, but the church was open and I found the room, but it’s weird because nobody is here. It’s like the youth ministry hangout spot. Billiards, foosball, and me by myself in a futon. Weird.
The youth minister who runs the hostel showed up at 1030 to put away some instruments from something they did tonight, and it was nice to chat with him for a bit.
Going to try to do 50 tomorrow to get to buckeye campground, but not sure I’ll have the energy. There are some hotels just twenty miles down the route from here.