Day 20 of Sarah O’Connor’s cross-country ride for INN

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Malvernite Sarah O’Connor is riding her bike across the country to raise money for the Interfaith Nutrition Network. She began at the George Washington Bridge on June 25 and expects to reach Los Angeles by September. Below are excerpts of her comments from day 20 of her trip on July 14:
I am currently in Berea, KY and will be camping outside the fire station here. The firemen have graciously offered to let us use their showers and bathroom, as well as stay for free.
Last night I slept outside at a free bike hostel in Booneville, KY. Behind a church they set up showers and a picnic area for any biker who is doing the TransAmerica Trail (or any other long distance ride).
Biker-only hostels have been a great way to meet other bikers, who share wisdom, compare experiences, and (if going in the other direction) tell my partner and I what to expect in the coming days.
I am about 970 miles into the trip so tomorrow I will hit the 1,000 mile mark which will be very exciting! I haven’t had internet to check the INN donation page, but I think it is up to 35% so I am very glad to see that people are contributing to such a wonderful cause and hope that it continues.

This week has been filled with some bike troubles —a part on my bike wasn’t working anymore and so I could not ride. My partner and I had to wait a couple days in Hazard, KY for the part to come to the post office in Hindman because there are no bike shops for probably another week of our journey. The people at the fire department in Hindman were amazingly kind. They helped us find a place to stay let us store our bikes at the station, and even invited us to have cake and hang out at a birthday party for one of the firefighters.
While the people are kind, riding in Kentucky is very scary. Most people do not chain their dogs and at least once every ten miles a dog will run towards me growling and barking. Today this happened eight times and the last time, I narrowly missed being bitten. The biker strategy that I have been hearing is pedal as fast as you can if you’re going downhill, or if you are going uphill or are on flat terrain, you should get off your bike and use it as a barrier to block the dog.
I will be in Kentucky for a long while, but I am very much looking forward to the next state (Illinois).