Swamp Without Water

The heat waves shimmered off the black pavement. Are those heat waves or some kind of mirage? The roads in Kentucky are smooth and black. Smooth we like, blacktop maybe not. This was supposed to be the hottest day of the summer, so we tried to get out early. It was 7:30 by the time we left, already hot, so we rode the first 23 miles without breakfast, then stopped in a town called Sebree. The hills are many, so we checked with the locals for alternative routes, and found out that riding on the parkways in Kentucky is prohibited. Walking out the door of the diner was like putting your head over the sink when you drain the water out of the pasta. I've been doing some investigation on the heat index. When it's humid, the sweat is not as efficient at cooling your body, so the higher the humidity, the higher the perceived heat. That's why it doesn't feel as hot in Denver as it does in Owensboro. They say that a heat index of 90-105 will likely cause sunstroke, heat cramps, and heat exhaustion. 105-130 will cause all of the above plus heat stroke. It was 96 here today, with humidity of 70%. On their scale, humans feel like it's 132. I figure black pavement adds some more, and the hills here add a little more. We stopped for ice cream and lemonade about 40 miles into the ride today. That helped, and the swim in the pool when we got here to Owensboro helped even more. We arrived in town at 1:30 but had to ride around until 2 before finding a place to stay. That sucked.

We've been through most of the U.S. by now, but this is probably the prettiest country of it all. The way the hills roll and the fields look is like something from a picture book. All is green, there are huge fields of grass in front of many of the big southern houses. It's perfectly mowed, with 300 year old trees spaced out just so. The roads wind and curve, go up and down, and over every hill is a new vista. I put a pic on showing how narrow the roads are, notice the lack of shoulder or white stripe. Our speed is not as fast because of all the ups and downs, but it sure is pretty. Tobacco has appeared for the first time. Big broad leaves, it looks a lot different than the corn and beans we've become used to. For anyone following on the map, the roads we are taking are hard to find, pretty obscure.

It wasn't that hard to write last nights hillbilly episode, I just had to hurry and not proofread it. Might try that again before leaving Kentucky and see how much I pick up. All of the comments have been greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading Michelle and Letti, I think about you all the time. Tim and Nic and Dora, you guys have to read or I'll kill you, but I appreciate it anyway. It's just kind of hard to believe that all my friends and family have some kind of a life and can't keep up with the blog! Tomorrow we will try to go about 50 miles, and it's not supposed to be as hot, should be no problem. We are tanner than we like, but what can you do? My bug sting won't cause a day off.