Safe in Kentucky - land of the unleashed dog

Crossed the ohio river from Ohio into Kentucky a few days ago , and basically haven't been able to stop biking due to the dogs, it seems the folk here love horses, tobacco and unleashed dogs. And what the dogs love more than anything esle is chasing cyclists. my faviourite chase so far was a small fat sauage like dog with legs so short it looked like a slug moving across the ground , I felt so sorry for it cause his barking was so sincere that I slowed down just so he could feel like he was doing a proper job of chasing. .

we have been loosely following the old route that slaves used to escape to freedom from the South to the north ( prior to the civil war) , has been really interesting visiting the old museums and houses where poeple hid and were hidden - even more interesting is talking to the average american about their own history and so far their knowledge has been woefull ( although would the average NZer know the reason for the NZ land wars ??)

anyway doing well, loving being on the road again. will keep you posted.

Andy

Made it to Zanesville ;-)

Don't know where Zaneville is ?? well neither did i until about 1 hour ago when we rolled into town.

Just I quick post to say everything still going well, just had an amazing 5 days riding, firstly along old Rail-road trails converted into bike tracks and then on the roads of Ohio, has been incredibly hot and humid , with amazingly heavy thunderstorms in the afternoons, yesterday we got caught out in the open and found an old abandoned barn to shelter from the storm, the whole time i was expecting a local with a pitchfork to shoo us away but alas no such luck.

My tent has become akin to a sauna and i'm waiting for the day someone comes in and catchs me sitting naked in my tent playing my guitar sweating from every pore , and the explanation i will have to make.

really starting to get into hillbilly country now and Ohio is getting flat - I saw a great t-shirt that said "quick pedal faster i hear banjo music " but decided that wearing it might not endear me to the locals.

We are eating really well, i'm in charge of making porridge in the morning and apart from accidentily mixing petrol in the mix one morning generally it goes down well- however andy and wei ling are now convinced that it was a deliberate attempt to get a few more horsepower out of them .

HOpe everyone is well, my sister just had her second child , a beautiful girl called hannah - I can't wait to meet her .

Andy

P.s Got woken last night by my first Skunk who just decided to walk into my tent - I didn't ask him his busness - he didn't ask mine, so - no explanation was needed ;-)

Some photos

How I met my Armish Wife.........

.....Would have been a great title for my next blog post. We have just spent the last few days in lancaster county in the great state of pennsylvania which is the heart of amish country - just to recap the Amish are dutch /german immigrants who came to america and shunned all the trappings of western life - ie. they still ride around on horses etc... they are quite insular in their christain beliefs etc ,

Gibbo and Wei ling for some reason thought I would be well siuted for that life and set about finding a good amish girl for me - however what they don't tell you is that they are against pedal bikes and the women don't shave their legs - ( and frankly they are just not puratanical enough for me) and it turns out all the best 14 year olds are already taken!!!!!! ;-) I guess i will just have to continue my search ..

Just to recap on the trip so far , about 14 days ago we rolled out of NYC along a beautiful bike path right along the shoreline and over the washington bridge into New jersey , we spent a few days just getting clear of the city and have been heading west - the country is just so beautiful with heaps of forest and mountains and fantasic smooth roads, - our first major stop was gettisberg - which was the seen of the civil war battle that turned the tide and lead to eventual union victory, from there we have continued west on an old canal way that has been turned into a cycle track .

we also had a little detour into Washington DC to see the president at home, ab lincoln, the mall etc, was very pleasant

I hope everyone is doing well , I'd like to say i've been thinking of you all ..... but to be fair as I was skinny dipping in the cool of the potamac river last night after a long day on the bike I really wasn't thinking of anything accept how great life is ..................