It’s the last day of June. Time to assess.
It is a rare thing when one of your very best days on a bike comes a day after one of your worst but that’s what happened to me this month. The ride from Draper to Whytheville was a gawdawful slog. The ride from Whytheville to Damascus was joyful. Go figure.
Multiple dog attacks over the course of two days completely ruined my interest in continuing my tour this year. When people who know the scene tell you to carry bear spray, it’s time to stop which is what I did. Since then I’ve been looking through journals on Cycleblaze.com and Crazyguyonabike.com to see if I had overreacted. Nope.
Only a couple of bike tourists made it through “dog alley” between the Kentucky border and Berea, Kentucky unscathed. Two were bitten. Two were knocked off their bikes.
I filled out a survey about the US Bicycle Route System a couple of days ago. I commented repeatedly that my route US Bike Route 76, in Kentucky is downright dangerous because of the dog situation. It’s a shame because, despite the brutal climbs from Charlottesville to Berea, the USBR 76 is worthwhile.
I finished the tour with something like 835 miles under my pedals. After taking a day off, I rode 17 days in a row around home. During these period I tweaked my saddle and handlebar height to good effect on both The Mule and The Tank. Yesterday in high heat and humidity I rode up one of the steepest, nastiest hills in the area and didn’t die. (The last 100 yards were most unpleasant but I made it without stopping.)
With a nearly rain-free month, I cracked the 1,000-mile threshold at the end of the month, reaching 1,089 miles. For the year I’ve reached 4,991 miles, on pace for a shade over 10,000 miles, despite taking two weeks off. I have no designs on another bike tour this year (although the Natchez Trace is tempting.)
Maybe the best thing that’s happened this month is the big reduction in neck and back pain I have experienced. I was pretty miserable all fall and winter, but a visit to a massage therapist in May and a series of daily PT exercises have paid huge dividends. I am standing up straighter. I have most of the range of motion in my neck back (although the saddle tweaks aren’t helping in this regard.) And I can walk about 50 percent farther without experiencing pain in my lower back.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
glad to hear you are getting relief from relatively simple things like seat adjustments and massage. As to the dogs, around here if you don’t control your dog and the dog bites someone, the authorities cite you and can take the dog away.
I’m a firm believer in the axiom “There are no bad dogs, only the bad humans who own them ” Some people just don’t deserve dogs. Apparently, some of them live in Kentucky. I can vouch for the fact that some also live in California.
Is there a hill worse than Tipton St NW?
I dunno. There are a few climbs out of Rock Creek Park that are brutal. There’s one on Telegraph Road near me that’s super hard. The worst of all may be the dreaded climb up 41st Street to north Arlington. I’ve never made it to the top
I agree about Kentucky. I thought USBR76 through Kentucky was quite beautiful and roads were interesting but the dogs were hard to deal with.
This bike stats are amazing, but the pain relief is monumental. I’m happy to hear that PT and massage have been working. PT saved my back pain, and monthly massages help to keep me loose.
As for the tour and the dogs…a shame really. Nothing spikes my adrenaline quite like a loose dog.
Wow, you’ve done a lot of miles this year! Whew! And riding in the heat was crazy for you to do….but glad you made it ok!!! Too bad about all the dog attacks…. 😦 If I end up going cross-country again, I will skip that section. 🙂