Kentucky Knobs

It was when we were going through the "knobs" that I kept running through different ideas to name this blog entry. "Beauty vs Misery." "When Beauty does not outweigh Misery." "The Tortoise, the Hare, and the ..." There was another animal that I cannot remember. After going through the Daniel Boone National Forest (pronounced "Dan-uhl" like "flannel"), we entered what we were later told were the "knobs." It was misery. Once we peaked one knob, we could see the next two. It seemed to never end. The area around Science Hill was particularly annoying. I paused to put on my iPod to make the undulations (a word Lee loves to use) more bearable. I started off listening to an album buy John Legend but couldn't keep it on because each subsequent song seemed to give further justification for having an affair. It drove me mad. The tortoise and the hare came about because Lee saw a rabbit and he also picked up a turtle for a while in DBNF and carried it on his handlebar bag. I concluded that this was a test of his stability. Fortunately, it didn't last long... not his stability, the test. Speaking of, Lee generally rides relatively straight. I, on the other hand, frequently seem to veer left or right. It reminds me of walking to the pool in the summer when I was young with my sisters and causing them frustration because I would frequently veer into their path. It's not that I intended to, I just sort of naturally gravitate towards people I suppose. Odd, I know. Nonetheless, it is frustrating as a cyclist as you obviously aim to ride in a straight line.

This business of misery is a perfect lead-in for an old story that should have already been told. When Lee was at urgent care in Asheville, he was being seen by a Russian female doc with a very thick accent. When she asked him to describe how his sickness was affecting him, she asked (saw it in a think Russian accent now...), "On scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your misery?" Thenceforth, misery has been our gauge.

Another old story that needs telling... I was trying to read Lee's ever so artistically written directions and said, "It says here that we're supposed to take a left on Huey lo?" He replied, "Oh, Highway 10." All highways have been referred to as "hueys" from thenceforward.

Topics of conversation to make this stretch more bearable, or not, consisted of a)is man good or evil, b) can man trust his senses, and c) is love real? It's a good thing I didn't have room in my panniers for my noose. Otherwise, xxx... kidding.
I think this all was born out of the fact that Sam and Beverly were so good to us for absolutely no reason at all. They received nothing in return for taking us in. The best we could offer after a tiresome day was some stories and a few rounds of chicken (a game they taught us to play with dominoes).
No really though... I remember learning all those theories that we discussed with Prof. McClain in Humanities 324. I hadn't thought about them much, if at all, since then. Now I know why.
My conclusions... a)man has evil (or I like to think of it as selfish, dishonest, and inconsiderate behavior) innately within but has the ability to live an infinitely more comfortable and satisfying life if he/she chooses to serve others rather than self. b)yes. do we have any other choice? c) absolutely, if we allow it.

We stopped in Liberty where they had a bell in the middle of town. Lee and I have seen bells throughout this whole trip and have agreed that we need to make a point to ring as many bells as possible. Unfortunately, we always seem to be in too much of a hurry to do so. Well, not in Liberty. I took the liberty to jump the fence and give that bell a ring. Unfortunately, the damn ringer (whatever you call it) inside the bell didn't move. Fake. Fake bell.


The final 30 miles to Lebanon weren't too bad. Our host, Mary Ann, rode past us on her motorcycle and waved, pleasant surprise. Again, our hosts, Mary Ann and Blake, were friends of Bill. Another fortunate connection. We arrived without anyone home having never met them with a note instructing us to enter, make ourselves at home, and raid the fridge. So, we did. Their home was absolutely magnificent. It was once an infirmary and has some very interesting architecture. Lee commented that the places we stayed the last 3 nights must have been the best places we could have possibly stayed at. We have been so lucky. We ended the day with a feast at a Mexican Restaurant. Today, roughly 95 miles. Tomorrow 60-65 miles to Louisville.