Day 44: Buckhorn, KY to Buckingham, KY; 72mi; 2720mi
Today I had the opportunity to see a part of my home state that I have never seen before. Elementary school taught me that Eastern Kentucky is a region that has been dependent on the coal industry for a long time. Since then I have learned that some parts are suffering from a cycle of poverty, even UK gives scholarships to Appalachian students. Today, I saw a lot of nice places and people. Hazard seemed to be a bustling, if not vast, city. However, I also got a dose of the other side that I have heard about. As one Australian cyclist I met in Missouri told me, “The eastern part of your state is like a developing country.” In some cases, this was not far from the truth.
The part about today that shocked me the most was concurrence of these homes that seemed to be in poverty, with people sitting half-clothed on the lawn, and houses that look like they should be in a neighborhood in a suburb. We would see a string of a dozen trailers with pit bulls and rottweilers and next would be a house with landscaping and a pool. It was clearly a case of the haves and the have-nots, but I can’t explain why. All I know is that when one service station attendant described his town as “dope city USA”, I appreciated how there were many more mean dogs around and began to feel unsafe. I hate to think that, whether because of drugs or whatever oppressive force, there are parts of my state that seem to hold much less opportunity than in Lexington or Louisville- and these people are still in the range to take the Herald-Leader.
I don’t really know what to say about today. I had a somber mood that may have stemmed from the muggy heat or the Appalachian terrain that made me ultrasensitive to the areas I passed through. My thoughts kept going back to friends I know from UK that have received diversity scholarships because they are from counties in eastern Kentucky. While these are all bright and generally well to do kids, I know that for every one of them there are many more who didn’t dream of going to college. I have never considered getting into politics until today, and I’m still not sure what all the smart people in charge aren’t doing that I could do better.
With my thoughts deep in the affairs of the state of Kentucky, it was hard to remember that I was riding for Wade’s great grandmom. This seemed right after we met most of his family last night and they treated us so well. I hope that she had time today to look down on Wade riding through these hills and backwoods and leading five others for the same purpose.
Tonight is the last night I’ll sleep in Kentucky until the trip is over, as we’re about 40 miles from the state line. I’ll say a prayer tonight for safe travel on these narrow mountain roads and for all the people we have met that don’t have the means to burn a summer riding their bikes.
-Cameron
