b'Day 67AUGUST 3I wake from the fog of sleep slightly disoriented after having slept the previous 6 nights in my parents home in Louisville. Drops of dew roll down the nylon exterior of our tent. We are back at it, bound for Northern Virginiaour next family stop. We break down camp and reacquaint ourselves with the best way to pack all of our worldly belongings into four panniers on two bikes. Emilie is coughing, struggling with a nasty cold. The Bikecentennial map looks a bit intimidating at first, with its endless minutiae and turn-by-turn directions. But as we head out of Berea and into Appalachia, we immediately come to appreciate the detail on these maps, which are created especially for cyclists. There are no straight lines from one town to the next in eastern Kentucky. Nothing at all like Montana, South Dakota, or Illinois. Hundreds of small, winding backcountry roadswhich all look the sameturn off every few miles onto other small, nearly identical winding roads.Emilie writes: Beautiful country, winding through the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Green everywhere, small corn & tobacco patches, small housesA woman washes clothes on her porchwith wooden porches, and homemade wooden footbridges across little streams. Awith an old ringer washing machine.woman washes clothes on her porch with an old ringer washing machine. Lots of kids waving hello from their front yards, dogsLots of kids waving hello from their front yards, chasing us and barking ferociously.Our route takes us past Happy Topdogs chasing us and barking ferociously.Mountain, along Red Lick Creek, and through the Daniel Boone Forest. Even though I was born and raised in Kentucky, I had never been to this part of the state. We encounter hawks, numerous small red newts on the road, and a few wild turkeys. Emilie spies a peacock wandering alongside a farm at one point. Near the end of the day, my rear tire blows out. Less than an hour after it is repaired, Emilies tire goes flat. Emilie writes: Stayed in Booneville71 miles from Berea. Pastor Joe Powles of the Presbyterian Church had set up a beautiful area in back for cyclistsflat grassy mowed lawn inside a new wooden fence. Picnic table. Shower house attached to a wooden shelter area. Clothesline. Outhouse away from the areaBright flowers grow in wooden barrel planters in the corner of the yard.BEGIN: Berea, KYEND: Booneville, KY DISTANCE: 70.85 milesTRIP TOTAL: 3,074.53 miles56'