August 9 - Beattyville, KY to Hindman, KY

Written by guest blogger Ron DeSciora

My wife Evelyn and myself spent 5 days, Friday 8/4 to Tuesday 8/7 driving with 8 bicyclists in the heart of the Daniel Boone region in Kentucky. The cyclists are in the midst of a cross-country journey starting in Oregon and ending in Virginia.  We just want to share a few of our thoughts from the event.

          The event is a tribute to Bob Keegan who made this same journey 10 years ago and passed away 5 years ago from cancer. The event was organized by his wife Gloria along with Bob's brother Mike.  I NEVER was part of an event that defined friendships as synonymous with family. Over a 3 month span, from coast to coast people have joined in the event...they took vacation and/or personal family time to either fly or drive long distances to partake in this venture. Hats off to Gloria Keegan to generate this type of response. It shows the love and respect that friends, family, co-workers, and others have for her and her husband Bob. But it truly shows the love and respect people have for the things that are truly important in their lives. We shared 5 days with 8 of these people and they reflect the total picture. Top level professionals, with children, grandchildren, lots of things on their plate. Yet this tribute was too important. They knew it was important to Gloria, but they also knew it was important for them.

            Some thoughts about Kentucky that my wife and I shared. It is a state that seems to have a proud multi-generational tradition. A solid sense of a 200 year history. It appeared that 1 of every 5 non-residential buildings was a church, or house of worship. With many types of religions. Everybody and we do mean everybody was so kind, polite, engaging, smiling, thoughtful and many times prayer full. We would truly love to see and challenge the next movie / tv show depicted southern culture, to show what we clearly saw in Kentucky.  A southern tradition of unconditional kindness, concern, caring and generosity from the population at large. It was sincere and heartwarming. So this short trip through Kentucky brought some laughs and enjoyment. But you know it brought a lot more than that. We are grateful.

Postettes from Kathy Cavallaro

A perfect morning for cycling with Wispy fog at 65 degrees. On a long breezy downhill, Steve and Danny literally flew past me!!!  On the flats, Steve kept dogs at bay with his evil eye backed up by pepper spray. Sounds of 'cannon' shots came from the Jonath Wilson cemetery perched on a ridge about 20 feet above the road. Aren't they already dead? Maybe the spirits are reliving the Civil War...

I switched to the SAG driver and stopped at this quaint 'regular' baptist church. As opposed to an 'irregular' one...I asked a local sittin' on the stoop waiting for his buddy. He said 'regular' means weekly services. 

Gloria
Today's ride was long and hilly - a 9-hill, 69.5 mile day.  Weather was great - no rain...which means putting on sunscreen.

We hated to say goodbye to BiBi (Evelyn) and Ron and missed them all day!  Thanks for coming to join us, youse guys (trying to talk Jersey:-)