The Tabasco Special
It doesn’t get light until after 7:00 around here. And when the sun finally came up on Friday at the Big Hill Welcome Center I was staying at, it was very foggy. This wasn’t bad news as I wasn’t in a hurry to hit the road and the hills.
On some mornings you linger for longer than you need to in getting ready to go. Chris and Amina, who I had caught up with again the day before, were lingering as well. Finally, we agreed that we couldn’t stall any longer. It was clear enough to get out and ride. So off we went… downhill all of two miles to the first convenience store that had tables and breakfast, where we sat for almost an hour.
After getting back on the road, the weather began to improve more and there was even a sign of the sun, which was good to see after a bland, gray day on Thursday. After a few moderate climbs we were riding through the Daniel Boone National Forest.
The bad dogs of Kentucky hadn’t been a problem lately, but today they started to become one. I was stopped at the top of a hill taking a photo with the road curving off in the distance (above photo). Chris was far ahead, passing in front of a home. I happened to look when two dogs came barreling out to the road chasing after him, but my view became blocked and I couldn’t see what happened next.
I was now wondering what kind of reception I would get when I passed by. When I got down there one of the dogs was on the road walking back to the house. I was looking around for the second one while getting ready to deal with the one ahead of me. I had a small air horn and also pepper spray. It was getting ready to be a showdown as the dog began barking and running toward me, but just then the owner began screaming at it to get out of the road.
When I caught up with Chris later he told me what happened to the second dog. Chris was envious of my horn and pepper spray combination. The best he could do was buy a spray bottle which he filled with tabasco and water. This apparently worked like a charm as the first dog was hit by a blast of tabasco and went running home, which is why I didn’t have to deal with it.
The dogs weren’t done yet for the day. Later on two came out of nowhere and were chasing me down. This was the first time I was caught this off guard. These dogs were fast. I had previously practiced my grabbing of both the air horn and the pepper spray and thought I had it down to perfection, but was disappointed when I fumbled for the horn while reaching for it. The dogs ended up turning back, but it showed me how quickly they can appear.
Aside from dogs, I’ve become familiar with Dollar General stores in the past couple of days while stopping there to get a drink. There’s always something going on. The big question at one store was Cellie being asked, point blank, “Are you comin’ back after you have that baby?” Apparently there are some big consequences for others who work there.
The end of the ride into Booneville was uneventful. The town was originally called Moore’s Station, but renamed Booneville as Daniel Boone used to be in the area. Here, the Presbyterian Church has a sign out front welcoming cyclists, with a pavilion out back to camp under, along with a bathroom and a shower. That’s enough to make you content at the end of a day’s ride.
