I just got back from 3 weeks in KY. (and TN, GA, VA, etc.)\u00a0 I took a folding bike with me on\u00a0 the train\/bus, and biked from Bristol, on the VA\/TN line, to Middlesboro, KY, where my family picked me up.\u00a0 It was 107 miles, took me a day and a half.\u00a0 I recorded things that seemed interesting along the way.<\/p>\r\n
2m: Catastrophic flooding in Eastern KY the past week.\u00a0 I’m not personally closely connected to people most impacted, but the region is my homeland, and I feel it.<\/p>\r\n
4m: Jean Ritchie, from near Hazard, KY, sings “Movin on Down the River”<\/p>\r\n
7m:\u00a0 It’s very hot, and I’ve noticed in my travels that air conditioning is becoming more and more normalized, crushing my soul.\u00a0 But check this out, public and gov’t buildings in Spain will be cooled to no more than 81 degrees F in summer, and heated to no more than 66 degrees F in winter, to address climate change and dependence on Russian gas\/oil. \u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/08\/05\/world\/europe\/spain-air-conditioning-limits.html<\/p>\r\n
Also in air conditioning news\u00a0 – Did you know that the U.S. us<\/a>es almost as much energy for cooling as the 1.2 billion people of Africa use for everything all year?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/time.com\/6199353\/air-conditioning-will-not-save-us\/<\/p>\r\n 8m: bike trip clips start:\u00a0 Kingsport, TN, concert on the library lawn.\u00a0 And the library also has a seed library!<\/p>\r\n 10m:\u00a0 TN music pathways historical marker: Leslie Riddle, African-American influencer of the Carter Family’s songs.<\/p>\r\n RIding Kingsport to Bean Station; night in the cemetery overlooking Cherokee Lake;\u00a0\u00a0 Too many cars and too much pavement!\u00a0 and gas station cashiers who don’t understand.<\/p>\r\n 26m: historical markers atop Clinch Mountain: Grainger Co “Valley of Independence” has pictures and stories of important people. 41 of 42 of 42 people honored are white men; there is one woman (white) who appears in a drawing\/advertisement.<\/p>\r\n 36m: heading through the bike path tunnel into Cumberland Gap<\/p>\r\n 44m: in KY!\u00a0 IMHO, land should be forested, for what will we sacrifice forests?\u00a0 to grow food? or to mow lawns for some bizarre aesthetic? \u00a0 Life on the farm: how about a copperhead right outside your bedroom door?\u00a0 snapping turtles are always fun too.<\/p>\r\n Well, they say “Nature bats last.”<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I just got back from 3 weeks in KY. (and TN, GA, VA, etc.)\u00a0 I took a folding bike with me on\u00a0 the train\/bus, and biked from Bristol, on the VA\/TN line, to Middlesboro, KY, where my family picked me up.\u00a0 It was 107 miles, took me a day and a half.\u00a0 I recorded things … Continue reading #235: East TN bike ride – Bristol to Cumberland Gap<\/span>