Lincoln Homestead to Berea, Ky. - Aug. 2

It seems like the very first westbound biker we met went on and on about how tough the Appalachians are. "They're so steep," they said. "They're much harder than the Rockies," they emphasized.

Well, we'll see if these hills can live up to their incredible hype. I suspect that since the Appalachians are the first hills that westbound riders climb, they make an oversized impression on these cyclists. I mean, we've climbed hills of every shape, size, steepness and length. What could possibly be so hard about the Appalachians?!

We biked about 70 miles to Berea, which is considered the route's "Gateway to the Appalachians," and which brought on my earlier comments.

The riding was pretty nice. I did notice the hills getting steeper, but it wasn't so blazing hot, which helps. We also started out riding when it was still foggy, which made everything look cool.

The camping options are spread in the next map section, which dictates how far we can ride. For us, this means a couple shorter days ahead. Tomorrow we'll probably go to Booneville and camp at the Baptist church. We did this in 1987, an event that was memorable because grandma and grandpa Umble met us there.