46 miles (74 km) – Total so far: 903 miles (1,453 km)
Having added a few extra pounds at Red’s, I hopped back on my bike and not a mile down the road my route plan took me to an ominous ‘bridge out’ sign. Having once driven a rental car through a river in Costa Rica in a similar situation, I decided to forge ahead. The bridge seemed perfectly intact to me. Persephone and I sauntered over and arrived in Bowling Green proper.
Still having some time to kill, I decided to get a much needed haircut. Close by Western Kentucky University I found Classic Cuts and Shaves. I sprang for a full straight razor shave and haircut. Sadly, inflation has taken the price of such a service beyond the customary two bits. After the included head and neck massage, getting rolling again was a bit of a chore.
Another 15 best forgotten miles on a US highway shoulder took me to a better suited country road. Just off the road was a stopped train. Not getting the opportunity to see a full train this close and personal often, I ventured onto the tracks to get a closer look. It took about 60 seconds before a voice in my head that sounded suspiciously like my mother’s told me I should probably move along.
Yet another surprise waited just four miles further down the road. I came across the Shaker Museum. This Musem was dedicated to the memory of a Shaker colony/village established in 1807. At that time, this was definitely the frontier. They did more than scratch a living from the land, they were by all accounts very prosperous. They were dedicated to a set of beliefs that included communal care, hard work, gender equality and the abolition of slavery. All of which are still very much in demand 200 years later.
At 2:00, later than usual for even a 70-80 mile day I arrived at Federal Grove Bed and Breakfast. The main building is beautiful in a way that only Southern buildings can be. More importantly, on the deck of the attached cottage was an incredibly cute puppy. It was nice to see a dog more interested in having his belly rubbed than tearing my neck out. Said belly was, in fact, rubbed vigorously.
Shaker beliefs also included life-long celibacy and segregation of the sexes, something not so much in demand 200 years later. It was a bust in evolutionary terms, where the only success is reproductive success.
It’s good that you found someone to restore your faith in dogs.
It wasn’t in demand at the time, either. Regardless, I find their beliefs and actions admirable and successful solutions to problems that existed both then and today. Also, the rubric for human success should be something greater than passing genes to the next generation. If that was the only way to succeed, much extremely amoral behavior could be justified.
The Shakers didn’t die out without a trace either. They built a legacy by having a strong commitment to adopting. Many thousands of people today are the beneficiaries of their adoptive Shaker grandparents and great-grandparents.