Final Words

Eric

What an amazing ride!  Highs of the trip included the beautiful scenery every day which was different in every state, and the kind and helpful people we met along the way. Lows included a near constant worry of traffic from behind (and distracted drivers), dogs who barked and chased us in Kentucky, and litter along the roadside. I could have not asked for better traveling companions than Gloria, who was our courageous leader from behind, and Michael, who was a navigator extraordinaire - always concerned about the safety and well being of everyone who was riding.  It was great to have so many people join us along the way to ride and to give us SAG support.  I am also very fortunate to have a boss and co-workers, and a patient and understanding fiancé, who gave me the opportunity to take 3 months off to do the ride.

Michael

I can’t say enough good things about my co-riders for the whole journey and our guest riders who visited for shorter periods.  Gloria and Eric were exceptional travel companions the whole way.  While Gloria and Eric made the journey delightful, the additional people were the icing on the cake.  I don’t know if Gloria and I would have made it to the end of the extremely long or extremely hilly days without the assistance of the SAG drivers who carried our gear on so many days.  (In case you are wondering, Eric was a stronger rider and would have been just fine without someone driving his bags.) While I originally estimated we would carry our own bags/panniers for all but three weeks, I could not have been more wrong.  I think we had SAG drivers for all but 3 weeks!  I thank each and every one of you!

We were grateful not only for our SAG drivers, but also for the many riders who joined us for segments of the ride.  Each rider was different, but all of you were a delight to have along the way.  Thank you all for joining us!

My favorite memory is probably racing to catch my brother Tim on an uphill as we approached a rest stop where Denise had the last of her mom’s unbelievably scrumptious chocolate chip cookies.  I had raced out of breath to pass Tim and was parking my bicycle when Tim just rode up to the cookies and grabbed them without even bothering to get off his bike.

I have innumerable fond memories of the kindness of strangers that warmed my heart… from the 2 different places where an individual offered the use of their homes’ bathrooms when they heard of the need… to the numerous people who offered us food or water along the way… to the store clerks who welcomed us in their stores in the rain…  to the many one person restaurants where the waitress kindly waited on us, cooked our breakfasts, and then filled our water bottles without missing a beat… to the gentleman who passed us, then stopped and came back to offer us Gatorade or water at the top of one of the huge hills… to the many people who stopped and asked us or our SAG riders if we were OK.  While we wondered about how welcoming some people would be in the middle of nowhere, we met almost nothing but kindness.   Only a very few people were upset that bicyclists would even consider riding on their roads.

We saw deer, antelope, elk, moose, and bison all out in the wild along with skunks, chipmunks, ground squirrels, eagles, osprey, tanagers, and many other birds I could not always identify.  I loved having knowledgeable people with us who could help identify the birds and wild life.  I loved the raging white capped rivers of the west that accompanied us in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana as well as many of the much calmer streams and rivers as we moved east.

While I wasn’t so fond of the steep uphills, I loved racing downhill especially when there were few cars and fewer curves.  It is hard to beat a 12 mile downhill run.  I had hoped to top my 46 MPH record from out west in Kentucky or Virginia as I knew the eastern hills were steeper.  But the eastern hills were always too curvy or too rainy to ride anywhere near 46 MPH.

I admit I was pretty stressed out when Gloria was hit by the driver looking at his cell phone.  I only hope people who use their cell phones while driving will reconsider this practice.  The dangers of bicycling with cars makes me want to advocate for bicycle only lanes.  If other countries can make bicycling such an important part of their infrastructure, so can the United States.

Even in the middle of the Gloria’s accident saga, we were consistently cheered by the kindness of strangers.  We had only met Jayden a few days before, but Jayden was the one who took immediate action when Gloria was hit.  One couple who was flagged down by Jayden stopped on their way to church.  The lady stayed with Gloria while the husband drove up to tell me and Eric what happened.  The sheriff, fire, and EMT first responders were all professional, kind, and polite.  Even the person who hit Gloria was honest enough to tell the sheriff he was looking at his cell phone and speeding.  The first fireman to respond was also the one who drove home to get his truck and trailer so he could drive to Wichita, KS with our four bikes after the ambulance took Gloria to the hospital.  And two days later a Rotarian drove four people and four bikes to where we should have been on our schedule just because he was nice and we needed help.  We have benefited from the kindness of strangers at every turn.

We also lucked out on the weather.  I never felt that we were in a dangerous weather situation the whole trip.  We only had a few days with a lot of rain.  We had many days of less than an hour of rain when it was threatening to rain all day.  But that threatening to rain kept the temperatures down.  We were very happy to have potential rain and clouds instead of 100 degree days.

While Gloria was a little concerned that Bob was not doing such a great job looking out for her on this trip, I thought he did an awesome job steering the weather around us for 90+ days in a row.  This summer there were fires, earthquakes, and floods in places where we traveled…. but never when we were there.   Thanks, Bob!

And thank you, Bob, for all your contributions to our family, Gloria’s and your family, your CDC family, and especially to the human race for all your work to eradicate polio.  We love you, we miss you, and we look forward to hearing your stories again… hopefully in the distant future.  You have definitely helped to make our lives greater!

 Gloria

Ten years ago, Bob fulfilled his retirement dream - to bicycle across the country, while raising money for Polio Eradication.  Even though work and time constraints prevented me from joining him for the entire trip, it was still one of the most memorable times of our marriage.  The idea of retracing his path became a dream of mine and the Ride Across the USA in memory of Bob Keegan was born.

Throughout this trip, Bob was never far from my mind.  We stayed in some of the same places (and sometimes the same room) as we had in 2007.  Each time a group joined us, we reminisced and told stories about him.  I hope Bob heard us.  He was my best friend and the love of my life.  I'm so thrilled that I was able to have this amazing experience in memory of an amazing guy!

I was lucky to be able to share this trip with two other pretty amazing guys.  I cannot thank Michael Keegan and Eric Mast enough for all the support and encouragement they provided throughout the past 3 months.  I absolutely could not have done it without them.  Map Master and Superman...you are my heroes!

I echo what Eric and Michael said about the beautiful scenery and the kindness of others.  It was truly wonderful!  If I could, the only things I would have changed about this trip would be (3 bullet points - Bob Keegan style):

•  No accident in Kansas
• Bike trails all the way
• No rain at all

I know...really wishful thinking!

This bike tour would not have been the same without all the other people who joined us to SAG, ride or just be there.  My favorite memories were the visits from my children, and I would especially like to thank them; Lauren, for driving us around Oregon and ensuring that the trip got off to a great start; and Marcus and Stacey, for "holding down the fort" in Atlanta and keeping me from worrying about bike supplies and business stuff.  I'd also like to thank my neighbor, Harold Vogel, who retrieved my mail every day and insured that urgent matters were brought to my attention; and Virginia Swezy and her family for looking after my house.

In addition, huge thanks to:

Sue Gerber and Hector Alvarez
Anne and Ray Thompson
Bill Mahoney and his staff at New Day Bakery in Eugene
Elizabeth at Catbird Rest B & B
Brent Burkholder, Deb Cannon, and their friends, Valerie and Max
Tom, Tim and Sean Keegan
Tom Eng
Denise Johnson, Tootie Johnson and Trina and Mike Kreyehagen
Linda DeWaay
Anne-Renee Heningburg and her friend, Lesa
Alicia Keegan/Siler
Craig Shapiro
Jeff Mast and wife
Kim Mast and wife
Megan Rock and her mother, Pat, and uncle Danny
Carl & Tinbet Tinstman
Elias, Tuda and Zaki Durry
Carol Pandak and Steve Dahlman
Jayden Sampson
Eric Eakins and the Rotary Club of Wichita
Eric Mast's sister, Ann and husband, John
Brent Wolff
Yinka, Alex and Adrianna Kerr
Debbie Deppe & Keith Siereveld
Margie & Dan Watkins
Steve & Paula Yoon
Kathy Cavallaro
Karen Evans & her friend, Debbie
Ron & Bibi (Evelyn) DeSciora
Hamid & Zainab Jafari
David Keegan
Pam Moon & Jennifer Ballew
Linda and Joseph Keegan
Steve Wassilak & Barbra Fite
Rachel Maloney-Hawkins
Rachel & Olivia Powers
Pat Barner and Bob Randolph
Adventure Cycling Association 

And to everyone who was not able to join but who supported and encouraged us through Facebook, texts, emails or comments on the blog...many thanks to all of you as well.  Your words meant a lot! 

In the beginning, each time I saw an uphill I would groan - they sometimes seemed truly insurmountable.  As time went on, I realized that if I just kept peddling (however slowly), I could make it up most of those hills. "Keep peddling and ride on" seems like a great mantra for life!

Many of you have asked about my next adventure.  For once, there are no "set in stone" plans for me - I'm just going to go with the flow and see where it takes me.  As Bob used to say, "Life is great - enjoy the ride!"

August 24 - Charles City, VA to Yorktown, VA

Michael

As there were no breakfast places nearby, we ate a breakfast of cranberry muffins and chocolate bit brownies made by Barbra.  Thanks, Barbra!  Personally, I was glad that there were no breakfast places nearby.  Based on the number of brownies eaten, I am pretty sure Craig was as well.

Gloria, Eric, Craig, Steve, and I headed out around 8 AM.  The first five miles were on a pleasant country road with a few morning commuters, but not too many.  One we reached the Virginia Capital Trail (a paved path completely separate from the road), we had a very comfortable ride all the way to the Colonial Parkway.  The Colonial Parkway was rougher than most pavement, but not as bad as what I expected.  Since there were no marked lanes and it was wide enough for 3 cars, we were pretty relaxed.   We took the Colonial Parkway all the way to Williamsburg where we were met by Marcus, Lauren, Linda, Mason, Ann, Deb, Rachel, and Barbra.  We had an excellent lunch at the Blue Talon Bistro in Merchant’s Walk next to Colonial Williamsburg.

l-r - Steve, Linda, Michael, Craig, Rachel, Marcus, Lauren, Gloria, Deb, Ann and Eric

l-r - Marcus, Lauren, Gloria, Deb, Ann, Eric, Craig, Linda, Michael, Craig and Rachel

After lunch the five riders set out for the last 12-14 miles of our trip.  We continued on the Colonial Parkway all the way to Yorktown, but traffic had definitely picked up.  We tried to figure out where all the cars came from and were going to, but to no avail.

Although the roads were relatively flat today, the scenery was rather pretty.  The hills were gently rolling with multiple grand views of the Chickahominy River, James River, and York River.  The James River and York River were so wide that it was hard to tell whether you were seeing the James River or the York River, or the Chesapeake Bay.  We saw a few deer, but like most of the deer on this trip they didn’t hang around for pictures.

We finally arrived at our final destination, the Yorktown Victory Monument, where we met up with the crew from lunch as well as Rachel Powers and her daughter, Olivia.  Bob, Gloria, Marcus and Lauren know Rachel from their Bangkok days.  Rachel's daughter was the last bike rider to join our ride and we were delighted to have her join us.  She single-handedly brought the average age of our riders down significantly.

Toasting Bob

After showers and a happy hour (where we were joined by Pat Barner and Bob Randolph), we had our celebration dinner at the Water Street Grille.  Then by ones, twos, and threes, people left to move on to their next great adventure.

Guest blogger Barbra FiteThe second day as SAG was equally exciting, since there was no WIFI at the
charmingly rustic Rivers Rest and I had no cell reception Gloria was kind enough to
let me use her phone to plot a route. Unfortunately I got lost! The numbers of the
local roads just didn’t match up to what I had written? Luckily I stopped a jogger
who was kind enough to help me. She wasn’t sure of the road numbers but told me if
I kept going straight for a few miles I see a stop sign right near the big bike path. If I
turned left I would be heading to Williamsburg, Yeah!! I decided to ask her if she
knew of a convenience store (where I was suppose to meet the riders) on that road.
She looked confused the asked did I mean a “little old country store” I told her that
would do and she told me where to find it. The Sandy Point Superette was amazing -
- I was back in the 1950’s. The gas pumps didn’t take credit cards and I went inside
to pay and get help. The lady behind the counter had a 1940’s hair do with rolled
hair and I was waiting for her to start sing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy:” at any
second. She was really sweet and helped me pump gas. The Superette is an amazing
place.

The riders never found the place and texted me to meet them in Williamsburg. I got
there early enough to walk around and soak in some colonial history before meeting
everyone for a lovely lunch at the Blue Talon Bistro. The rest of the trip was scenic
and green and another pleasant drive to Yorktown, and the end of my well-intentioned SAG duties. I had a great time and met some really great people. I am
really impressed with Gloria, Eric and Michael.  They have made an incredible journey
and deserve all the kudos they receive!!

August 23 - Short Pump, VA to Charles City, VA

Written by Craig Shapiro, Guest Blogger

Today was an early start!  We gathered at the “Michael and Linda B&B” at 5:30 am, because the weather called for afternoon thunderstorms that we were hoping to miss.  The day began with an excellent breakfast topped off by a delicious crumb cake (a Keegan tradition, we were told) made by Michael and Linda’s son, David.   Steve Wassilak had joined us the afternoon before (along with his wife, Barbra, who was driving), so our complement of riders today was five: Michael, Eric, Steve, Craig and Gloria (Linda rode with us for the first little bit!).

The first part of the ride traced Michael’s usual ride to work (or rather, former ride to work, since he is now officially retired--congratulations!), along pleasant residential streets and a path by the beautiful James River. 

A view of the James River

Gloria by the river

We then approached the city of Richmond, crossing over the James on a newly constructed pedestrian bridge.  Michael pointed out to us one of the SunTrust buildings where he used to work.

Approaching Richmond

The group on the bridge

 After a weaving our way through several Richmond waterfront landmarks, we reached the trailhead of the Capital Trail, a wonderful biking trail extending for 52 miles between Richmond and Williamsburg.  Being on the trail allowed us to converse and focus more on surroundings and less on traffic.

Michael on the Capital Trail, in one of his common riding positions--ably leading the way!  (Throughout our ride, I appreciated his leadership, with his emphasis on safety and concern for the comfort of all riders in the group—in addition to making sure we were staying on the correct route!)  The Capital Trail was only completed a year or two ago. Michael said that 10 years ago, he and Bob had to ride on the VA State Route 5 instead, which can be seen on the left of the photo--much less pleasant, and no shoulder.

In the mid-afternoon after riding 50 miles, we arrived at Charles City, about 10 miles before our day’s destination (the River’s Rest Marina & Resort), just as rain started to fall.  Barbra was waiting for us in her car.  After some snacks in a charming roadside café, it was still lightly raining and we could hear distant thunder, so Steve, Gloria and Craig decided to avoid any lightning and took advantage of Barbra shuttling us to the River’s Rest.  Michael and Eric rode on, and ultimately it was a safe decision—they got wet, but there was no lightning.  

Outside of Charles City

At the River’s Rest, the manager (and fishing guide and river taxi captain), who really is named Charlie Brown (and a character to boot), checked us into our rooms, and regaled us with stories about the local county.  He also explained, for reasons we did not fully understand, that the River’s Rest had no WiFi, but that was OK—it was nice to be electronically one further step away from the rest of the world.  Rachel, Gloria’s friend from Barcelona (now living in Maine), joined us at the River’s Rest restaurant just in time for dinner.  The food was excellent, which was fortunate, since there were no other dining options anywhere nearby!

Charlie Brown’s office at the River’s Rest Marina & Resort, on the Chickahominy River

 All in all, another great day of riding!

Additional words by Guest Bloggers Steve Wassilak and Barbra Fite

Steve Wassilak

Having joined Bob 10 years ago on the ride from Breckenridge to Eads, Colorado, I
was eager to join Gloria, Michael and Eric somewhere for at least a few days. I was
pleased to see that Craig Shapiro had joined them in Charlottesville. I joined for the
last two days—it was supposed to be the last three days but the crowd on I-85
exiting the zone of eclipse totality prevented Barbra and I from reaching Louisa on
Monday evening (so I joined for the last 5 miles to Short Pump on Tuesday).

Barbra Fite
I’ve never been a morning person, so after dropping Steven off at Michael and
Linda’s to meet the other riders and collect the bags I went back to the hotel. The
alarm was set for 8:30 so I could meet the riders at Pony Pasture Park but some
how I slept through waking up to see a message from my husband saying they
would (20 min. away) be at Great Ship Lock Park (stop 2) in a few minutes. OK I
missed 2 out of 2. Michael suggested I meet them a Dairy Queen later in the ride and
I made that one! They had lunch there and I tried bribing them with brownies as a show if
good will.

The rest of the trip was a beautiful wooded drive, and I waited in a shady picnic area
until they arrived, but then it started to rain and threaten to storm. I finally got to actually do
some SAG duty and ferry the riders who wanted to get out of the weather.

August 21 - Charlottesville, VA to Louisa, VA

Gloria

We woke up very early today so that we could get an early start.  At 5:30 we were standing in front of Fox's Cafe, which is directly across the street from our guesthouse. But to our dismay the door was locked and no one was home.  We decided to walk back and prepare all our stuff and check back later.  Around 6:00 we went back over and had breakfast.  

At almost 7:00 on the dot, Craig Shapiro arrived.  He will be joining us for this last part of the ride all the way to Yorktown.

Eric and Craig with lottery tickets purchased at a remote location (remote stores are usually the locations with winning tickets!) 

By 7:30 we were well on our way. The ride started out with a good bit of traffic and rolling hills.  

At about the 11 mile mark, we decided to take a break.  When I got back on my bike, I couldn't shift my gears...at all.  There was no way I was going to be able to get up those hills!  After several attempts, I pulled over into a driveway and tried to manually shift my gears.  Nope. Michael, realizing that something was wrong, came to help.  After 5 minutes we both determined that I had a busted cable.  Since neither of us are carrying cables, we finally decided that the best thing to do was call AAA.

Michael and his wife, Linda, made the decision before we came on this trip to purchase 100 miles of free bicycle towing with AAA...just in case.  Today was a good day to try it out.  We had to wait a while for the pickup, but it worked.  While Michael and I waited for AAA, Eric and Craig continued on with the ride. (See Michael's description of the rest of the ride below)

Ray (the driver) & Travis (driver in training) from AAA picked me and my bike up and drove us to Richmond - 80-ish miles away.  On the truck they also had a Land Rover and a Mini Cooper.  Ray joked that my bike pushed him over the weight limit. At one point we talked about our messed up fingers - like me, Travis lost the tip of one of his when it got smashed in a car door.  Ray has a pinkie that doesn't have a tendon, so he can't straighten it out.  A bonding moment~

Ray had some funny stories.  He told a story about someone who called for an ambulance (he heard this from a relative who is an EMT) and said they had a bone in their leg.  He laughed as he said, "We all have bones in our leg."  Apparently the person calling had a dog bone stuck in his leg.  Ray also told a story about the time a AAA driver had a turkey vulture fly through the truck window.  He said, "That driver didn't know what to do with that bird flying around inside."  Another Ray joke - "I outran a Corvette once...it was hitched to the back of the tow truck!"  I laughed all the way to Richmond!

A couple of things that did not have me laughing.  Ray went to bed last night at midnight and had to pick up a car this morning at 4 am.  You could see the exhaustion in his face.  He told Travis that you have to get used to sleep deprivation.  I noticed that neither Ray nor Travis wore a seatbelt, even though we were sometimes going almost 85 mph.

By the time we arrived in Richmond, it was lunchtime & I was hungry.  Ray needed to drop off the Mini Cooper first.  We dropped it off, then went to the bike shop.  

At the Performance Bicycle shop, John assessed my cable and came to the same conclusion as 
Michael and I had - broken cable.  I left the bike and my panniers with John and went in search
of food.  Spinach pizza and Greek salad.  Yum!

When I came back to the shop, my bike wasn't ready.  I struck up conversations with people, looked around for a while, and within 20 minutes my bike was finished.  I paid my $15 ($5 for cable and $9 for the labor - can't beat that) happily.

By now it was about time for the eclipse, so the one worker in the store with glasses passed them around so all of us could see it.  We tried taking pictures without looking at the eclipse, but we were not very successful.  The partial eclipse was pretty cool, though, and it was nice of the Performance Bicycle staff to share their one pair of glasses with me.

Michael's wife, Linda, was going to pick me up from Performance when she got off work, but it was so early that I decided to use Lyft instead.  So glad I did - I got to meet Mustafa!

Mustafa drove up in a van (perfect for a bike).  He graciously put the seats down, so my bike did not need to be taken apart.  I liked him immediately.

As we drove we discussed politics, refugees, Charlottesville (he lived there 2 years and thinks the people are very welcoming), Iraq (his country of birth), his 3 sons (high, middle and elementary schoolers), and music.

The music Mustafa played in his car was some of the most soothing music I've ever heard.  I got the names of some of the musicians.  David, Moreza, Armik, Giovanni Marady, Omar Akram, Can Atilia (not sure of any of the spellings).  Hopefully I can find their music somewhere.  

The lively conversation and soothing music made the time fly.  We arrived at the hotel before 3:30.  Plenty of time to shower, dress and relax before dinner.

Even when your bicycle breaks it can still be a great day!

Michael's Part
After leaving Gloria in the capable hands of the AAA driver, I quickly continued on.  Of course, I had to stop to get something to eat a mere 1 mile up the road.  Then I continued on for real to find that Eric and Craig had stopped to wait for me in Palmyra.  When I arrived, they were discussing whether to go to the local library to view the eclipse where viewing glasses were available, whether to make a viewing apparatus out of cardboard, or whether to just ride on.

We ended up riding on without stopping at the local library.  I was glad because it turned out that where we were was cloudy and we were not even sure when the eclipse happened. However, we enjoyed the clouds and the slightly darker afternoon.

We stopped for drinks in Ferncliff and then continued on to Louisa.  However those last 10 miles had a lot of traffic and we were very happy to get off the road.  

That night we had a fine Italian dinner at the Roma Italian Restaurant.

Life is still great.  We will be spending tomorrow night at my house and I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.

August 22 - Louisa, VA to Short Pump, VA

Gloria

Our day started at McDonald's where we ate breakfast.  We left Louisa around 7:30 and started our ride on a busy road, which was not too pleasant.  Michael guided us to roads that had a lot less traffic.  Today's ride was relatively easy.  Some rolling hills, some flat, lots of shade.  It was very pleasant.

We stopped for lunch at Subway again.  Not long after lunch, we met up with Steve and Barbra Wassilak.  Steve worked closely with Bob at CDC.  He rode with us for the last 5 miles of our ride, while Barbra drove to meet us at Michael and Linda's house.

Around 3:30 we all rode into Short Pump and put our bikes in Michael and Linda's garage.  We will start our ride from here tomorrow.

Linda put out a feast of snacks!  Sweet watermelon and strawberries, fresh cauliflower and snow peas with dip.  David made a delicious crumb cake, and that was up for grabs too.  Good eats!

Both of Michael and Linda's sons (David and Joseph) are here, and it's great to listen to them interact with each other and their parents.  They're hilarious and I love that about our family!

Tonight we had dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse with David and his wife, Brittany, Joseph, Linda, Steve and Barbra and Craig.  It was a lovely evening with wonderful people and tasty food.

Only 2 days of riding left - unbelievable!  What a great life~

August 20 - Love, VA to Charlottesville, VA

Written by Gloria

We left Royal Oaks Cabins around 7:30.  It being Sunday, the Blue Ridge Parkway was almost empty.  We enjoyed nice views while riding, but we also stopped at more than half of the designated overlooks.  The views are quite impressive!

Michael (having done today's ride 10 years ago) advertised it as a mostly downhill ride.  He implied that we would be in Charlottesville quickly (or at least that's what I heard).  Well...that was not the case.

After getting off the Blue Ridge Parkway, we had to make our way through some horrific traffic and unexpected steep climbs.  We stopped for lunch at Chiles Peach Orchard.  Michael remembered it as a little roadside peach stand with good peaches - a necessary stop.  Now it is a much bigger business.  They have quite a nice operation and lots of customers.  We had BBQ Pork sandwiches with coleslaw and peach ice cream for dessert.  Afterwards I felt like taking a nap, but we unfortunately still had 20 more miles to ride.

Today's ride had several turns.  Whenever we would turn and unintentionally avoid an uphill, I would cheer.  I don't know why I bothered because there was always another uphill lurking at the next turn.  I might have used a few unsavory words.  Eric stated that he was ready for some flat roads.

We arrived in Charlottesville around 3:15 having covered 46.4 miles.  According to Eric's altimeter, we went up 2,649 feet and went down 4,872 feet.  While I disagree with his altimeter, I guess Michael's recollection of the downhill was correct after all - even if it didn't feel like it.

Tonight we are staying at Bards on Avon.  It is not a hotel or a B&B.  I'm actually not sure what it is.  The owners, Teddy and Jack, greeted us when we arrived and explained that there was a lot of chaos because they are currently renovating the house.  Our rooms were not ready, so we had to wait.  I'm currently sitting in Michael & Eric's room waiting for my 'special" room to be ready, so I thought I'd begin writing today's blogpost.

After showering we ended up in the Bards on Avon garden with Teddy and Jack, and their dog, Woody.  We heard a bit about the recent happenings in Charlottesville and got restaurant recommendations.

As we were walking to dinner, we took pictures of signs in people's yards.  It's obvious to us that there are a lot of good people in Charlottesville who are just as upset about what happened as we are.  Seeing the signs gave us hope.

Michael and Eric also visited Emancipation Park and the downtown area.

4 more days to go and life is still great!

August 19 - Lexington, VA to Love, VA

Michael

Today was supposed to be our last hard day with one huge killer climb.  So after breakfast at our hotels, we set out from Lexington glad the hard hills were almost done.  Very quickly some medium length steep hills reminded us that we weren't over the steepness quite yet.  However after 4 miles of hills, we had about 10 miles of delightful roads by a river.  

We had an early lunch at Gertie's Country Store in Vesuvius.  The employees were all kind to us and the food was excellent.

We met four bicyclists in the restaurant out on  a casual Saturday morning ride.  They made it clear that they would never ride up the hill we were about to climb, not even without panniers.  None the less, we were not scared.  We set out to climb the hill, and actually succeeded... despite steep inclines, too many cars, blind curves, and steep drop offs.  While Bob and I rode this hill 10 years ago, we did it without panniers thanks to the SAGging of our brother Tim.  However, Gloria, Eric, and I did the hill with all our saddlebags.  There is no truth to the claim that after she completed the climb, Gloria declared, "I can't believe Bob called that a steep hill, especially when Tim was carrying his panniers!"   We laid to rest all worries about what the three of us could climb fully loaded.  ("Fully loaded" in this case refers to carrying all our panniers, and not our level of inebriation.)

After the Big Climb, we rode 11 more miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway stopping at virtually every scenic overlook.  If you have not visited the park, it is well worth the visit.  The vistas are definitely something to see.

It was a pleasure to see so many other cyclists enjoying the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I bet we passed or were passed by over 20 cyclists.  Not bad for 11 miles.

Thanks to timely advice from Jayden, we stayed in efficiencies at Royal Oaks in Love, VA. The place was beautiful, although I recommend renting a cabin and doing your own cooking. Staying in Royal Oaks allowed us to avoid climbing up the Blue Ridge Mountains one more time.  Thanks, Jayden!

Another great day comes to a close.  And so does climbing killer hills.  We are all excited that the worst of the climbing is behind us.  I can't believe that in only 5 more days this adventure is over!

August 17 - Troutville, VA to Lexington, VA

Gloria

Today was a great day to ride a bicycle!  The skies were blue, the scenery was wonderful, we had lots of shade, we had more downhills than uphills, less cars and no dogs.

To add to all this good fortune, Pam and Jennifer decided to stay over another night, so we didn't need to carry all our saddlebags.  We hit the jackpot!

After riding 30 or so miles, we found a picnic table near the Red Mill B & B.  Pam and Jennifer brought us sandwiches, chips and cookies from Subway.  We enjoyed a lovely lunch as we debated whether or not the owner of the B & B would mind us trespassing on their property. We never saw anyone at the B & B, but about halfway through lunch a lady stopped and welcomed us.  We wondered if she was the owner.  In any case, it was a nice gesture on her part.

We arrived in Lexington safely.  Michael needed to stop at a bike shop for maintenance, while Eric and I pedaled on to our hotel.  Jennifer met us in the lobby to inform us about where our saddlebags were located.  It has been fantastic having Pam & Jennifer SAG for us.  Thank you, ladies!

Our hotel is next door to Applebee's, so after Happy Hour we decided to eat there.  Our server took a picture while we were there.

With only 7 days to go before reaching Yorktown (6 riding days - tomorrow is a rest day), I'd like to post once again the places where you can donate in Bob's memory if you would like.  Those places are:

Habitat for Humanity
Doctors without Borders
Our House
PATH Foundation
Atlanta Bicycle Coalition
CDC Foundation Bob Keegan Heroes Fund
CDC Foundation Louise Martin Fund
East Coast Greenway Alliance
Adventure Cycling

Rotary International

FYI - Although I'm sure we will have an end of the ride celebration in Yorktown, please be aware that the official end of the ride celebration is being planned for Friday, September 8th at Mo's Pizza - 3109 Briarcliff Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.  Hope you can come out and celebrate with us!

Since tomorrow is a rest day, we're taking the day off from blogging.  Look for a post over the next few days about how we did climbing Vesuvius.  Here is what Bob had to say about it 10 years ago:

"The first 20 miles were more of the same beautiful rolling hills, easy on the eyes and the legs...Immediately after reaching Vesuvius, Michael and I began a much feared climb of nearly four miles up to the Blue Ridge Parkway."

Legs don't fail me now~

Have a great weekend!

August 16 - Christiansburg, VA to Troutville, VA

Michael

Today was a beautiful day. There was virtually no chance of rain all day and it was partly cloudy in the afternoon. The high was supposed to be in the mid-eighties. You just can't get much better than this.

After a fine breakfast at the Holiday Inn in Christiansburg, and after packing our bags in Pam's car, we headed out at 8:10 in the morning on about a mile long bicycle only path to get back to where we were supposed to be on the Trans America bicycle route.

We were a little nervous about the fog, but it turned out that the fog never limited our vision or made us nervous that people couldn't see us. But the fog did do one awesome thing.  It made it where the sun didn't come out for 2 or 3 hours. That kept the temperatures low and riding very pleasant.

We rode 48 miles today, and for the first 33 or so miles the traffic was so light that I wondered if today was Sunday. However after we passed a cement plant, traffic picked up for the last 15 miles.  It was also heavier as we approached Troutville, our destination.

In Catawba, Virginia we met 2 bicyclists heading westbound.  This surprised us as we had guessed that nobody would be heading westbound in mid August. However these two gentlemen planned to head south in Kansas instead of going west through Colorado, Wyoming, etc.

The scenery continued to be beautiful today. The hills were mostly rolling hills and when there were steep hills they were very short. For much of our ride today we were beside a river or stream.  Rivers and streams always calm me, especially since it is very rare to have steep up hills or down hills right beside a river.

Eric spotted a small herd of deer that quickly ran away from us.  It is always exciting when you see animals out in the wild. I spotted a buck in somebody's front yard right next to the road as we approached Troutville.  It surprised me that the cars hadn't scared him off, but this strange guy in yellow and orange bicycle clothes did scare him off.

Pam and Jennifer did another great job SAGging today. There were no convenience stores or restaurants anywhere between Christiansburg and Troutville. Pam and Jennifer were kind enough to bring us sandwiches from the sandwich shop, as well as chocolate chip cookies, ice, and water.  We devoured them all. Thank you so much, Pam and Jennifer!  Your timing of lunch was perfect!

Today's ride was just about perfect.  Good company, no rain, low temperatures, and easy hills.  It was another great day.

August 14 - Damascus, VA to Wytheville, VA

Michael

Today started out with a fabulous breakfast at the Lazy Fox Inn.  Jenny and her helper prepared a superb breakfast that included scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, fresh fruit (including kiwi, bananas, strawberries, peaches, and cantaloupe), biscuits and gravy, a potato and cheese dish, and more.  What was really incredible was that Jenny and her helper are both over 90 years old and they had no other help.

The Virginia Creeper Trail is only a few blocks from the Lazy Fox Inn. Based on inside scoop from the bicycle shop we visited yesterday, we decided to take the trail for the first 11 miles of our trip today. The scenery was beautiful and it was nice to once again be pedaling along a beautiful river. The trail itself wasn't as smooth as pavement but it was pretty good. And we were absolutely delighted that for the first 11 miles we only had about a 2% incline.

The only bad part about the trail was that when we had to get off the trail we had to travel for at least half a mile on a pretty gravelly road all uphill. Our bikes are just not as good on gravel going uphill.

Today's ride was over 62 miles long and we climbed a total of 3500 plus feet. So there were a lot of hills. However, for most of the uphills, the incline was not all that steep. We were very pleased with that. The traffic wasn't too bad for most of the trip so it really was a rather enjoyable day except for that little part about the rain. It seems that if we wear rain jackets we get soaked with sweat. And if we don't wear rain jackets, it rains harder. However several of us have decided that we prefer the threat of rain along with a little rain to 100 degree heat.

The rain did cause an accident, but luckily none of us were involved. We came upon an older couple whose car had gone off the road and was face down on the side of the hill about 15 ft below the road. The car was definitely totaled. Like most people we have met on this trip, the couple were both as nice as could be.  They were willing to give us their names and number in case we needed anything on our trip. It was incredible that even as their car was in the ditch, they were willing to give us any assistance we needed.

When we arrived at our hotel we met up with Pam Moon and Jennifer Ballew, who will be sagging with us the next several days. We had a great dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant and made plans for tomorrow.  To be truthful I've been thinking about Pam and Jennifer all day. The reason I was thinking about them was because we were carrying all of our own bags for the first time in over a week. Bags are heavy.  And the hillier the roads and the steeper the hills, the heavier the bags get. So we were absolutely delighted that Pam and Jennifer will be with us this week.  All day long we realized just how much we appreciated all of our previous SAGgers. Thank you all very, very much!

For those of you not familiar with this part of the country, the Interstate 81 corridor which we are going through is absolutely beautiful.  There are many 2000 to 4000 foot hills.  And while we really don't like climbing up steep hills, the steeper the hills, the better the views.

Today was another great day.  I can't believe there are only 10 more days left in our trip!