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.