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!