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!