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!

August 13 - Lebanon, VA to Damascus, VA

Written by Gloria

We left our hotel this morning around 7:30.  No delays because of rain, fog or flat tire.  Leaving our hotel, we took an alternate route recommended by the cyclist bathroom lady from yesterday.  It worked out great because it took us off of a very busy road.  A peaceful start to the day~

After 6 or so miles, we stopped so I could call a bike shop in Damascus in order to find out if I could get my patched tire replaced.  Luckily, the bike shop said they could help me any time.  Whew - I was becoming a bit concerned about that front tire especially on the downhills.

Our second stop was facilitated by David.  He stopped by a waterfall that we could hear but barely see. I was tempted to trespass, so I could see the whole waterfall but decided against it. I bet it's lovely.  I took a picture of what we saw.

We had some scary climbing today.  Scary because it was on a narrow road with switchbacks and a drop off. We rode down the middle of the road.  Every time a car came from the other direction, I would tense my whole body, move over as little as possible and hope that I didn't fall off my bike or get too close to the edge.  I was hoping the whole time that no cars would come on my side...and none did.  I was thrilled when we reached the top where David was waiting.  I don't want to ever repeat that!  The downhill was nothing to write home about.

For lunch we stopped at a Subway in Meadowview.  I think I speak for the three of us - we are just about Subwayed out.  The reason we continue to go is because it's often the only decent choice (at least the vegetables aren't fried) and it's quick.  After this ride, I may not eat there for a very long time.

Today's ride was 38 miles, and we climbed a lot.  We were very happy to have David along to transport our panniers.  Sadly, David had to return home today.  We said our goodbyes to him in Damascus.  Thanks for SAGging for us, David!

Upon arrival in Damascus, we went to Sundog Outfitters to get our bikes fixed.  Chris, the mechanic, was superb!  I have 2 new tires and tubes.  He also fixed my front light (which had gone on the blink) and checked my brakes.  Michael had his derailleur adjusted and brakes checked.  Eric had new brake pads installed.  We were all very happy with the service we received.

Tonight we're staying at the Lazy Fox Inn.  We didn't realize until we checked in that it's a bed & breakfast.  Good to know~

All that's left to do tonight is find a decent place for dinner.  That might be the hardest thing we've done all day...because life is great!

August 15 - Wytheville, VA to Christiansburg, VA

Gloria

We woke up to rain.  The forecast stated that it would be gone by 8:00.  The rain stopped around 7:35.  Since we had made plans to start around 8:00, we kept to that plan.

Right before leaving, we packed our panniers into Pam's car.  Jennifer met us at the car to retrieve the keys.  Pam & Jennifer had a busy day planned but were going to meet us for lunch somewhere on the road.

Pam grew up in this area, so she is partly here to SAG and partly here to reminisce.  Blacksburg was on her "to do" list today.  Her family lived there many years ago.

Once we bikers got started, we found that the roads were still wet but doable.  We rode without rain for about two and a half hours.  The terrain today had lots of short uphills and too few long downhills.

Right before we hit the rain, we met up with Pam & Jennifer and made plans to meet for lunch.  Three problems developed after that.  1) We took the New River Trail path and had difficulty getting off the path and back to our route.  We had to ask a homeowner to allow us to ride our bikes on his private property in order to return to our route.  He was nice enough to say yes.

2) Immediately after we got back on our route it started to rain.  3) We arrived in the place where we had made plans to meet Pam & Jennifer and they informed us that it didn't have any restaurants.  We took refuge under the roof of the Newbern, Virginia post office.  We snacked a bit and finally decided to meet Pam & Jennifer at the Dairy Queen (our new favorite eatery) 2 miles down the road.  While we were eating lunch, the rain stopped.

After lunch Pam & Jennifer dropped our panniers off at our hotel, then drove to Blacksburg.  Michael, Eric and I slogged up more hills and finally made it to our hotel in Christainsburg.  Our total mileage was about 57.

The scenery today was beautiful.  Sometimes it's difficult to enjoy it with the traffic.  However, there is nothing like going downhill and having the privilege of seeing lush green farmland with cows and horses.  Ok - sometimes there are also dogs, but these days most are tied up or fenced in.  Makes admiring the scenery much more enjoyable.

Jennifer & Pam treated us to a delicious dinner at Texas Roadhouse near our hotel.  It was a great ending to another wonderful day!

You may remember our companion, Jayden, who was with us when the accident in Kansas occurred.  Well...he made it to Yorktown, Virginia today!  When we talked to him tonight, he was waiting at the Greyhound station for his bus to Pennsylvania.  Congratulations, Jayden & very well done!  

Only 9 more days before we get to dip our bikes in the Atlantic.  That will be a great day indeed!

August 11 - Rest Day in Breaks Interstate Park, VA

Written by Gloria

I've mentioned before how much I hate goodbyes - today was no exception. 

Our group of 8 had a lovely breakfast at the Rhododendron Restaurant at Breaks Interstate Park.  The ham, biscuits, oatmeal and cinnamon butter were big hits.  The majority of us washed it down with good, hot coffee.  Yum!

After breakfast we said our goodbyes to Margie and Dan Watkins, Paula and Steve Yoon and Kathy Cavallaro.  They not only rode with us, they also provided an awesome SAG and fantastic happy hours.  Thanks, everyone...we will miss having you with us!

Breaks Interstate Park has Interstate in its name because it is shared between Kentucky and Virginia.  It is billed as the Grand Canyon of the south because it has the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi.  The majority of the park is on the Virginia side.  The park offers free activities, so Michael and I signed up to take the 12:30 pm park tour.

An hour before the tour, the "Tres Amigos" (as Dan so affectionately called me, Michael and Eric) met at the Rhododendron Restaurant for lunch.  We enjoyed our meal as we looked out over the "Breaks."

Our park tour guide was Kelly.  She took us back into Kentucky to see the river that flows through the "Breaks."  We saw the highest bridge in the state of Virginia and stopped at several overlooks.  This is a really impressive park!

Tonight we are planning to have dinner with Michael's son, David, who will be our weekend SAG.  It will be great to catch up with what David, and his wife, Brittany, are up to these days.

Life is great!

August 12 - Breaks Interstate Park, VA to Lebanon, VA

Michael -

We started our morning with an excellent breakfast at the Breaks Interstate Park restaurant. On our way back from the restaurant, we came upon a deer just outside our hotel room casually having her breakfast. It was interesting to note that the deer wasn't bothered by us at all.  It continued to eat as if we weren't there.

In recent days, multiple people have asked, "How many flats have you had?"  Luckily so far neither Eric, Gloria nor I have had any flats at all. Regretfully answering those questions clearly jinxed us.  This morning Gloria discovered her front tire was flat before we even left the hotel. Gloria was quickly able to find the hole, replace the inner tube, and patch the outer tire. So by the time the heavy fog had cleared, we were ready to go.  We were delighted that the flat occurred at the hotel and not in the middle of nowhere.

My son David joined us last night to SAG for this weekend.  He joins a long list of


distinguished SAGgers this summer.  David and his tools have already been helpful in fixing Gloria's mud flap and flat tire.  It is always comforting to know that were something to happen a friendly car and driver is nearby.

Today's ride was 44 miles, which doesn't seem all that long. However we had enough steep hills to make it seem like a 70-mile day. We had one killer hill of around a mile and a half that averaged a 12% incline.  We climbed over 4,000 feet today.  Eric was going so slow that his computer no longer measured the incline. I was going so slow that my computer registered 0 miles per hour on multiple occasions even when I was pedaling away madly.  I was a little surprised that the vultures weren't circling us.  Gloria here - Michael is being polite in not telling you folks that I happily and proudly walked up those monsters at 0 miles an hour.

Our destination, Lebanon, VA was off the Adventure Cycling Association map.

We chose to bicycle to Lebanon due to a lack of hotels where we wanted them.  Once again weused the Maps.me app to determine our route. The software did an excellent job finding back roads with almost no cars and beautiful scenery.  However we did notice that taking small backroads increased our dog problems significantly.  One particular road I nicknamed "Dog Alley" as it appeared that virtually every house had loose dogs just waiting for us to come by. One house had two medium-sized dogs that simply would not stop barking at and chasing us. So I chased them off by bicycling downhill at them pedaling wildly and yelling at them to go home. Although I had to charge them twice, the method eventually worked. I really hate to spray dogs if I don't need to. I would prefer to get them to leave us alone another way. It's not the dogs' fault if they're allowed loose and some strange bicyclists come pedaling through the dogs' neighborhood.

The Virginia countryside is absolutely beautiful. The hills are all green and there are many beautiful views of lush green valleys.  I look forward to the scenery this next week.

Right before we arrived at our hotel (David was leading us there by car), we happened upon a very friendly cyclist and his family.  They were sitting on their porch when we rode by.  Their dog was being friendly by following us.  We always stop with dogs because you can't tell friendly from "about to attack".  When we stopped, the gentleman came over and struck up a conversation.  Gloria needed a bathroom break and politely asked him if she could use his.  He immediately said yes, then his wife showed Gloria where the bathroom was.  Even though there are terrible things going on in other parts of Virginia today, we happy to report that there are some extremely nice folks here as well.

We finally arrived at our hotel just before it started raining. I simply cannot believe how lucky we were that it barely rained at all when rain was forecasted virtually all day and thunderstorms were expected.  

We had another fine dinner at a Mexican restaurant, but I admit I am starting to tire of fajitas.
But almost every town has a decent Mexican restaurant, even if "all" the other restaurants are fast food joints.

Another great day comes to a close.  Tomorrow has a pretty good weather forecast, and we have an excellent SAG to keep us fed and drunk.  Maybe I should reword that.  Nawww.