Day 8 - June 11, 2013 - Afton, VA to Love, VA

Miles - about 16

Total miles - 259

Oh, Blue Ridge Parkway...

We coasted down the hill from our scumbag motel, and discovered that the kettle corn stand at the bottom of the hill had just opened, so it was time for kettle corn and Gatorade breakfast, naturally.  We knew we were in for a brutal day again, and I think we were avoiding the inevitable just a bit...

So, all sugared up, we hit the Blue Ridge Parkway and start pedaling.  About 2 miles in, we think, this isn't so bad!  It's uphill, but we can handle it!  We see a mom and baby deer leisurely crossing the road, it's almost an idyllic morning scene for cycling.  Then we find the real hills...

It's pretty, sure, but visit by car, or at the very least, an unloaded bicycle!  We spent a crap-ton of time walking up mountains today.  It kinda sucked.  There were two amazing downhills, one of which I had to come to a complete stop in the middle of because the blustery wind threatened to take me down!  

We stopped about 6 miles in a the Humpback Rocks visitor center.  I'm sure the rocks were lovely, but there was no way I was doing any more hiking up the mountain to find out!  If you ever get the chance, have someone drive you and your bike to Ravens Roost Overlook, coast down the parkway for a mile or two for some of the best views and cycling you'll ever experience, then have that person pick your ass up at the bottom so you don't have to bike up any mountains!

Since we knew we were in for a doozie today, we scrapped our previous plans of a near 50 mile day, and made it a 16 mile day, staying in a cute little cabin in Love, VA.  The proprietors were very friendly, and their general store was an oasis for cyclists!  We got a chance to talk to a couple of other riders at the store biking the Blue Ridge Parkway from Charlottesville, VA to Ashville, NC in about 10 days.  One from Brooklyn, one from London.  They had cruised by us a bit earlier on much lighter bikes - we were very envious!

We survived to bike another day!  On this map photo, you can see the elevation gains we experienced - from Afton to about where my finger was on the map.  Mel will tell the story of that huge downhill to Vesuvius on the next installment!