Day 19 - June 22, 2013 - Breaks, VA to Lookout, KY (and Lexington, KY)

Mileage - about 26 (biking)

Total mileage - about 609

Packed up our tent in Breaks Interstate Park a little late this morning, and I wanted to actually see an overlook of "The Grand Canyon of the South" before we took off, so we parked the bikes at the visitor center and headed off on a "short" walk.

The short walk turned out to be another of my famous "death marches".  It was a good 1/3 of a mile down the park road, then probably a half mile each way on a winding path through the woods that changed elevation quite a bit.  In my defense, I had no clue - the ranger guy said it was close.  Again, don't listen to people who drive everywhere...but we saw it, and it was nice, and we finally got on the way around 11 - way, way too late!

We sped down a hill out of the park, only to be consistently trucked by curvy roads that appear to go downhill, but actually go uphill.  Tricky bastards...

We got to the bottom of a hill, and found this:

Never had we been thrilled to cross the border into Kentucky!  Virginia is behind us now, including all of its mountainous terrain!  1 state down, 9 to go!

We were planning to get to Bypro, Ky to meet Mel's parents who were picking us up for the weekend, but we were late getting to Lookout, and thought they would meet up with us before we could get to Bypro, since we needed to stop for yet another lovely gas station lunch before going any further.  We decided to stop and just wait for them in Lookout, and ended up meeting or at least seeing the entire population of Lookout while we waited!

They finally found us, and we headed up to stop for the night in Lexington, KY.  We had enough time to check in to our hotel, grab dinner from an odd little hole in the wall with unusually tasty late night treats, and pass out.

Day 18 - June 21, 2013 - Rosedale, VA to Breaks Interstate Park, VA

Miles - 33.4

Total miles - 583.4

We woke up early at the church and started to get ready for the day. It didn't take us very long to eat and get on the road. Before we left the church, we said a quick goodbye to the folks there, who were having a community yard sale. An older gentleman told us that we had a rough day ahead of us, even saying that today's climb up Big A Mountain would be more difficult than yesterday's adventure through Hayter's Gap. While we appreciated the heads up, it didn't take long for me to hear his words over and over in my head, repeating like some kind of nightmare. I didn't think we could survive another day like what we experienced in Hayter's Gap. 

We make our way out of Rosedale and turn onto a road taking us to Honaker. Again, I'm not sure what Adventure Cycling was thinking when they decided to route cyclists along this road. It was extremely dangerous, with no shoulder and heavy traffic, including semi trucks and large dump trucks that could care less about running you over. We haven't had many negative experiences with motorists in Virginia, but this day was awful. Oh yeah, and as a bonus, there was a ton of construction going on along the road. We reached a gas station down the road in Honaker and took a long break...I (Mel) was pretty stressed out about continuing on. After a while, we knew we had to continue. We started to climb the beginning of Big A Mountain, when my amazing wife had the best idea ever. She had spotted a heating and cooling business on the opposite side of the road, with a couple of empty pickup trucks in the parking lot. She went inside and asked if someone would be willing to drive us up to the top of the mountain, which isn't far by vehicle, but a major undertaking by bicycle. Thankfully, a kind guy helped load our bikes in his work truck and drove us up to the top. I don't think we ever caught his name, but we will be eternally grateful to this stranger that helped us more than he will ever know. We even tried to give him some money for his time and he refused to take it. 

We started the descent down the mountain, stopping every once in a while to cool our rims and brakes, and started to make our way to Breaks. Of course, 3 more giant hills awaited us today on the way to Breaks. We stopped for some snacks at a gas station and spoke to a couple ladies about our trip. They were really nice and funny and joked with us about how we must be crazy or dedicated to take on this adventure. I think they are right...we are probably a little of both. 

Back on the road, we make it to Haysi, the small town right before Breaks. Erica stopped in to a little pizza restaurant to ask for some directions and met our second Trail Angel of the day. Denny was an older guy who lives in Breaks and just comes down to Haysi to talk to folks...everyone knows him. Denny started talking to Erica about our trip and offered to drive us to Breaks Interstate Park and to show us the area. He has lived in the area for a while and is familiar with all the construction projects and sights. He was a bit of a quirky guy, but it was obvious he was just a nice guy who loves the place he calls home. He showed us the dam, a major bridge project for the coal industry, and took us to the park, even driving around to help us find a good place to camp. We are so thankful we met Denny and that he was so kind to us. 

As we pulled into the park, we noticed two guys coming in from the west on bikes hauling trailers. They camped not too far from us and found out that they are wrapping up their TransAm journey, but they have split it up over four years. They have also been riding in an effort to stop the de-finning of sharks. 

Also, when we got to the visitors center at the park, they gave us a form to fill out, stating that we had rode our bikes across the state and gave us a little lapel pin as a small trophy. Virginia is really proud of being a part of the TransAm, and I know we both really did feel a sense of accomplishment for making across Virginia, with all the obstacles and weather the state threw our way. 

We got to our campsite and it didn't take us very long to get setup and get to bed after a very interesting day. It was our last day in Virginia and though we were happy to move on the next day, we also were thankful for all the lessons Virginia taught us and for all the kind people we met there. 

Day 17 - June 20, 2013 - Damascus, VA to Rosedale, VA

Mileage - about 35

Total Mileage - about 550

We had to pack up quietly this morning, as the hikers sharing our hostel bunk room were still sleeping when we got up at 6:30.  We drug everything outside, loaded up the bikes, and went on the hunt for breakfast.  The place we stopped in town, "The Blue Blaze", didn't open until 8, then we waited forever for pancakes and eggs!  It was a pretty late start to our day...

The first part of the day went fine - there were a few climbs out of Damascus, but nothing we couldn't handle.  We even road by a nice stream for a while.  Before we knew it, we were sailing through a little town called Hayters Gap (pronounced "hi-ters"), by the locals.  We knew we had  huge mountain climb today, coming up right after Hayters Gap, and it did start to get hillier, but still nothing we couldn't handle.

Then, we found the real mountain.  This thing was switchback after switchback of steep climb.  We couldn't bike it on our loaded bikes, and walking it took forever. Literally all afternoon.  There is little shoulder to speak of, and people were flying up the mountain, so it wasn't the nicest of places to be.  This road up the mountain was about 4 miles long.  There were several times that we both were ready to quit and just go home!  We would come to a curve and looked like it might be the end, but around every corner, there was more of the same.  Awful way to spend an afternoon!

The downhill was too steep to be fun too!  Cars tailed us dangerously close almost all the way down, we had to keep stopping to cool our brakes, not enjoyable!

We were hoping to make it about 15 more miles than we did today, but our original intended destination was over yet another mountain, so we jumped at the chance to stay a the Elk Grove Methodist Church in Rosedale, which has a cyclist hostel.  We were greeted when we arrived by a woman setting up for a rummage sale they were having in the morning, and she filled us in on where to keep our bikes, that we could use whatever we found in the kitchen, the cold water outdoor shower, and that we were welcome to sleep on the comfy carpet in the sanctuary.  We also met a church member named Bob who sat and chatted with us quite a while, about Indiana, where he was born, and bikes, and old wars, and a bunch of other things.

A storm rolled through as we were eating dinner out under the pavilion while waiting for the local Boy Scout troop to conduct  meeting inside.  It got rather chilly with the rain, so naturally I decided I would give that cold outdoor shower a try. It was breathtaking and exhilarating - would have been much more enjoyable on a 95 degree day!

We set up to sleep right in front of the altar in the sanctuary, and left a light on so as to not be creeped out by sleeping in an old church!  The hospitality of the people of the church was fantastic - this hostel is awesome!

Day 16 - June 19, 2013 - Wytheville, VA to Damascus, VA

Mileage - 61

Total mileage - 515.2

We woke up to clear skies, even if it was a bit foggy in the mountains from the previous day's rain.  We are a few miles away from the hotel, and suddenly I remember that I left Shep on the dresser in the hotel room!  I hate backtracking when driving, and I sure as hell am not doing it on a bike, when we have already conquered a few of the days first climbs, so I called the hotel and told them to send him to Mel's parents if they find him.  They inform me that if they do find him, they will send him to that address, via UPS, using the credit card they have on file for incidentals...I have a feeling my $.59 quarter-sized rubber pig is going to cost a small fortune to be reunited with me!

Missing pigs aside...the ride is pretty uneventful for the first 10 miles.  We stop at a fruit stand for a mid-morning Gatorade/chocolate milk/peach snack, and continue on our way.  We made a quick stop in Rural Retreat to send 8 pounds of unnecessary (hopefully!) stuff home, then stopped at the only open place in Sugar Grove, a gas station, for a pizza lunch.  We knew that we had a couple of sustained climbs coming at us this afternoon, so we wanted to be ready!  

We made the turn into Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, get a few nice little turns in on a road with a beautiful creek running alongside, then the climb begins.  Looking at them on the map, we were terrified that they would be similar to the ridiculous road we had to hike up to get to Afton, but they were far from it.  Graded beautifully, never steeper than our little legs could pedal on fully-loaded touring bikes (yes, maybe in the lowest of gears!), and we kicked that mountain's ass!  It even started to rain on us near the end, but after a rest break here and there, we enjoyed a brisk downhill into the town of Troutdale.

The only think left in Troutdale is the cyclist hostel.  We sat on the steps of the defunct general store/diner in town, having snacks of bananas, Paydays, and Stingers, contemplating if we should just stay at the hostel, or keep going to our intended destination of Damascus, another 24 or so miles, containing another giant hill.  We eventually settled on continuing to Damascus, even though we were tired, and a little chilly after the rain.  

Almost immediately after leaving Troutdale, I had a fleeting thought that we were going to regret our decision, then be stuck having to slog through horrendous terrain to get to Damascus late at night, tired, hungry, and grouchy.  All my cares were washed away about 3 miles down the road though - we met the next hill, it was graded just as nicely, the clouds parted and the sun shone through, and we kicked that hill's ass too!

And then there was the best, I mean the best, downhill of the trip.  It was probably 4+ miles of sustained, controlled downhill - no braking, few turns, and just pure fun.  Every ride should have one of those!  We coasted through the town of Konnarock (which no longer has any services either), then got to the not so fun part of getting to Damascus.  It wasnt horrible, but there  was a bunch of curvy, gently uphill sloping road that we had to tackle.  We are already around 50 miles in to our day, and wondering where this lovely downhill to Damascus is that everyone's talking about...

Then we find it!  It is quite a bit steeper than the previous downhill after the first mountain climb, but it is incredibly gorgeous and fun!  The worst part of the downhills on this trip has been traffic behind us following way too close, and getting annoyed or frankly just doing dangerous things (passing too close to us, passing on a hill, or passing on blind turns) because we aren't going fast enough for them.  Luckily there wasn't much traffic out here, and we coasted for miles at well over 30mph down another road with a mountain stream running next to it.  Perfect way to end our longest day yet!

We pull into Damascus, which is a huge hit with the Appalachian Trail crowd too as the trail crosses very close to the town, and set out to find one of the hostels to spend the night in.  We make it to "The Place" hostel, famous with both hikers and cyclists, and notice our friends Mary and Joe from a couple of days ago are also there!  Live-in hostel caretaker, trail name "Atlas", gives us the rundown of rules (the hostel is run by the church out front, so this isn't a free for all!), assigns us a couple of bunks (think wooden bunk beds), and tells us where to get dinner.  He's a great guy, and has some entertaining tales of hiking and hikers.  He came to Damascus as an AT hiker about a month ago for Trail Days, and is still hanging around - I think Damascus has that effect on hikers.

Most of the others we shared the hostel with were hikers.  Good group of people. We grabbed burritos at a place in town called Hey Joe's, one of the guys behind the counter gets up and plays a song that a kid there requested off of his album (which we ended up buying - he was pretty good!), had a well-deserved beer, and headed back to the hostel.  After setting up our bunks and chatting with Joe and Mary a little more, we climbed into bed.  Only to have about 4 hikers show up at 10:15 or so, loudly!  We go to bed early, so we can get up early...quiet hours were from 10:30 to 7:30, but they had to be given bunks, told about the rules, set up their bunks, etc.  The one who ended up in a bunk in our room I think opened each and every zipper on his pack before settling in!

I was out like a light - Mel didn't have the same luck, couldn't get comfortable, got cold, etc.  I'm glad we had the experience though, after hearing about this place for so long!  

Oh, and we rolled over 500 miles today!  Yay!

Day 15 - June 18, 2013 - Wytheville, VA - Weather Day

Of course, the forecast was not only for pouring rain all day long, but a 70% chance of strong thunderstorms, both in Wytheville, where we had stayed, and in Damascus, where we were headed.

Today was the most boring rest day - our hotel was right next to a truck stop, and that was about it.  Most exciting thing I did was walk to the truck stop for laundry detergent so I could wash our stuff at the guest laundry room at the hotel.  Thrilling!  And I've noticed I actually end up getting pretty sore when we aren't on the bikes for a day.  I think my body has found a routine, and isn't happy when forced to give it up!

Day 14 - June 17, 2013 - Radford, VA to Wytheville, VA

Mileage - about 43

Total mileage - 452.2

Wildlife spotted - Deer, wild turkeys, cows, goats, barn kittens, road kill snakes and possum

Today began with a lovely (mostly downhill) ride from our hotel in Radford.  We coasted past a couple of fellow cyclists on the route checking out their maps and waved, knowing we'd probably cross paths later in the day.  We crossed the New River, then immediately turned onto a road that ran along the river for many miles.  We spotted the most adorable baby deer crossing the road along the way, it stopped to look at us for a bit, then followed its mom up the hill on the other side.

We passed through the quaint town of Newbern, which had marked most of their original structures along with the year they were built, starting in the early 1800s.  I thought we hit the jackpot when we went right by a post office, since we found about 10lbs of extra crap to send home to lighten our load, but it didn't open for a couple more hours, bummer!

We were about halfway to the next town, Draper, when we had paused to put on sunscreen (see, mom, we remember most of the time!), and we saw the other two cyclists we spotted earlier making their way up the hill!  They stopped to chat, and we talked gear, bikes, training strategy (or lack thereof!), and more for a good while, decided to all grab lunch together in Draper, and all kept pedaling up the hill.  

About 100 feet down the road, we all spot a cyclist approaching from the other direction, and stop to chat with him.  He's headed from San Francisco to the East Coast, and started about 8 weeks ago!  And this is his 3rd time riding across the US (he's British), but first time riding the TransAm, and says its the absolute best route across the US he has tried so far.  

We continue on, only to find as we get to Draper that the one restaurant is closed on Mondays, as is the small store in town.  We all stop at a park to snacking what we have with us, find that the other riders are Mary and Joe, just out of college, from New York and Connecticut respectively.  They take off first, as they have decided to do about 14 more miles than we will for the day, and we discuss meeting up in Damascus, where they are planning a day off.

We head out again, get rained on a bit during a sustained climb, and then meet some bovine friends at the top of the hill.  These cows were super curious about us, pushing each other out of the way to get a better view.  I crossed the road on my bike to get closer to them, and caused a minor stampede, but they came back when they realized I wasn't a threat.  They even followed us a bit down the fence line as we pedaled away.

Then we run into a major headwind.  We cheated a bit on the TransAm route, opting for our old friend Highway 11, which is basically a frontage to I-81.  We rolled into Wytheville around 5 I think, braving a busy highway off-ramp intersection full of truck stops and semi trucks to get to our hotel.

On our way, we also saw the "Wytheville Smallest Church", apparently one of the smallest churches in America.  It was in the middle of nowhere, near a Pepsi bottling plant.

Day 13 - June 16, 2013 - Christiansburg, VA to Radford, VA

Miles - about 16

Total miles - about 410?

Today became a short day - we headed out of Christiansburg into more of those lovely Virginia hills, complete with a headwind.  We had to pedal downhill - this is a major tragedy in the life of a touring cyclist!

It (sadly) took all morning to get to the 13 mile point - we stopped for lunch, and just knew we didn't have another 40 miles of hills in us, so we called it a day in Radford.  

As a side note, the TransAm trail is very well marked in Virginia - there are signs everywhere telling you where to turn, and assuring you that you are still on route.  It seems they have changed some of the routing in VA fairly recently however, but have yet to change the signage, which resulted in us taking on hills today that we really didn't need to, and missing out on a cool bike path!  Moral of the story - TransAm'ers, don't get lazy with that map reading in VA just because you see signs everywhere!