Field Trip 21

 Day 48 Today Started out at Rural Retreat Lake Park.  I was looking for a bike shop, my rear hub needs adjusting. Turns out there was one listed in Draper, through the route takes me.  I got slightly turned around in Wytheville,  but not much time lost.   The weather was cooler, humid and partly cloudy with the possibility of afternoon showers.  As I got to Draper I found out that the "bike shop" was just a bike rental outfit for people to ride on the New River Trail. The people I spoke with told me that if I went down the trail to Pulaski, it would end at an old train station and there was a bike shop there that could help me out. So I got on this trail which was soft gravel and dirt.  After several miles and crossing a couple of roads on bridges, I saw a sign that I should take this branch of the trail and it was 2.5 more miles to the end of the trail and train station. At this point the sky  was getting darker and darker.  I man...

  Day 47 It poured last night, very hard rain for a long period of time. This morning, the sky was grey, it was still raining, almost a mist with very small drops. Most of Fred has passed to the north. I recalculated the route slightly to stay out of the mountains during the rain. The problem is with wet roads, you can't roll downhill fast and maintain control. Usually in the mountains, you can maintain a reasonable average speed by going fast downhill. One advantage is that its cooler than it would be with constant sunshine. As I started out, it was misting, and this turned into a shower. Still uphill and downhill for most of the day. A shorter ride to day to Rural Retreat Lake Park. We have a couple of more days in the western part of the state, then we head across to Williamsburg. Morning Ride Distance 48.78  mi Elev Gain 2,876  ft Time 3 h  41 m Try this route

 Today started out rainy,  The plan was about 77 miles with lots of climbing, as we made our way across the Appalachians.  The rain let up, and I got a fairly early start. I was able to take off my rain jacket for a while.  As I came over one climb, the sky opened up. I had to really sit on the brakes going downhill to maintain control.  I stopped in Honaker VA for lunch, and afterwards as I started out, I got so cold I was shaking,  I had only covered about 37 miles in the first 3 1/2 hrs, mostly due to the very slow downhills.  I still had 40 miles to go.   I decided that I'd never make it before dark, so Leslie picked me up. We are camping in Damascus VA tonight. We went out to eat, and the TV in the diner showed all of the flooding and tornados due to Fred.  As I sit here, we just had another downpour.  Fortunately I've plotted out a route to our next campsite that doesn't involve any significant mountain climbs. Hopefully none ...

Day 45 It rained at our campground last night, and continued to rain this morning. I set out fairly early in a steady rain.  I was able to doff my rain jacket after about 40 minutes, but kept my rain hat and booties on.  4 climbs on the schedule today, all of them except one were steep with sections above 10% grade.   Finally crossed into Virginia. I still have to cross most of the Appalachain chain of mountains. Here's an example of my  view at one point this morning. It has rained on and off today, and is raining currently. We are staying in the Breaks Interstate Park, just inside the border between Kentucky and Virginia.  The route crossed the ranges then goes up the Shenandoah Valley cuts across through Charlottesville and skirts around the north side of Richmond heading to Yorktown.  At this point I'll dip my front wheel in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. Morning Ride Distance 76.56  mi Elev Gain 5,453  ft Time 6 h  9 ...

Day 44 We camped in the Littcarr  Army Corps of Engineers campground this weekend.  As I write this on Sunday afternoon, the place is deserted. It was full yesterday, but all of the weekenders have left. Usual rest day activities, eating, bike maintenance, laundry, etc.  Its been partly to mostly cloudy, and is currently threatening to rain. We had quite a rainshower last night. So far I've cycled 3298 miles and climbed 117457 ft. Tomorrow is going to be a fairly long day, punctuated by serious hills, and dogs.  We will be crossing into Virginia.  Anticipate about another week and a half or so. Thanks for reading.

Day 43 My legs were pretty tired from yesterday, so today was going to be a slow one. Left the Buckhorn  Campground and immediately had 3 big climbs.  After that the route was fairly flat except for two more climbs not as long or steep.  To give you an idea, the small country roads on the route have, usually manufactured homes, mixed with some very nice looking places and an occasional mansion.  The manufactured homes are usually surrounded by metallic junk and old junk cars, trucks, tractors, etc.  A fair number of abandoned buildings as well in various states of disrepair.  The roads that are more arterial carry more traffic, and the overall look of the land is better, with brick homes and nice lawns.  The climbs on the small roads are sudden and steep. The route brought me into Hazard, KY, which is one of the epicenters of the coal mining industry.  The large corporations came in and bough the mineral rights from the locals. A lot of the mining...

 Day 42 Our campsite tonight is in Buckhorn, just downriver from a dam on the Kentucky river that was started in 1956, mostly for flood control.  The only unfortunate part of this is that its over 100 miles from where we camped yesterday. I got an early start and hit the road at 0710.  The first part of the ride winds all over the place on small often one lane roads.  I spent some time confused, and actually had to ask directions from a passing motorist.  I passed through the town of Paint Lick, then on to Berea.  There is a college there and school is just about to begin. I passed through the campus, and noted several people moving into the dorms. After Berea, I went through the town of Big Hill.  I wondered about the name since the route from Berea was mostly downhill.  Well,  a big climb is right after you leave town.  I met Leslie for lunch in McKee, and for a cold drink in Booneville.  I had several more hills to climb before a...