Departure on May 26, 2009 from Yorktown, VA

Thank you to those of you who made donations to support Multiple Sclerosis as I rode across the country this summer. I have ridden in 12 MS 150 Bike Tours since 2000 and this marked my 13th ride to support MS.

The trip was a success as I completed over 4,263 miles from Yorktown, VA to Portland, OR and then down the coast to San Francisco, CA between May 26, 2009 and August 19, 2009 (86 days). I met lots of amazing people along the way and pedaled through 13 states and saw lots of beautiful scenery. I feel like I’ve now seen some of the United States, but I still would like to see more!

I have many memories from the trip and I would love to share them all, but that would be impossible. The easiest way is to skim through my lengthy blog over the past 86 days as I kept a daily journal for all that happened and all those people we met along the way.

The first few states were pretty ‘familiar’ as far as scenery goes – I hadn’t been to Kentucky before, but western Kentucky was quite similar to Virginia with lots of horse farms and open fields and such. Eastern Kentucky was a little more poverty-stricken and lots of trash on the sides of the roads, poor road conditions with holes that you had to be really careful not to hit! I picked up a staple from the road in eastern Kentucky and wound up with my first flat tire of the trip. We only briefly saw Illinois (I think we spent 2 days biking through southern Illinois), but we met some really fun people, namely two motorcyclists who invited us to their home to camp outside, grill, and play in the lake. Also, we saw Superman in Metropolis, IL which was off-route and not planned. As it happened, we had bike problems that day and had to hitch-hike 70 miles to a bike shop to get a new chain for George’s bike. Missouri was humid as anything and had lots of hills as we were crossing in the Ozarks.

About 40 miles outside of Springfield, Missouri, my shifter cable broke and I wound up hitching 40 miles to a bike shop to get a tune-up and get that fixed. I also had seen civilization for the first time since I started the trip – Springfield was the largest city I’d come to since I left the Northern VA area in May. We pedaled through Missouri in 6 days and then reached Kansas where we switched our sleeping and biking habits and started sleeping during the day at fire stations, libraries, and churches so that we could bike during the night to avoid the 115 degree heat and humidity. It worked fairly well, except that I biked the entire state of Kansas carrying a viral infection, only to find out my second day in Colorado.

Just 70 miles east of Pueblo, Colorado in a tiny hamlet called Arlington, I found myself extremely sick and unable to continue pedaling. I stopped and told the guys I was with I wouldn’t be going any further. This was my last opportunity to find someone who could help me – there were approximately three houses and a few trees for shade. I stopped, rested, and when I wasn’t feeling better, I walked to a house to see if someone was home who could drive me to a doctor. A nice man, by the name of C.D. Anderson said he’d give me a ride to Ordway, CO (25 miles west). We rode there and the clinic said I needed to get to a hospital, but the next closest one was in Pueblo. He gave me a ride further, another 45 miles or so to the hospital where I got sick again and admitted myself to the Emergency Room. There I spent the next five and a half hours on a bed in the ER receiving saline and anti-nausea medicine. I slept on and off but it was nearly impossible since it was the ER and there were plenty of people there making noise. By 6:30pm or so, I was released from the hospital and told they couldn’t keep me – however, I was so lucky to have distant relatives come and rescue me and take me home with them to Westcliffe to spend some days recuperating.

A few days later, thanks to the generosity of a complete stranger (Cindi) from Westcliffe, I had a car to borrow and found myself driving to Denver to visit a friend from college. I unfortunately got sick again and at this point was very frustrated and didn’t know what was wrong. This was the only point in my trip where I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to continue if the virus didn’t get out of my system. I slept and rested for another day or two and then went whitewater rafting (already had reservations made) and then drove to Estes Park to see the beautiful Rocky Mountains and take photos.

Riding dirt bikes with Chase in Colorado.

I finally got on my bike again almost two weeks after getting sick and started to pedal by myself for a couple days to meet up with Chase, my biking partner for the second half of the trip. I found myself spending a couple unplanned days in Salida, Colorado where I met Mike, who showed me around town, and then guided me up my first 14er, Mt. Elbert. It was incredible being on the highest mountain in Colorado and one of the highest in the lower 48 states! Afterwards, I climbed 26 miles up and over the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass which was at 11,312 feet! At the top of the pass, I was greeted by Chase who randomly found me and I rode down the other side of the mountain and then hitched back to Pitkin where he and his family had rented a cabin for a few days. A few days were spent in Pitkin and Ohio City, Colorado with Chase’s family before we hit the road again July 14^th.

The adventures really picked up once Chase and I met and started riding together – we found ourselves first riding a short-cut from Telluride, CO to Moab, UT in two days and meeting a really nice woman by the name of Lauren. As it turns out, she invited us to have dinner with her (grilled steak and peppers along with pickled asparagus) and sleep in her camper van just outside of Paradox, CO. We then met Wayne, who gave us a lift from La Sal Junction to Moab and then into Arches National Park, where we wound up touring the park for four hours together. It was a great time and nice since Wayne hadn’t had an opportunity to see the park before so we all benefited! After Moab, we rode down to Monticello (I had to pick up mail) and then onward to Hite, UT (Lake Powell). This was one of the worst days (from Blanding, UT to Hite, UT) as the heat was on and the 88 mile stretch of no services didn’t help. We had to each carry 1.5 gallons of water and pedaled all day to get to Hite where we both felt like collapsing.

Long story short, we ended up catching a ride with Jack and his 7-year old (they were from the L.A. area) from Lake Powell in Utah all the way up to the Yellowstone National Park in the northwest corner of Wyoming! We were basically on their family vacation for 3 days and it was amazing. We had such a great time! Once we parted from Jack and David, we left to go to West Yellowstone where we ran into 5 guys that Chase last biked with in Missouri! Who knew we’d end up on the Transamerican Route in Montana weeks later and run into them! They were 5 guys who graduated this year from JMU and were doing the full Transamerican Route.

So a few more mile of pedaling we rode through Montana to Missoula where I bumped into my best friend’s ex-husband in a bike shop, saw my last chiropractor of the trip (6^th one), got my second flat tire, and did my last long uphill climb of 46 miles over Lolo Pass into Idaho! Just into Idaho, we met a great family from Frederick, Maryland who invited us to eat dinner with them and camp with them. We checked out some hot springs in Idaho before sluggishly reaching Washington where Chase wound up with another flat tire. Thanks again to nice people, we camped with a couple from British Columbia at a campground in Washington, camped on someone’s front porch in Walla Walla, Washington, and found ourselves chased out of a campground after we spotted three large snakes. Needless to say, we camped on the side of the road that night only 6 miles from the campground and exhausted we were after covering 106 miles in the blazing heat with some headwinds too!

Arrival in Oregon!

Finally into Oregon, we were getting exciting for reaching Portland. But it wasn’t over yet! We hit horribly strong headwinds in the Columbia River Gorge (apparently the windsurfing capital of the world), yet no one forewarned us of this! We battled the headwinds for a good 100 miles or so (on and off with the intensity), but once we were within 150 miles of Portland, the winds were really terrible! Chase wasn’t liking it and nor was I. We agreed to hitch-hike the last 90 miles into Portland so we wouldn’t pedal away for 2 more days to get there and instead could enjoy seeing Portland before having to continue down the coast (or in Chase’s case, before he had to fly home).

On August 9^th, we reached the Pacific Coast at Cannon Beach, Oregon. I had 3,570 miles at this point. Our last evening of the ride (coast to coast), we had to camp in a city park as all the campgrounds were full and the motels/hotels were all booked up. So to make our story more fun, we were awoken at 5:55am by two police officers saying “Police Department” multiple times outside the tent. We had camped illegally and they came to ask us to leave and well to check out whether or there were any warrants on either of us. We checked out okay and packed up and went on our way. We hitched back to Portland and spent a few more days there with Alina and Josh (high school friends).

The last leg of the trip consisted of me biking down the coast by myself from Nescowin, OR to San Francisco, CA. It was somewhere around 690 miles that I covered from August 11^th to August 19^th with no rest days. I met a lot of really nice people along the way and rode with several groups of riders as well. I met four motorcyclists from Victoria in British Columbia in Bandon, OR and then met again in Brookings, OR the next day, 100 miles later. It was fun to see the same faces again on several occasions and we really had a great time exchanging stories and hanging out at the campsites.

Arrival in San Francisco, CA - End Destination!

At last, I reached San Francisco on August 19^th around 6pm after riding 72 miles my last day. The ride was pretty easy with a few hills, but nothing major, and the sun was out for the majority of the day – only once I got into the bay area did the fog really begin to surround you. From August 19^th until August 25^th, I spent the time in San Francisco sampling some of the most delicious ethnic food while hanging out with one of my best friends — Iman, who flew out to meet me! We departed on August 25^th on a train back across the country which was just an amazing experience filled with meeting many more people, hanging out with Thane and Brenda from Sioux Falls and playing cards, and joking around with the Amtrak staff. Arrival into DC was mixed – the trip was officially over and I would have to re-acclimate to life back home with a full-time job and deal with the other surprises in life.

Thanks to all of you who helped me out along the way or supported me in one way or another to make this trip happen. The messages of appreciation and congratulations really meant a lot to me when I finished and I’m very grateful to the friends, family, and co-workers who encouraged me, supported me, and helped me make this a reality. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Thanks to you all!

Virginia:

• lots of rolling hills
• nice scenery and houses
• lots of horses and cows
• friendly people, however, the drivers aren’t as respectful of cyclists as elsewhere
• cowtails are easy to find in southern / southwestern VA (a candy called Cowtails)
• the Appalachian Mountains are pretty significant when you cross them on a bike. I think we have done the hardest climbs possibly for this entire trip. We’ll see though:)
• lots of dead snakes

Kentucky:

• there are lots of dogs in eastern Kentucky
• the poverty level in eastern Kentucky is incredible
• the roads are in bad shape – in particular in the eastern part. There are lots of huge gaping holes in the sides of roads and no guard rails
• they use ripple strips on the sides of all the roads in Kentucky. You know, like on the side of I-66, those ripple things are on all the roads in Kentucky. It’s useful, I guess, but sucks if you’re a cyclist and the road is really busy and you want to ride on the shoulder and there’s no “ripple-free” space.
• it’s also very similar to Virginia and scenic in the western part of Kentucky. More horses and cows in that part and fewer dogs.
• it seems in the eastern part of Kentucky, people have dogs as “guard animals” whereas in the western part, dogs are more like family members and pets.
• motorists seem to be a little more patient with cyclists and slow down more than those in Virginia.

Illinois:

• there are some rolling hills here, also straight roads. We drafted for 18 miles on a straight road – it had a few curves and a few bumps in the road, but otherwise it was pretty straight.
• the people seem friendly (from what we saw) – we had great people welcome us to camp at their place, and another great experience was staying at Rachel’s (who Ben from Warm Showers contacted, even though she wasn’t a member). We only spent 2 or so days in Illinois so it’s hard to say what the rest of Illinois might be like, but my opinion and impression was good. I would go back.
• lots of corn fields
• the drivers aren’t as courteous with cyclists on the road. They sometimes honk at you if you’re biking slowly up a hill.
• one day, I think I smelled stinky skunks on 5 different occasions.

Missouri:

• people seem friendly, but I have yet to have an amazing experience with anyone in particular from Missouri. I think one of the most friendly people thus far was Chuck (from Indiana) who I met the other night. Otherwise, I haven’t had much contact with the folk from Missouri. Although my latest chiropractor seemed really cool and friendly along with his staff in the office. They were all interested in my bike trip and asking lots of questions.
• there are a few dogs here, but not nearly as many as in Kentucky.
• the heat is the worst part of Missouri.
• it’s a scenic state with rolling hills, lots of farmland and horses and cows out in the pastures.
• in Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri I’ve noticed there are lots of what appear to be wild orange lilies growing on the side of the roads. I see them everywhere.
• lots of dead turtles here, fewer dead snakes, and fewer dog chases!

I have never in my life seen so much road kill until this trip. I should have tried to keep track, but then again, I think I would have gone insane… there is so much!

I saw a dead armadillo today on the side of the road – I think the first armadillo I’ve seen in real life outside of a zoo, and it had to be dead :/

Animals spotted on this trip thus far:

• Armadillo
• Chipmunk
• Mice
• Squirrels (duh!)
• Birds everywhere (duh!)
• Deer (almost ran into one at night when biking back from the library)
• Snakes
• Lizards
• Horses
• Cows
• Chickens
• Goats
• Llamas
• Fox
• Turtles
• Dogs (everywhere)
• Cats (several houses with multiple cats hanging out – like 14+)
• Bunnies/Rabbits
• and more that I’m probably forgetting

Speaking of which, there’s a cat just on the paved path in front of the courthouse right now. Looks like he’s grooming himself. I’d go pet him, but then again, I don’t want him becoming attached and coming and curling up inside my tent all night. He’s curious and cute looking – black and white

Kentucky here we are!

Today was a big milestone – we finished cycling through Virginia and are spending our first night in Kentucky!!!! Woohoo! It was a pretty decent day – started out cold and nasty out, then an hour or so after waking up the sun started to shine and it got muggy and humid… and we had hills to climb.

We climbed for the beginning of the morning and then got to the top of the first hill and coasted on down into Council, VA. On my descent down, I decided I wanted to try to break my max speed of 44mph, and so I cranked it on the beginning of the hill, passing Chris and going 47mph. I soon discovered my brakes wouldn’t stop me in time to make the sharp bend in the road – I braked as hard as I could without losing control of my bike and the tires skidded across the pavement. I thought I was doomed and going to wipe out at 40+ mph. Somehow, I managed to contain control of the bike and wound up slowing down enough to continue straight (instead of banking to the left to try and make the bend, which I knew wouldn’t happen. The bike would have skidded out from underneath me completely, had I tried). I kept straight into an area that had a gravel driveway – mind you, at this point, I was probably slowed down to around 20-25mph or so and ran into the gravel and then the grass behind it. Luckily, I was able to turn enough to avoid hitting the guard rail and regain full control of my bike. I smelled the rubber burning again and then got back on the road and continued down the mountain. That was my near-wipe-out for the trip… no more of that! I hit 47mph, so I think that’ll do it unless there’s a really nice straight stretch and no traffic, no bends, no rain, etc. Then maybe I’ll have a chance to break 50mph, but hopefully not by risking life again. After that, I think I scared myself good enough to be done with trying to max out any faster… my legs were shaking like crazy the rest of the way down the mountain… so enough is enough.

Shortly past Honaker, George broke his chain while cranking up the start of a hill. Lucky for him, I packed all the things he and Chris didn’t think to pack. I had bought a powerlink for the chain for just this, so I fixed his chain and we went on our merry way a short bit later. Thankfully, I packed medical (latex) gloves for just this, avoiding getting all that nasty grease and crap all over my hands. There was a ton of it too – we will need to degrease and re-lube the chains here pretty soon, I think. And of course now I need to buy more medical gloves since I mailed the rest home in an effort to lose weight. I mailed about 7.5-8.0 pounds of clothing and other odds and ends home last week and early this week to try to lessen my overall load. We continued on and had lunch in Haysi, Virginia at Subway inside a gas station.

My hands after fixing George's chain!

After lunch it was a bit hot and humid and we had some steep hills to climb. Finally, we entered Kentucky as we were coasting down from a hill. Things started to change pretty rapidly – to me it seemed as if the people cared less about trash and their state and just tossed whatever they felt like on the roadside. It was/is pretty trashy thus far in this part of Kentucky, seems like they burn their trash on the side of the road. We passed two pits of trash burning on the side of the road. We haven’t had any dog chases yet – seen a few dogs today, but none took the opportunity to chase us.

My gym mat for a sleeping pad inside the gymnasium in Lookout, KY

A storm was a-brewing and we knew we’d get caught in it, but decided to continue biking towards Lookout, KY to try to find a place to camp. We got here around 5pm or shortly before and stopped at the one and only grocer/gas station/general store type place and hung out there for a bit under the overhang to stay dry. We were already soaked, but why get more wet if we could avoid it. I found a hose around the side and sprayed my arms and legs off since my sunscreen was all nasty from the cold rain washing it off. The guys picked up a few things from the store and they were told we might be in luck and be able to camp out at the gymnasium up the road (we’d passed it on the way into Lookout). We went back up there and talked to a fireman next door and he said sure, we could camp. I wasn’t looking forward to putting up a tent on the wet grass and then being soaked in the morning (I don’t have a tarp at all or a footprint for the tent). I also hate packing away a wet tent if it won’t be able to dry out in a day or so. So I didn’t put up the tent but the guys did. I went and changed next door and used some good ole handwipes to clean off a bit. A short while later, about 6:30pm or so a car drives up – the people are friendly get out and offer to let us camp inside the gymnasium. So the guys go back and pick up their tents, bring them in and put them in front of the huge fan to start drying out. I hit the shower and then do a microwaveable dinner (Fettucini and broccoli packet by Knorr). It wasn’t anything to brag about, so I’ll try something different next time.

We played some basketball on and off this evening, I downloaded photos and started creating spreadsheets for tracking expenses and stats. Nerdy, I know. And now it’s late again – past 11pm and I must wrap up and hit the hay. Will upload all these blog entries whenever I find internet again!

Computer Stats:
60.71 miles
593 total miles
5:11:07 moving time
11.7 avg speed
47.0 max speed

GPS Stats:
59.6 miles
5:13 moving time
11.4 avg speed
46.2 max speed

Snake count: 1 today, 19 to date
Dog chases: I don’t remember, maybe 1 real attempted chase?

Woke up late this morning – about 7:20. Chris’ alarm went off at 6am, but none of us got up. We all slept pretty horribly, as we were sleeping on plywood without really much padding – just our sleeping pads, but that didn’t do much. Woke up sore from sleeping, but luckily just a little stretching and I was feeling better. We packed up and went to breakfast at Jerry’s general store/restaurant at the bottom of the hill – the guys loaded up on french toast, egg biscuits and such. I just had a sausage biscuit and orange juice – didn’t feel like loading myself down and being slow in the morning.

Around 9:30 we set off on the bikes towards Damascus, about 30 miles away. We climbed a hill/small mountain for about 5 miles then coasted downhill or relatively flat riding for another 20 miles into Damascus. We of course loved that part! Got to Damascus and there was a bike shop there, so I bought another set of brakes, since I was only able to buy one set at REI prior to leaving. Now I’m set for both front and rear – my brakes are pretty worn now after all the breaking on some of these steep downhills. I’ll wait a while longer before replacing though, since I still have some good braking power left.

Another 13 miles and we were in Meadowview which was supposed to have places to eat, etc., but in reality, there was only one place to eat. We had lunch there and I worked on my aerobars to try and raise them more – but they keep sagging with all the weight of the handlebar bag (the camera gear and all). We headed out around 3:30 to continue riding and climbed a huge mountain (Mt. Clincher) for 4+ miles which was a really steep grade.

Finally at the top, we took a small break and then flew down the mountain as it looked like the storm was approaching. We missed most of the rain – just pulled into Rosedale as the storm was approaching. Unable to find a place to stay, we went back to this church, hung out there under an overhang thing and at 7pm, five people showed up for the evening prayer. One of the guys was the husband of the wife who told me she didn’t have any rooms left at the motel…but he called her and had her get another room ready for us, so we went back down to the motel and checked in. We got hot showers and then headed to Pizza Plus for some dinner and now just about ready to hit the sack. Chris and George shared a double bed and I got my own twin size bed for myself:) I should have taken a picture of them to post, but I didn’t… maybe another time HAHA.

Hopefully we will be in Kentucky tomorrow – should only be something like 45 miles or so away… so if the weather isn’t too horrible, tomorrow night we should be out of VA which’ll be a nice change!

Computer Stats:
62.89 miles
532 miles to date
5:25:05 moving time
11.5 avg speed
44.0 max

GPS Stats:
61.3 miles
5:26 moving time
44.5 max speed
11.2 avg speed

Snake count: 3 dead, 2 alive; total to date: 18
Dog chases: 0
Aches/pains: feeling better today – I think today was my first day where I almost had zero back pain. I think the stretches the chiropractor in Blacksburg told me about are starting to help – I hope so anyway. I’ve been stretching my back a lot more and don’t feel the pain nearly as much anymore… hoping this is a sign of some recovery and that I won’t be biking across the US with this horrible back pain. Neck pain is also pretty minimal – I’ve been stretching my neck/shoulders a lot as well. No real pain associated with the actual use of my legs which is kind of funny. I just have upper-body pain because of my spine/neck apparently…haha. But I’m feeling good and much better than a few days ago before I saw the chiropractor.

As opposed to the previous 7 days, today we actually got an early start on the day. We woke up at 6am and were rolling out at 8am after breakfast, breaking down camp, and stretching and all. We hit rolling hills pretty much the entire day. Some hills were rather long, like our last one of the day – 4 miles uphill, but luckily it wasn’t HORRIBLE, just long and at the end of the day.

Otherwise, our day went pretty well.. we had a decent pace and told ourselves we wanted to get 40 miles before lunch, and we did that. We were at mile 43 when we stopped at a place called Pizza Stop in Rural Retreat and got an all you can eat buffet for $5.99 (salad and pizza). It was pretty tasty. Off we continued, hoping to put in another 20 or so miles to get to Troutdale to find a place to camp. George went inside this little country store and asked if there was anywhere nearby, not too far off route to camp. The man, Jerry, said that there was a hiker’s hostel right up the road behind the church. He said we could stay there and it was free (just donation-based) and that there were hot showers down at the church. So we hit the showers and then went back down to Jerry’s grocery/restaurant for dinner.

Afterwards, I came back up to the hostel and organized stuff, stretched, and hung out the tent to finish drying off from this morning, washed my shorts/shirt from the past two days and downloaded all the photos to the computer. George and Chris found a basketball and court up here and played for a little while. We have a neighbor in this free hostel/shelter – he’s hiking the Appalachian Trail and seems to be quite the talker, and also has a really strong accent – turns out he grew up in Montana. Anyway, off to sleep – tomorrow we’re aiming for Council, about 70 miles or so from here!

Computer Stats:
66.07 miles
469 total miles to date
5:57:19 moving time
11.1 avg speed
41.0 max speed

GPS Stats:
64.8 miles
6:03 moving time
10.7 avg speed
40.1 max speed

Snake count: 2 today
Dog chases: 1 that scared the shit out of me – but didn’t really chase. Just jumped out at me as I passed by.

We had a bit of a lazy day today – 3/4 of the day was spent relaxing and doing errands, the other 1/4th was spent riding 27 miles to a small town/village located off I-81 about 12 miles south of Radford, VA. The morning started with me seeing a chiropractor at 8am and having him adjust my back a bit and do some pressure point stuff and show me some more exercises and stretches to do for my neck and back. I biked back to Allison’s and the boys were just getting up (Chris was up and George was still in his sleeping bag).

Chris and I left shortly after 10 to bike to the post office so he could pick up his camera, then we went to downtown Blacksburg for him to get a hair cut and me to use the internet to post a couple photos online. Then we went to the Bike Barn in hopes of finding a new set of brake pads and Chris needed a new helmet. No luck for either. Then back to Allison’s to finish packing up and get George and then we went to this Mediterranean restaurant for lunch and I had some sort of gyro sorta thing with chicken and veggies in a pita. It was pretty yummy.

Finally, around 3:30 or so we started out on our bikes in the direction of Radford, skipping over Christiansburg completely (a little detour we made ourselves to cut off a little mileage of the ACA route). We rolled into Radford (15 miles later) and an hour or so later and found a Sonic and got some ice cream, called a Warm Showers host, but had no luck in reaching them. We then decided to continue biking another 10-12 miles or so until we would get to the next village or pass some campgrounds. We apparently passed some campgrounds, but never saw signs for them, so just kept on going in hopes of camping in a backyard again. We lucked out and are camped out behind a church in this village. We walked down the steep hill to Bojangles for dinner and then came back up, worked on bikes and are hitting the sack here now. Tomorrow we’re aiming for putting in a longer day, perhaps 70 miles or so. Let’s see what happens!

Chris' makeshift shower that he made/set-up behind the church in Newbern

Computer Stats:
27.02 miles
402.94 total miles
2:24:53 moving time
11.1 avg speed
38.5 max speed

GPS Stats:
26.5 miles
2:28 moving time
10.7 avg speed
38.1 max speed

Lunch stop on our way to Blacksburg!

Today was a bit on the grueling side, yet not horribly grueling. We had some climbing throughout the day with the rolling hills into Blacksburg. Our goal was to get to Catawba, VA for lunch – since the maps showed symbols of food and services. We got there and there was nothing open – the gas station/general store was closed. However, a few guys from the Appalachian Trail told us of this place called the Homeplace – it was the only place open to get food. It was a real mansion kind of house and they had set prices for all you can eat. We stopped there and had a real home-style cooked meal in a sense – all you can eat, was definitely appealing too. We had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, beans, coleslaw, apple cobbler, cherry cobbler and ice cream, lemonade and ice tea. It was definitely tasty and filling. A few of the AT hikers were chatting with us – they were from Boulder, CO and said we should go through there. We’ll see – I’d like to see a couple friends up there, but it’ll also depend on timing and how tired I am by that point.

After lunch, we had a little over 20 miles to go and knew we had to climb another mountain to drop down into Blacksburg. Luckily, George took the lead for about 10 miles or more and kept a good fast pace of 17-20 mph going. The roads had improved and were smoother surfaces so made riding a lot faster and easier. The hills had let up at this point and were a bit more rolling and we could pedal fast down and then more normal paced to get back up the next rolling hill. We made great time on those 10 miles or so.

George of the jungle

3 miles from Blacksburg we hit the mountain and it was the worst – we climbed something like 800 ft (maybe more) – I’d have to check the GPS again. But it was a really steep climb up and then a slight break down into Blacksburg, yet still a few hills on the residential streets. Finally, at 6pm we arrived at Allison’s to spend the night. After cleaning up and organizing ourselves, we went to the laundromat to wash clothes and then to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Afterwards we did a Walmart run to do a little restocking on things.

And finally I conked out around 12:15 after having to work on my back a little more with the tennis ball and TENS unit.

GPS/Computer Stats:
I forgot it back at Allison’s so don’t have stats for today … but I do know we have come 375 miles thus far on our ride across the country!!! We’re almost done with our first map from Adventure Cycling Association!

Snake count: 3 today, 11 to date 
Dog chases: 0 today, 3 to date 
Aches/pains:  A bit of back pain today – not too fun on the hills, but I made it to Blacksburg alive and well. I called a few chiropractors and left messages seeing if I could get an appointment in the morning. I got a call back and will be seeing someone at 8am tomorrow morning! Woohoo!

Camp spot behind Rescue Squad buildings in Buchanan, VA

We finished the day with some big rolling hills and wound up rolling into Buchanan, VA around 5:30pm and went to the Volunteer Rescue Squad to ask if we could camp on their grounds. They said yes and so we set up camp and then they came and checked on us a while later and  even brought us an entire case of water. Apparently the water in Buchanan has been contaminated and we can’t drink any of the well water, so would have to buy it otherwise, but the chief dropped a case off for us which was really nice.

The guys made a Burger King dinner stop and I cooked cheese rotini for dinner and then we cleaned up and I came to Main Street to use the internet in front of the public library and go grab some snacks at the Burger King.

Anyway, so things are going well – we’re all getting along great and have lots of fun and inside jokes are becoming more prevalent now. We’ve kind of gotten a pace going and know roughly when to take lead and rotate and such and everything’s going reall well. Tomorrow night we’re aiming for Blacksburg and will stay with Allison Long and her roommate down there before meeting Paul, our 4th rider, on Monday morning. 

We’re hoping our first rest day will occur after we get out of Virginia, so probably anoter 2-3 days – I’m not really sure!

GPS Stats:
62.1 miles
5:50 moving time
42.3 max speed
10.7 avg speed 

Computer Stats:
63.32 miles
5:42:31 moving time
44.0 max speed
11.1 avg speed 

Snake count: 2 today,  8 to date
Dog chases: 0 today, 3 to date 
Aches/pains: moderate back pain, nothing too horrible. Always feel great in the evening, just climbing hills with 65+ lbs of gear doesn’t do my back much fun.
Favorite piece of gear: voice recorder

P.S. Almost got caught for the second time cleaning up after the day – had just finished changing clothes and wiping down with wipes and no more than 3 minutes later the firechief came by to check on us… and rode past just where I had been.

Horses at Bill and Lynn Coffey's in Love, VA

Spent the night at Jen’s (former camp counselor of mine from 1996-1997 when I went to Nature Camp in Vesuvius, VA). We left around 9:45 in the morning and had a pretty long day on the bikes – finally ending around 7pm. 

The day was extremely tiresome – our most tiresome yet. We started at 384 ft as our lowest point and climbed to over 3200 ft, and went up and down multiple times on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was climbing for hours and taking many breaks at overlooks to replenish our energy and hydrate.

The Cookie Lady - June Curry!

Me, the Cookie Lady (June Curry), and George

Our polaroid picture that the Cookie Lady took of us for her albums

Before the Cookie Lady’s, we found a small stream/creek where we stopped and Chris used his water pump to get fresh water and we all played in the water. I went wading since I could and it was hot out – I just walked right in with my Keen Commuter bike shoes so that was awesome:) Very refreshing water and was a nice “morale booster” as George would call it. 

Camping in Love, VA

Chris had another bike issue – he blew a tire going around a bend as a car was passing…going uphill. We stopped, he repaired. We took photos and then we continued on to the Cookie Lady’s house in Afton, VA. There we met up with Mack again – he was just heading out as we arrived. June (the Cookie Lady) was really friendly and nice and had lunch stuff for us to make food and we checked out the bike house – it was packed full of postcards, notes, stuff that people left saying thanks and such. It was really neat. We then went and ate lunch with June on her porch and she took our picture with her old polaroid camera and we placed it in her 2009 album behind Mack’s picture. As we were leaving, guess who we saw? MACK! He was biking up from the same direction we had come from about an hour earlier – he did a full loop going uphill, then back down, and then climbing the mountain again. Poor Mack – I would have been drained if I had make that goof up. He decided to call it a day around 2-3pm and stayed at June’s house.

Hours later after all the climbing on the Blue Ridge parkway, we find ourselves camping in Bill and Lynn’s backyard. They were very nice and let us stay there and sleep in our tents and use the bathroom.

GPS Stats:
46.8 miles
5:32 moving time
8.5 avg speed
38.2 max speed

Computer Stats:
47.86 miles
5:26:12 moving time
8.8 avg speed
38.5 max speed

Miles to date: 253.56 total

Snake count: 0
Dog chases: 0 
Favorite piece of gear: Keen Commuter Bike Shoes!

P.S. Heard a bear roar as we were biking past on the Blue Ridge Parkway – pretty cool:)

P.P.S. Almost got caught by the wife Lynn as I was washing off outside the house where we camped. Phew, close call.

We had hoped to arrive early so Chris could get a haircut, so I could mail some stuff home, and so we could stock up on some food for the next day or two for camping. Needless to say, we didn’t get to Charlottesville early, instead we arrived around 6pm to Jen’s house. We had a bit of a mishap 30 miles into the ride – just at the lunch stop, Chris and I biked to the post office to mail stuff back home… on the way back down the hill Chris disappeared out of my sight when I looked back and later arrived back to our lunch stop (a little hitchin post deli). I asked George if he had seen Chris – he hadn’t either. So I biked back up to see what happened and there he was on the side of the road. He popped a spoke and couldn’t ride anymore. We tried one of my spokes, but that didn’t fit so then I asked a man if he drove a pick-up and was going towards Charlottesville. He said yes, and said he’d take Chris to the next bike shop up the road. He did and then George and I rode our bikes the 6 or so miles up the road to meet Chris again after getting his bike fixed.

Our team captain (George, aka  Amish Boy) decided we needed a morale boost so bought us push-up orange ice cream pop things at the gas station as Chris was finishing packing his bike up after having it repaired. It was yummy indeed especially since it was so hot out and the sun was scorching. We were literally dripping wet all afternoon from sweat and the heat on us. Our worst part of today, in my opinion was the last 15 miles into Charlottesville. Route 53 and another road were packed with traffic and it was windy and no shoulders… we rode in the middle of our lane sometimes so that cars couldn’t try to pass us and risk creating accidents and we’d have to hold our arms out telling them NOT TO PASS us as cars were on-coming. Some of the drivers were absolute idiots, but luckily no close-calls or accidents of any kind. We were really cautious and I thoroughly enjoyed getting into Charlottesville as opposed to riding on those roads leading us to the town.

Once in Charlottesville we went to Jen’s and she made us a yummy dinner – salad and veggie burgers and loaned us her car to run out to Performance Bike and Walmart. That was a little weird, only because we felt so out of our element – we were in civilization again and things were really strange from the perspective of a car or walking. It was a nice change of scenery though since we’ve mostly been out in the fields and boonies of central Virginia.

Things are starting to blur  really fast – our days are so similar and we can’t remember one day from another already. I can barely keep track of what day of the week it is and what the date is. I hope I don’t forget important things that I need to do back home via Internet or what not while I’m gone, but I have no sense of time. I ride all day and don’t know what time it is unless I deliberately look on my bike computer or ask Chris (he relies on a wrist watch). I thought those were out now since cell phones do everything for people now days. Overall, the day was pretty good, but definitely a tiresome one, especailly since we lost 3+ hours in our lunch break + bike repairs. We dealt with a lot of rolling hills, and hope it only better prepares us for what’s ahead tomorrow with the huge hill were all so curios about, yet dreading!

I’m exhausted and need some shut eye, but will update again when I get a chance. Most likely it won’t be tomorrow as we camping out after we conquer the huge hill after visiting the cookie lady in Afton, VA

GPS Stats:
Start time: 8:45am
End time: 6:00pm
57.3 miles
39.7 max speed
11.8 avg speed
04:51 moving time

Computer Stats:
58.47 miles
41.0 max speed
12.2 avg speed
4:47:16 moving time

Total distance to date: 205.68
Snake count: 1 for today, 6 to date
Dog chases: 1 today, 3 to date
Aches/pains: again, moderate back pain… leg pain is gone. Stretching a ton to keep muscles loose and not let them get too tight. Overall, feeling great., especially when off the saddle! Butt is definitely sore though – we’re all fighting that one!
Favorite piece of gear: insulated water bottles today, really nice to not have hot water!