Day 27 Falls of Rough to Owensboro 5/29

Stats:
Miles: 44.92
Calories: 4,143
Top Speed: 31.1
Average speed:  9.1

It rained last night for a couple hours. Our campsite at Axtel State Park in Falls of Rough was gravel, not the most comfortable. We paid extra for a site with power but with all the rain, we could not charge anything. The humidity was high, and bugs galore. I had taken a shower, was drying off, and saw something on my foot, I thought it was a leave but it was a spider the size of a half dollar. It was all I could do to contain myself. Ahh, the joys of camping.

We decided to go off route today. Why? We really needed to wash our stinky clothes. Down to only 1 set of cycling clothes I REALLY needed to get them washed, I needed internet access, and we both needed a real bed, i.e, a hotel. We would ride about 9 extra miles but it was well worth it. Owensboro is listed on the Adventure Cycling map as an option for services as the traditional route takes one through more small towns with perhaps a convenience store as the only option around for food and drink.

We packed up our wet tents, our clothes moist due to the humidity, and headed over to Becky’s Restaurant for breakfast.  A Western omelet for me, sans ham, and an all meat omelet for Lisa. I plowed through 4 cups of coffee wishing for more but knowing I would be visiting the “outdoor latrine” if I kept it up.  We have noticed when we stop at these out of the way diners we get a lot of stares from the locals I guess colorfully clad cyclists from faraway places are not the norm.

Pressing forward, up a hill and out of McDaniels (Falls of Rough) we enjoyed a much flatter terrain, until the afternoon.  On one climb I encounter my first turtle save. I moved him off the road in the direction he was heading and fortunately he did not try to pee on me, as most turtles do.

The humidity was terrible and the heat searing. Around lunchtime we arrived in Fordsville, another small community along the route. We stopped for lunch, a big scoop of chicken salad on at bed of lettuce $3.50, I should have ordered two. We chatted with interested locals about our trip and begrudgingly went back into the heat to continue our ride to Owensboro.

One more big climb and we pulled over to let traffic pass. Lisa needed to visit the “outdoor latrine” while I posted watch to give a holler if a car were to come by.  Three cars came up the hill, suddenly one turned right down the road where Lisa was. I shouted, “Lisa!, Car”. I was too late, I could see the driver turn his head as he drove by. I laughed out loud only imagining what he saw.

In the meantime I checked my phone for a signal. ‘Lisa, I’ve got bars” for the first time in nearly 3 days, I felt like I was finally connected to the outside world. Lisa came back and was relieved to hear the driver, “Saw nothing”.  Whew! Lisa also mentioned she saw a woman drive by with a half eaten soft swirl ice cream cone. “You know what that means?  There’s ice cream down the hill”.  That was enough to get me moving again to the town of Whitesville. I asked for a large cone in a bowl.  The woman at the counter needed some serious dental work, but the ice cream was good.  The cold of the ice cream and the air conditioned room seemed to bring my core temperature down.  I had a problem earlier in the day. As I was riding I felt a bit woozy. I stopped under a tree sipped lots of water, had some electrolytes, and a “goo” (what we call sports gel) and felt much better.

While at the ice cream shop I called some of the local hotels. One woman’s English was so poor I asked, “Do you take a AAA discount?”  “No, we take no checks”.   “No, do you offer a AAA discount?”  No, no checks!”   I give up, and the Budget Inn was no deal at $80 a night.

The ten miles into Owensboro was on a newly paved road with newly cut rumble strips, the deep ones, the ones that rattle your teeth. We had no choice but to ride to the left of them. It put us more in the lane of traffic but had no choice.

Lisa got one heckler, “You idiot”, well yes, we are, but what else can one do. We are not local, we don’t know another route to take into town, so “deal with it buddy”.  For the most part drivers gave us lots of room and the traffic was not so heavy there were plenty of gaps for them to go around. Fortunately the road was smooth and we had some nice down hills. We pedaled hard like horses to the barn for we knew a hotel awaited.

We arrived in town and asked about hotels. One woman told us the Motel 6 was on the other side of town but,” there is a Marriott” just around the corner. Lisa and I looked at each other and made a quick calculation; Budget Inn in $80, maybe $20 more buck or so we could have the Marriott.  Decision made, off to the Marriott. Being the “rug merchant” that I am I walked in and asked the cheerful fellow Joe,  “What is the price for two weary cyclists, I’m sure you have a special code for that”.  He gave us a great price of $109. OK, $30 more than the Budget Inn but they had a saltwater hot tub and free laundry soap! We got to the room peeled off our clothes donned our swim suits, started a load, and were in the hot tub within 30 minutes!  It felt wonderful.  After we had turned to prunes, and our clothes dried we started a second load washing our sleeping bags.

The evening was spent laying in bed, no TV, just our laptop, catching up on blogging, emails and the like. It was delightful.

Picture time:
I’m not living on this road…no way!!!!!

…I’ll keep you posted.

 

Day 26 Hodgenville to Falls of Rough (McDaniels ) 5/28

Stats:
Miles 50.90
Calories:41.06
Fastest Speed: 30.9
Average Speed: 9.3

I packed up early and rode to the public library to gain internet access; they had it. I sat outside on a stone step my fingers flying around the keyboard trying to grade as many papers as possible before Lisa arrived. She was still packing up and planned to stop at Ray’s for breakfast.
I had 8 papers out of 21 graded when she arrived; a start, but had more to do and was not sure when I would have internet again. I kept telling myself, trust. Trust an avenue would present itself.
We rode west out of Hodgenville. On one of the down hills I lost my turkey buzzard feather. I had lost my turkey feather in Alice Lloyd College and now my buzzard feather, both totems, gone. In Native American mythology the turkey symbolizes the following:
“The Turkey is a spirit animal closely associated with honoring nature and the Earth. Symbol of abundance, this totem animal encourages us to honor our sources of nourishment, whether they are physical, emotional or spiritual. The turkey reminds us to develop a harmonious relationship with the land and our environment and consider them as foundations to our well-being and sustenance. The Turkey totem is a powerful guide to unlocking the fullness of life and feeling content with what we have instead of accumulating material belongings to seek happiness.” http://www.spiritanimal.info/turkey-spirit-animal/
The next feather Lisa found for me, the turkey buzzard has another meaning in Native American symbology: “Buzzards are viewed negatively in most Native American tribes. In some tribes, they are seen as unclean and associated with death. In others, seeing buzzards flying is considered an omen of danger or strife. In Native American legends, Buzzard is most often portrayed as an aggressive troublemaker who lies, cheats, hoards resources that should belong to everyone, or uses his large size to bully other birds. Despite the negative roles they play in folklore, buzzards are still respected clan animals in some Native American cultures. Tribes with Buzzard Clans include the Menominee tribe (whose Turkey Buzzard Clan is named Apaeskasiw) and the Miami tribe. Some eastern tribes, like the Seminole and Lenape, have also had a Buzzard Dance among their tribal dance traditions.”. http://www.native-languages.org/legends-buzzard.htm

Now I will wait for my new totem to arrive.
Other news: Back in Breaks Interstate Park the raccoons carried off my bag with spices, salt , and cayenne pepper. They bit through the bag but all seemed to be intact. The following night in Lookout, KY I cleaned the bag with hot water and soap. I keep telling Lisa to watch out that I might develop rabies. The other day I got a rash on my leg. I told her, “oops, probably rabies!” The rash is subsiding but I told her, “See the rash is going away, it now probably going to my brain”. Lisa has volunteered to shoot me if I develop rabies.

The ride from Hodgenville included some gentle hills, but killer heat and humidity. On this stretch of the road we experienced our first Amish family. Apparently the Amish are settled in this part of Kentucky. Thunderstorms were brewing which kept the sun at bay.
The dog whistle continues to serve a grand purpose. I have used it many a time in an attempt to stop the dogs in their stride. Today a dog attempted a good chase. I blew and blew my whistle, eventually he abandoned his pursuit. I stopped a bit up the road waiting for Lisa to pass the dog incase he intended to pester her as well. Lisa rode up with no problem. “What did the dog do”?, I asked. “You must have scared him as he was cowering under the car”. Well, the whistle seems to be working!
Picture Time:

The masses of honeysuckle that line the many roads and fences.

A small family cemetery alongside the road, most likely before there was a road. The last death date was 1914.

…I’ll keep you posted.

Day 25 Bardstown to Hodgenville 5/27

Stats:
Miles: 46.37
Calories: 4,628
Fastest speed: 29.9
Average speed” 8.4

This was a bad day for me. Frustrated over having no phone or internet I will begin “philosophizing” immediately.

“Melinda’s Philosophizing”
I would suggest, as a culture, we are dependent on the internet. I am of a generation that did not even know the internet until into adulthood, in fact, I recall first getting ‘online’ in my early 40’s. If I am struggling with being off-line I can only imagine the pain the Millennial’s must feel when they can’t connect.  Throughout our travels in western Virginia and Kentucky I have offered my blog card to many adults and seniors (locals). Often, they are declined because they have no internet, or don’t know how to use it.  I feel pangs of disbelief when I receive that response yet there is simplicity to being free of the ties of the web and email . I just posted a picture of me riding behind an Amish buggy. Inside were 3 little girls the youngest probably 3 held the reigns as their father guided the horse.  I thought of the life these girls would have, unencumbered by the modern world yet missing so much. Would they eventually leave a shrinking lifestyle and embrace a modern world? Should they?  Living simply, away from the modern world offers real relationship compared to Facebook, a strong since of community, time to live close to the land, and for many, develop a strong bond with their perception of a creator.  For myself, I cherish riding in the fields, forests, and prairies, that is my connection to the seen and unseen world, but I do want the Ethernet connections and become impatient when the fail me.  I am working on patience this week as I live “off the grid”.

We left Bardstown with a climb, it seems most towns are in a valley of sorts and there is always a climb out. As the road leveled out I caught a sniff of something, “could that be”?  Yes, it was the smell of bourbon in the air; we were riding next to one of Kentucky’s distilleries. The air actually smelled like bourbon!

We continued to climb today and feared the hope for fewer hills was a myth.  After hours on the bike, sweating due to the heat and increased humidity, the hills finally flattened out. We moved into farm land mostly corn, grain, and dairy cattle.

Exhausted we approached a convenience store and I bought my, “I can’t do this anymore” food which is A&W root beer and a bag of salty potato chips.  I don’t know why I kept checking my phone seeing “no service” as it was only a frustration.  Knowing I had student papers to grade and deadlines the anxiety grew and the view before me revealed no cell towers and rural farms. I attempted to trust that an avenue, a solution, would open up and reveal itself.

While cock fighting is illegal in many areas of Kentucky, we have seen these cock farms with fighting roosters. We have asked locals and they shyly agree these roosters are for cockfighting. Here is one. As you can see there are many cocks and  small metal tents erected for some shade. I think PETA needs to do some work here.

We came to a “Y” in the road and, again, debated if we should take the short cut. Lisa took an “Arty Johnson” and tipped over.(Only those who remember the TV show “Laugh In” will get the joke). She was fine and no one saw her embarrassing fall. That is one problem with a loaded bike and or and trailer, if one gets off kilter; it will “take you down”. It was nearing 5pm, we were exhausted, so we decided to short cut might save our sanity.

Eventually we pedaled into Hodgenville, the birth place of Abraham Lincoln. The town square shows the community’s pride with a large status. The sun was behind the status so my picture does not show its impressive stature.

 

Our night would be spent in an outdoor shelter in a community park. Our map stated we should let the local police know we would be there. Asking a local we found the police department, it was closed and so was the town. It seemed to have rolled up at 5pm and it was now close to 6pm.  I saw a man closing up shop and rode over to get directions. He was extremely helpful and concurred the town rolls up at 5pm.  As we rode up, another hill, toward the community park I passed the public library and decided I would go there first thing in the morning, sit outside and grade student papers providing they had unsecure internet.  I was also informed of a restaurant on the way to the community park. We found “Ray’s”. We parked out bikes and went inside for a delicious meal. I had a “veggie” meal that included a salad bar, baked potato, and steamed veggies.  Lisa had Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes and gravy and topped it off with a Derby pie. I asked what that was as I was not familiar with it. It was similar to a pecan pie with chocolate chips mixed in; Lisa gave it a thumbs up. Thank you Ray’s of Hodgenville for a good meal and good service.

Fortunately the community park was less than a half mile away. As we entered another cyclist greeted us, a couple from Winston-Salem that had already travelled 1,300 miles. We pitched out tents and soon discovered the mosquitoes were out in force. We tried to sit and visit with the couple but the “biters” drove us into our tents.  However, there was magic afoot, there were fireflies in the grass surrounding the shelter.  I didn’t sleep well so when I awoke I would sit up and watch the fireflies dance. They danced a jig, a waltz, and the jitterbug just for me as I sat in silence in awe of their magic.

…I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 24 Chimney Rock to Bardstown

Stats:

Miles 39.5
Calories: 3,505
Top speed:  32.4
Average speed: 8.2

We left Chimney Rock at 7:19am heading West toward Bardstown. Our ride today would be about 46 miles as we needed to make up 8 miles from yesterday’s ride. We had an easy pace and rode among pastures. Lisa spotted a deer. From our conversation with Phillip in Hyden, deer were nearly killed off in the area but are making a gradual come back.

Four miles later we were in Bergin a small town with one stop light. We had not had breakfast or coffee, so we stopped at the local restaurant.  For $5.95 I got a 3 eggs omelet filled with peppers, onions, cheese, and tomatoes and a side of grits. I could barely finished it, but I “took one for the team” and chowed it down.

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We had a fun conversation with some locals. We talked about out trip, and the Kentucky issue of “Dry, Wet, and Moist counties. If I have it correct, in a “wet” country one can purchase alcohol, in a “dry” county one cannot buy alcohol, in a “moist” country restaurants and wineries can sell alcohol products.  From what I have gathered the churches are a strong influence in these decisions, and dry counties keep it on the ballot hoping for change. As one fellow stated, “People in a dry county still drink, they get it from boot-leggers or drive to the next county to buy it, why not make the county “wet” and keep the revenue local”.  Makes sense to me! We linger, probably too long at the restaurant and could feel the temperature rising.

After 10 or so miles we stopped and studied the map, we were not sure we had taken the correct road. We are using an older map we borrowed from Jodee since Lisa misplaced hers.  Stopping drivers to ask for directions is a gamble, often they are not sure of the directions. We found a convenience store and asked a fellow that drove up. He set us straight and we headed into a small historic town called Mackville.

The sun was hot, but the humidity worse. Out of water I pulled up to a a nice home where a girl was out front cleaning her car and asked for water. She happily filled all our bottles.  Twenty-five miles into the route, again, we missed a turn. Lisa consulted the map and feared we were on the wrong stretch of road. A fellow came by on his 4-wheeler and I flagged him down.  He delivered the bad news. “Your turn was about 5 miles back” . Arrrgh, not again It was too hot to consider retracing our steps. Me, Lisa, and Mr. 4-wheeler studied the map. There was another highway that ran below our route and went directly into Bardstown.  He offered to take us in his truck but I declined.  It was only 15-20 miles and I didn’t want to get in the habit of taking rides, we need to bike. We thanked him and we continued on our way. The road got very hilly with rollers, but I was keeping my eye on the storm brewing just south of us. We turned right on the bypass that would take us to Bardstown.

Finally, due to the approaching storm, we had a tailwind. We wasted no time and pedals as fast as we could as we had about 15 more miles before Bardstown. With the tailwind I got up to 21 miles per hour. After 9 miles our road and the nice and wide shoulder disappear, all we had left was a foot width of rumble strip. We couldn’t bike on the left of the rumble strip as that put us to close to the traffic and to the right of the rumble strip was about 6 inches. We rode as long as we could then pulled over in a driveway. We knew better than to try to maneuver the hills and turns with a steady stream of traffic returning from the Memorial Day weekend. Our only options were to retrace our route or “stick out our thumbs”. We chose the latter. There we were, 60 years old and 58 hitch hiking with 2 fully loaded touring bikes.  We were looking for someone with a truck. We were ignored by most, then our third Trail Angel appeared.  The white truck and driver stared as he drove by, we were hoping he would return, and he did. Matthew  in his white truck was our knight in shining armor. We thanked him profusely. He help load us up and off we went to Bardstown about 6 miles away.  He dropped us off at the My Old Kentucky Home State Park. Thank you Matthew for helping us out, we appreciate your generosity. Below is Matthew our third “Trail Angel”.

We pitched out tents used the parks internet until dark and went to sleep after an arduous day….I’ll keep you posted

 

 

 

 

Day 23 Berea to Chimney Rock 5/25

***** I’d like to wish my daughter a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Stats:
Miles 43.5
Calories: 3,924
Fastest speed: 36.7
Average: 9.0

We left Berea at 7:20am, super early time for us! The road out of Berea heading northwest toward Harrodsburg was delightful. Gentle rolling hills, few cars, and a few cows here and there to chat with, we even started some minor stampedes with some skittish cows. It seems we are finally out of the hollers and mountains.

We made on wrong turn as the road was not marked. As we stood on the road unsure if we should proceed a sign across the street said “Gospel Barn” and included the number of the pastor. The property had an adjoining house so I decided he lived on site. I called the number and an elderly man came out and set us straight. “Go back down the road and turn left at the big brick house”. I asked him the history of the ‘ol brick house with 3 fireplaces. He said, “It was in a family for a long time, its 200 years old”. We thanked him, turned around, and got back on track.
Around 11:30am we stopped at a church parking lot to eat some lunch. The next 5 miles were uneventful, the road curved, so we curved. We heard a woman holler, “That’s the wrong way”. Naaahh, couldn’t be. We circled back. Surely we would set her straight; after all we do have the maps. The woman said, “The sign is down. Had some fellers through here on Wednesday from England (Paul and Terry), they got turned around too”. We double checked our map and decided she was correct. I asked, “Where does that other road go? “ It’s a big loop, she stated. She informed us there were some steep hills ahead but we didn’t pay much mind, we are out of the hilly area, right? Back on course we continued around a few bends and the road began to climb. There were 3 big climbs. The first 2 I was able to ride up about half, feeling the need to not let the hill win the last one I powered up as it rose to 15%.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I CLIMBED IT!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melinda’s Philosophizing”- Climbing hills go hand in hand with cycling. The 3 hills we climbed today ranged from 8-15%. As I powered up the 3rd hill I made a conscious decision, this time, to fight the hill,  and stay in my saddle. This time I was not going to give in to her. I nearly bailed toward the top but kept fighting. I think about how often people give up when life gets tough. I think it often has to do with fear. Fear is a very powerful emotion that can lead us around by the nose. One of my favorite sayings is: “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”
We were 8 miles to Harrodsburg but decided to stop at the Chimney Rock RV park. Why? The only place to stay in Harrodsburg was a county park 3.5 miles off route and most likely had no showers.
Chimney Rock RV park was a happen’in place. It seems that most all the spaces at taken year round. People just leave their trailers on site. There is a lake and marina nearby so there is a lot of boating and…partying. Things were still going strong at 11pm .
After we set up our tents and sat in the commons area to do some blogging we were overwhelmed by the smells coming from dozens of bar-b-ques. We told one the fellow it was almost “painful” as we were having noodles for dinner. A true gentleman, he stopped by a short time later and invited us for dinner. We, of course accepted.
I had never heard of a “Country Low-Boil”, but it all ended up in a kiddie pool. Ingredients: shrimp, whole onions, corn on the cob, potatoes, sausage.
All of this is boiled/simmered on a low heat and when done, put in the pool. The party included about 20-25. Lisa was happy as they also had ribs and pulled pork. Others brought dishes from home and I gorged myself!
In the commons area people gathered for singing and guitar playing (country).
We finally excused ourselves and waddled home, and swore we would never eat again. We had a melatonin as a night cap, and off to sleep, as the locals had a ho-down in the commons.

The area has many stone fences. I have no idea how old they are.

 

 

Day 22 Errand Day in Berea, KY

This morning we had to wash clothes, get supplies for the coming week, and go the post office to pick up our next map. The bike shop was closed (holiday weekend) so we will have to get new break pad down the road.
Lisa discovered she was missing the western Kentucky/Illinois map so her husband mailed it to Berea. The cycling clothes I left in Lookout did not arrive so the post office will be forwarding the package to Sebree, KY, about 6 days ride from here.
Our motel was right across the street from Walmart so we did our shopping. I bought a headlamp. I didn’t bring one but have found I need one while camping as we often arrive at dusk and find ourselves cooking dinner in the dark. I picked up more gluten-free pasta, canned clams, bananas, and some parmesan cheese.
By the time we finished laundry, shopping and other errands it was 1pm. We decided to stay in Berea one more night so we can leave early. We will head to Harrodsburg tomorrow (46 miles).
Some history about Harrodsburg:
“The earliest settlements in the Kentucky wilderness were made in the rich, fertile, Bluegreass region of central Kentucky. One of the first explorers in the area was Captain James Harrod. His first visit west of the Alleghenies was made in 1773, at the age of 31. In the spring on the next year, Harrod and a company of 30 men made a voyage which opened up the Kentucky country to settlements as much as did Daniel Boone’s now-famous Wilderness Road. On June 16, 1774, after coming upriver then overland Harrod’s company made camp at a spring in north-central Kentucky. The encampment would be known as Harrodsburg, the first permanent white settlement west of the Alleghenies” (Adventure Cycling, map 10).
The hills don’t seem quite as steep in Berea and hopefully they will remain that way so we can put in some good mileage. We are about 3-4 days behind schedule due to the steep Kentucky terrain.
..I’ll keep you posted

Day 21 Lay-over in Hyden

5/22/14
Stats: None

Location: Hyden, KY

I woke up about 7:30am which is “ sleeping in” in our current world.  I enjoyed 2 cups of coffee and added some hot chocolate mix as a treat. I was feeling a treat was in order since our Trail Angel Rodney would be delivering us in Berea by this evening. The small mom and pop restaurant next to the RV park sparked an idea. I gathered up all our dimes, nickels and pennies (exactly $1.10) and walked in the restaurant. I laid down my cash, “Will that buy me 4 eggs?” He smiled and chuckled, “Yes, that’s exactly how much 4 eggs cost”? I brought my bounty back to our patch of grass, heated up the frying pan and doused it with coconut oil. Lisa passed on the eggs so I enjoyed 4 scrambled with salt, dill, and cayenne.

After breakfast we found shade under the eaves of RV park office and have been on our computers for hours waiting for Rodney to end his workday. We had a hunch we looked out of place sitting in rural Kentucky in our REI foldable chairs, net books blazing away and every socket of the outside outlet taken up with power cords. Our hunch  was confirmed by looks from the locals as they meandered in the RV office, ( i.e. man cave), to swap stories and chat about the days “goings on”.

Our patch of grass in Hyden, KY

In my last post I “philosophized” about  the importance of allowing things to fall into place as they should be even when one doesn’t know how or where the pieces will fall.

When we met Phillip, I knew he was one of the puzzle pieces that fell at my feet. Had we stayed on the traditional route, I would have missed Phillip.

We spoke with Phillip for about an hour. Lisa and I asked questions, Phillip shared. Phillip was born in 1950 and his great-great Grandmother was full Cherokee. In addition, he reported there are old Indian villages and caves in the area, “below my holler, about 7 mile (sic)’. Had I had the time I would have loved to explore them.

 He remembered Mary Breckinridge an early pioneer in Midwifery who rode horseback in and around Hyden (rural Kentucky) providing public health services and delivering babies in Hyden. Her story is interesting, I have provided a link.

http://www.greatwomen.org/women-of-the-hall/search-the-hall/details/2/26-Breckinridge

Statue of Mary Breckinridge

Phillip states he was delivered at home by one of Mary Breckinridge’s nurse “Miss January” and was one of nine children. One of his brothers died at age 3 from rheumatic fever.  Growing up, he suggested life was hard but emphasized, “ They were happy”. They lived off the land surviving by fishing, tending a garden, hunting rabbit, squirrel, ground hog, muskrat, and possum. He stated he did not like possum because, “it has a tail”.

I had to ask, “What does ground hog taste like”?  He stated, “Ground hog is gamey but good baked with pepper, we would dig them out of the ground” .His father, talking about hunting muskrat would say “We have to try this gentleman (sic)”

 He added, back then, “We had no money, and there was no free stuff” (welfare, food assistance). He shared that his father was in the Army and was discharged due to ulcers and received a pension of $27.00 a month then took up carpentry. “A sack of flour cost $1.50 and if they had to borrow sugar, they would pay it back bartering fish”. Each child had one pair of shoes a year and would be resoled if needed, during the summer they went barefoot (like most kids).

I asked him some specific questions about his community. He stated the population in the 1950’s, was about 15,000, now it’s 10k. “People are having fewer kids, and 70% get some kind of assistance and there is 18% unemployment”.

I asked him about teen pregnancy. “Growing up it was taboo to get pregnant before marriage. I asked, “What if your sister had gotten pregnant”?  He chuckled,  “she’d  better get married before dark”.  He stated his Mother married at 16 or 17 .

For many in rural Kentucky the “outside” world is not considered safe and we were “foreigners” because we did not live in the local county.

Phillip was a treasure. He allowed us to gain a better understanding of the local culture, community and traditions. All the people we have met and engaged with have been warm and welcoming. As the fellow who owned the restaurant said, “Do you have enough to eat over there? We won’t let you go away hungry”.

Rodney arrived at 4:30pm as promised. We loaded our bike and gear in his truck and off we went to Berea about a 45 minute drive. Lisa and I speculate we save 2-3 days of mountain climbing. While we missed a few small towns on the map what we received in hospitality and friendship easily makes up the lost miles. Thank you residents of Hyden, you added so much to our journey.

…I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

 

Day 20 It was the best of times and the worst of times

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”

Stats
Miles: 25.08
Calories: 5,387
Top speed 30.5
Average speed 7.2

**NOTE : My phone is back!!!  I emailed Straight Talk yesterday (yes I have the WalMart plan) and said I should be getting service but am not.  When we got in to camp I tried my phone, just for the heck of it and, “I got bars”. I was then able to retrieve email and Straight Talk had remotely reset my phone and it was working! Thanks Straight Talk!

We had a good night’s sleep in Hazard. The beds and pillows were comfy, we lounged around in the morning neither one of us excited to start ascent. Lisa rerouted us again to minimize our climbing through the Kentucky mountains, not hills, mountains.

She routed us south of Hazard, west on Hwy 80 with goal of taking the Hal Rogers Parkway. We stopped at a market and picked up food as the small towns we would pass in the next few days may or may not have anything but convenience store, which for me, leaves little selection. I have noted when we do stop at local markets the selection of fruits and vegetables are slim, the selection of prepackaged foods and snacks high.  Although, while riding, I have observed many homes have gardens for fresh veggies and canning. Feeling positive about our new route we headed out on to the Hal Rogers Parkway, wide shoulder but heavy traffic. Shortly, Lisa noted a sign that said “Bicycles Prohibited”.  Oh no!  Should we run the risk of being bicycling offenders? Risk being hauled off to jail to spend the night with a roof over our head and 3 square meals? Hummm, let me think about that, there are some possibilities there. We decided to be law-biding citizens and not risk the Parkway with speeding cars and coal trucks. We headed down the empty on ramp and got on 80 West.  The next 5 miles were pleasant as we meandered though the rolling terrain, but within 5 miles the road turned back in to 8-10% climbs. As we crested one tough hill, there it was, the “First and Last Chance” Liquor store.

We met the owner, Mr. Clark and his two dogs. Surrounding his store were chickens, roosters, and a peacock that was happy to show off his plumage, an evolutionary adaptation to turn the girl’s heads, however, the only girls to impress at the First and Last Chance liquor store were a few Banty hens.

For the next 11 miles we inched, crawled, crept and pushed our way south. I pondered if we should have just stayed on our route over the Buckhorn mountains and dealt with the 3+ climbs and multiple switchbacks.  Had we allowed the wide-eyed stares and warnings from the locals about Buckhorn to intimidate us?

Our route took us deeper south, we were to turn on to Route 421 which would take us over the mountain with lower elevation.  Finally, we reached the small town of Hyden. Lisa saw an optometry shop and stopped to pick up a glass case as she had lost her case somewhere along the route. She was in the shop, which seemed like forever,  when she came out she had a foreboding look,  all she said was, “We are in big trouble”. What?  She had learned from the locals that route 421 was a narrow winding road used by coal trucks. As one said, “Two coals trucks can barely pass each other on that road, there is no way you can get across that road on a bike”. There was no turning back, we did not have the energy to retrace our 25 miles and proceed on the original route over Buckhorn. We are already days behind schedule due to the mountainous terrain. The folks at the eye shop informed us there was an RV park about 4 miles down the road. It was the only option for the night. From there, we would sort out the day and make a plan.

Melinda’s Philosophizing:  In a previous post I stated I need to trust that the right people and the right things would cross our path. As we left Hyden heading toward the RV park, exhausted, not knowing how we would get out of these mountains, questioning our decision to go south, off route. I didn’t know what we would do. Would we decide to try Hal Rogers Pass? Would we be taking a gamble and heading over Route 421? Should we lose 2 more days retracing our steps and go over Buckhorn? I let the need to make a decision go, the answer would come, an outcome revealed.

The 4 miles to the RV park seemed like 10. We rounded one more bend in the road and there it was. We spoke to the man in charge and Lisa handed over her last wad of cash, $10 for a patch of grass close to the bathrooms and shower.

A few fellows stopped by to say hello and ask where we were headed and where we were going, we received startled looks, and again, confirmed we did NOT want to ride route 421. Then, Lisa told me the unthinkable, “We should try to get a ride to Berea.” I thought it through and agreed, trusting some good would come out of this decision reminding myself it is about the journey, not the route, not the miles, but the adventure, the flexibility, and the spontaneity. If not, we would be stuck in the mountains for 3-4 more days and would have to ride out on Hal Rogers Parkway only because of its wide shoulder.  Both Lisa and I planted the seed with a few the  men that stopped by, “Do you know anyone with a truck that would be willing to take us to Berea?” Most shook their head. One fellow said he would ask his wife and I could see his wife calculating dollars signs to help us get out of our mess. No matter what, we knew we would have to pay but they would have to take our word as we had no cash left except 2 dollars and some change. We have plenty of credit cards and debit cards but many don’t take them in these rural communities.

Then, Rodney showed up our second Trail Angel.  Rodney stopped by the RV office and must have heard about our woes. Rodney works locally on the new Veterans Cemetery. He came over and explained, “He lived in Berea and would be heading home tomorrow and would be happy to give us a lift”.  The way out of the mountains had been revealed.

Rodney, with a chaw of tobacco, would be coming by around 4:30pm to pick us up in his truck.

We finished setting up camp, took a welcomed shower,  and made dinner. I soaked my rice noodles, drained them, and opened a can of chopped clams. I added some coconut oil, a dash of Himalayan sea salt and cayenne. It was delicious. Desert was a banana and a bite size Lara bar.

As I snuggled into my sleeping bag I knew the stars had aligned for us,  Rodney our Trail Angel had been placed on our path, and our decision to deviate from the route had brought to our doorstep, new people and a new adventure.

….I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

Pictures

I am often trouble by the word “atrocity” used in describing an Indian uprising. Does one ever see a sign that say, “White settlers atrocity, band of native men, women and children killed”?

Abandoned mill with a water wheel most likely from the early 1900’s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you see the eye in the sandstone? I think we were being “watched”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That will get anyone’s heart pumping. While our route did not follow 80, we were still routed up horrific switchbacks.

 

 

Day 18 Alice Lloyd College to Hazard (5/21)

Day 19  Alice Lloyd College to Hazard (5/21)

Stats:
Miles: 25.70
Calories: 4,570
Top speed: 29.2
Average speed: 8.3

Good news! The “camera gods” have smiled upon me. My camera started working again. Or, after a day buried deep in my pannier maybe the camera had some time to think about its bad behavior and decided to straighten up and fly right.

We hit the jackpot staying at ALC (Alice Lloyd College). We got up around 6am and got packed up. We then headed over to the campus Café for breakfast. I ordered 2 cheese omelets and a large coffee. Lisa ordered the same but with meat. Since I tend to bolt my food, and I was hungry, I finished first and headed over to the computer lab. I caught up on bills to pay, emails, and posted a gaggle of blog postings. We left the college about 11am, late, but we knew we would make our destination today in plenty of time as Lisa (now dubbed Pocahontas) did a bit of re-routing. Tired of switchbacks, coal trucks, and grades that exhausted our legs, Lisa found a route on Google that would get us to Hazard.

The route out of the college was gentle. We passed a small convenience store and decided to grab some snacks for the road. It was an interesting experience. The store had the usual selection of pop and water but there were also other items like 1 can of tuna, 2 cans of pork and beans, and a mix and mismatch of everything else. I was checking expiration dates very closely. I finally decided on 2 small bags of peanut, chocolate expiring this month (it was on sale), and a bottle of O.J. I took my bounty to the counter and was met by a woman who looked, shall I say, well worn. She greeted me with a toothless grin. “Where ya’all heading?  I said, “To the Oregon coast”. Now it could be me, but I have noted that I get odd looks when I say that, like most don’t quite know where that is! Or, it could be a language barrier, I often can’t understand what the locals are saying, it is obvious my ears are not tuned to the flavor of the Kentucky language. Sometimes Lisa and I just nod.

Lisa’s route led us back into a holler, oh great! This holler was winding and pretty desolate. I had my whistle poised ready to blow if needed for “holler dogs”. We had a few chasers but the whistle repelled them. I’m starting to feel a sense of power with that whistle. The holler road finally ended at a T which led us to a two-land highway. What a delight, the road was pretty level and we could finally pedal, pedal, pedal instead of walking, huffing, and puffing. The two-lane merged into a 4 lane, it had a 15 foot shoulder which we enjoyed as there was more traffic to deal with. We also contended with a rumble strip which we had to continually avoid. We had one long climb, but nothing like the switchbacks, and at the top we got our reward, a small ice cream stand. We could not help ourselves, we indulged. It was the best cup of ice milk, sugar, artificial flavors and colors ever had.

We eventually made our way to Hazard, KY. We rode into town and went looking for locals that could direct us to a hotel as Hazard has no camping. We walked down Main St and were directed to the Combs Hotel. It received a good rating from the locals. The hotel is old but the rooms well cared for and the fellow working in the office was delightful and helpful.  He told us a storm “was a comin” (sic), so we were glad to be hotel-ing it.

The thunderstorm has arrived at our door step, literally. Lisa opened the door and the rain blew in. We have lightening and a promise of a thunderous night. We are glad to be in a hotel tonight, so is our Father! (right, Dad!). …I’ll keep you posted.

Rock formations in the sandstone

water running over rocks

Day 18 Lookout to Alice Lloyd College (5/20)

Day18 Lookout to Alice Lloyd College ( 5/20)

Stats:
Miles 41.60
Calories: 9,501
Top Speed: 25.2
Average speed: 8.2

We left the Church/Hostel in Lookout, KY at 8:15am, we had a nice ride for a few miles then we had climb out of the holler. As I rode I came upon a cemetery. It was unique as it was up on a very steep hillside. However, when there is nothing but steep hill sides in the holler, where else does one have a cemetery? I could tell by the shape and coloration of headstones the cemetery dated back to the civil war and maybe further. I didn’t go investigate as it would have been an arduous hike and we needed to get a move on.

I was about a ¼ mile ahead of Lisa so I thought I would stop and chat with a local lady out sweeping her steps. I asked her about the cemetery that was across from her home. She stated:  “The cemetery goes up this hill and back into the holler”(sic). I asked about the dates of those buried. “They go back to the civil war, I have a relative that lived to 98 that is buried there and so is his daddy, we have a plot that goes back into the holler” (sic).

I asked her about the family dynamics. “ I have lived here all my life (age 48). I was raised in the house down the road, and I lived in another house on the other side of the creek”. I asked, do people stay here when they graduate from high school?  ‘Most do, I have a son that is thinking about leaving, but most just stay, it’s just what we do”.

For days I have been thinking kids bolt after high school, to get away from these small towns and see the world. From my conversation with this one resident, it doesn’t seem to be the case. Community and family ties seem to keep generations together even though the economy is depressed and coal mining minimal.

Once we entered Kentucky we have had to deal with dogs; barking dogs, dogs off leashes, and dog chases. So far we have won all sprints. Jodee left her whistle with me before she headed home and it has really come in handy. Thanks Jodee! It is quite loud and seems to startle the dogs enough to distract the chase.

Today we did a lot of “cross training’ i.e., walking up hills. It was hard! On one hill we walked close to 4 miles. One has to push through it as, what is the option? Lisa has developed a blister on her ankle from walking. It is hard to keep a Band-Aid on it because of the sweat.

I was a bit stressed out today, OK, a lot stressed out,  as I have not had cell phone service so I can’t use my hot spot.  As some of you know, and others not, I am teaching a college class online as we ride across America.  It works out well when I have cell service as the hot spot works off cell towers and I have Verizon so , technically, should not have a problem. However, in Kentucky, we are not near any major populations so I have had no service. Today I was getting desperate.  We passed a church and thought I would see if I could use their computer but the church was closed. I spoke to a woman in her yard and she said there was a Library up the road. We went to the library and it should have been closed, but today was voting day. I was able to sit in the library and work on my class ‘stuff”.

My need to stop to work on my class delayed us an hour. A vital hour to make it to Hindman. There was no available camping in the small towns preceding Hindman so we were trying to figure out what to do. We had about decided to look for churches with outdoor shelter, or as a last resort, find a really nice house (difficult on our route) and ask the homeowners if we could camp in their yard. While that seems odd, in the touring cycling world it is common. Keenan who we met in Wytheville has spent many a night with welcoming strangers. We then passed a Fire and Rescue station, I hiked up their driveway to see if I could get some local information and were told about Alice Lloyd College who is known for hosting cyclists. So, that was our new place to lite, we would try to make it to the college .

Our shelter at Alice Lloyd College

We arrived at Alice Lloyd College around 7pm. The students were gone for the summer and only the support staff was there. We ended up taking shelter under the eaves of the library which was across from the student center where the bathroom was located. A few employees stopped by to welcome us and we had the opportunity to learn about the college. Alice Lloyd College is small (700 students) yet unique. The focus on leadership and community service. It was founded by Alice Lloyd in the early 1900’s providing education to the youth in the surrounding areas. Students work on campus during the school year and summer to pay for their tuition, most graduate with no debt (awesome).

We spent some time blogging then went to bed as we were exhausted….. I’ll keep you posted..

Melinda’s “Philosophizing”- I need to work on trust. Trust that the right thing will arrive at the right time. The library should have been closed, but it wasn’t. I was able to sit in the library for an hour and catch up on my student’s postings and do some grading. We were not going to make it to Hindman, but the right people were placed on our path to tell us about the Alice Lloyd College.
Sometimes it is the unexpected; the unplanned events that add sparkle to one’s life.

Day 17 Breaks Interstate Park to Lookout (5/19)

Day 17  Breaks Interstate Park to Lookout 

 STATS:

Miles: 21.09
Calories: 4,034
Top Speed: 32.9
Average speed 8.7

There is a correlation between the low miles and hills we climb. While we had hoped to get into camp by 3 or 4pm we are often arriving around 5 or 6pm.

We enjoyed our camping experience last night although our clothes still smell like “ode de wood smoke”. We left Breaks about 8:30am and headed to Lookout.  We had a nice downhill, our breaks squealed, and our rims heated up. When we got to the bottom of the hill, there it was, “Welcome to Kentucky”. We have now officially completed one state! We were also greeted with the ominous coal trucks! We headed up another tough grind of a hill but this time we had to watch our backs literally due to the trucks. We played it safe and pulled over and off the road when we heard the roar of the truck, sometimes coming both ways.

Lisa and I have decided that the most prevalent rock is lime stone. One can see actually see layers of coal between the rock. As soon as I get phone service I will download my pictures. I have been without my phone for a day now. My, how dependent one becomes.

We after more up hills we made our way down into the holler and into the small town of Lookout. We stayed at the Lookout Baptist Church in the gymnasium. The local boys were playing a basketball game that night so we got to enjoy the game.  We also enjoyed conversations with some of the locals and discovered problems in the community such as a high teen pregnancy rate, drug use, and grandparents raising grandkids. Their community issues are no different than other towns. The locals are very pleasant and welcoming and are grateful for their hospitality. In addition, we were joined by 2 other cyclists’ from Bellingham, WA. We pulled out the wrestling mats for beds and spent a comfortable night. The gym also had a full kitchen and shower which was a real joy. 

Physical issues: My right shoulder blade muscle is bothering me and it makes it painful to turn over while sleeping. I think it is due to pushing my 85 lb bike up all those hills (bike+gear).  When I began this journey I didn’t think I would be pushing my bike very much, was I wrong!  Many of these hills are 9-10% for miles. Tackling them in the morning on fresh legs is one thing, but by late afternoon one has little strength left. Since the weather has turned cooler I have not had “hot spots” on my feet. In fact for the past few days I have worn my full booties over my cycling shoes due to the cold mornings.

Day 16 Rosedale to Breaks Interstate Park

5/18

Day 16  Rosedale to Breaks Interstate Park (Virginia/Kentucky Border)

STATS:

Miles: 45.57
Calories: 7,592
Fastest Speed: 30.8
Average speed: 8.3

We were a little slow getting going in the morning. The hostel was warm with a full kitchen. We were able to have coffee, oatmeal, and take our time packing. I think the real reason for our slow beginning of the day was it was another cold morning.

We left Rosedale heading for Breakers Interstate Park. We knew we would have some climbs today yet we seemed to find a number of reasons to delay our progress. We rode into the small town of Honaker. We had been told to get any food supplies there are little to none would be found on the road. We spotted a “Family Dollar” store I picked up some sardines, potato chips (for their salt content only..ha), instant mashed potatoes, and oysters.

 I know, sounds disgusting but dinner was to be mashed potatoes and oysters. I came back out to baby sit the bikes while Lisa went in to get her groceries. Finally ready to get going we decided we needed a cup of hot chocolate at the gas station across the road.  Eventually, we rode out of Honaker around 10:30am.

We had a big climb out of the town. There always seems to be a big climb, I guess people prefer building towns in valleys.  The road to the next town of Haysi was pretty good, no big climbs. We arrived in Haysi and passed through their one stop light, turned left and then it happened, one of the toughest climbs we have had. There is no story to tell, no revelations, just chugging forward, trying to keep mentally focused.

Melinda’s “Philosophizing”- There is something that propels a person forward, to push and fight through pain, whether it is physical, or mental. It maybe a gene. Researchers recently have found a gene which has been dubbed the “risk-taker” gene and can be found in those who scale skyscrapers, climb cliffs, and ski down mountains at breakneck speed. Riding the TransAmerica Trail is tough; it forces one to dig deep, to not give in and to fight for every inch of road. I haven’t yet figured out what keeps me going forward, what keeps me struggling and fighting up every switchback without any thought of quitting.  When I have an epiphany, I’ll let you know.

As I turned the corner I saw it, “Entrance to Breaks Interstate Park”. I had done it, I had made the climb. I waited for Lisa to join me and then we rode into the park. We were greeted at the gate house. She said the Adventure Cycling group was there at the lodge, “Are you with them?” I was tempted to say yes and perhaps Lisa and I could simple sneak into the lodge for the night. Reluctantly, “No, we are by ourselves and need a tent site”. Her next words heavy with a southern accent hung in the air, “Well then, you have more riding to do”. It was all we could do to not sit down night there in protest! We begrudgingly got back on our bikes and started riding. We finally found the camp store, bought our pass for the night, and rode up to the camp site. The site was heavy with gravel so Lisa went back to the camp store and asked if we could have the site across the way that had more dirt than gravel. It also had power!  They didn’t charge us extra (I think they felt a bit sorry for us). Lisa did not come back empty. The ranger followed her up with 2 bundles of firewood. She was thinking! We enjoyed our evening sitting by the fire reliving the experiences of the day. Dinner of mashed potatoes and oysters was surprisingly good.

As the night wore on the cold crept in and we retired to our tents hoping for a good night’s sleep.

In the morning I found a tick on my tent, YIKES!. We spent the morning checking our clothes, selves, and stuff for anymore hijackers!

 

…I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

Day 15 Troutdale to Rosedale “We are alive and well!”

5/17

****Sorry for the delay in posts, we have not had internet access for nearly 3 days. I am going to post pictures later. Right now I want to get you caught up.

STATS:

Miles: 54.26
Calories: 7,682
Top Speed: 32.3
Average Speed: 8.8

We left the hostel at 7:15am with a promise from the church pastor of a restaurant 4 miles down the road. The morning was cold as it had dropped to 35 degrees during the night. Our bikes had frost on the handlebars!

However, we had a warm night’s sleep as the hostel had base board heat. The wood bunk was hard, but it was a free night. The road out of Rosedale was a gradual climb which was good as it allowed us to warm up. I need to do more stretching in the morning.

We passed the 4 miles mark, no restaurant, then 6, 8, 10. Finally, we decided there was no restaurant and we had been punked! Actually, the fellow at the hostel must have given us wrong directions thinking we were heading out the other way. My vision of hot coffee, a Spanish omelet, grits (a great gluten-free option on this side of the US) vanished. Hungry, since we had had no breakfast, we pulled over to a gas station that had closed long ago and dug in our panniers for snacks. Feeling a bit revitalized we continued on.

We enjoyed some easy terrain. The picture below is a one in a million shot. In a large green pasture there at a cat perched on a fence post, next to him was a red-winged blackbird. The blackbird was giving the cat an earful and the cat was, I’m sure waiting to strike. There they sat, eventually the cat jumped down.

We started a climb, of course, there is always a climb, and an afternoon shower began. We put on our rain jackets and moved along.

We passed many small hamlets filled with old homes whose owners died long ago and took their stories with them. One can only imagine the life they had.  Did they work the land? Did they raise cattle or maybe sheep?  A large home with many windows, now broken, must have been the rooms of children that milked the cow, fed the chickens, and attended a one-room school house.

Looking at the many old barns, out buildings, and homes worn down by time, it is easy to perceive them as a visual nuisance dotting the landscape.  They are not torn down by the new owners; they remain as historic symbols of time gone by.

**NOTE: I have had a camera failure. My lens will not open so I cannot access my recent pictures. I will be picking up a new camera next time I find a WalMart. Until then I will rely on my cell phone camera.

We had some great down hills and entered a small “stop in the road”. A sign glared at us: “Steep switch backs, no passing climb. Lisa and I looked at each other and gulped hard.  We headed down the road are hearts beating with anxiety over hard climb ahead.  Fortunately, a few blocks before the climb, our route turned to the right. Whew!  We thought we had escaped a hard afternoon. We did not.

The dark and cloudy afternoon offered another climb. Four miles of switch backs of 10-12%. It was exhausting, switchback after switchback we fought for every pedal stroke.  Many of the steep grades we walked pushing out bikes.  The road seemed to never end.  The road was now taking my patience, my strength, and my tenacity to conquer this mountain.  The 10% grade forced my hand. I got off my bike and began to walk. 

The forest was cool and dark, and possessed an eerie silence. It was the kind of eeriness that brings out the humans’ deepest fear of the unknown. The dark lava rock lining the road seemed to hold back the secrets of the forest back.  Humans try to make sense of the unknown. Historically, what people did not understand was seen as evil or possessing magic. An eerie forest was the home of witches, demons and fairies.  As the road winds through the eerie forest I am cognizant of my ancient psyche as I wonder what lives deep in the dark and eerie forest. 

Finally, I reach the summit. The climb had taken me to my limit, pushing me almost to despair, but I fought it. I would not say I won.  The mountain and I seemed to call a truce.

The downhill was our reward for making the summit. Our brakes, worn from the Blue Ridge Parkway squealed and our rims heated up as we made our descent.  Finally into the valley we road gentle hills with a few hard ones thrown in. We rounded the bend and there was the Elk Grove Baptist Church/Hostel.

We, of course, were the last to arrive. We saw many familiar faces. John from Chicago, Phil and Linda from Philly, the Oregon guys, and Angel who was riding West to East.

We ate our dinner, laid out mattresses out, crawled into our sleeping bags and were out like a light.

 

Day 14 Wytheville to Troutdale (5/16)

Day 14 Wytheville to Troutdale (5/16)

Stats:
Miles: 34.05
Calories: 4,595
Maximum speed: 28.5
Average speed: 7.8

We woke up at 5:45am and were on the road at 8:05am. I was a little slow in getting packed up as, as I was drifting off to sleep….”My Comcast bill is due, did I pay it”? As soon as I got up I checked online and, “oops, payment overdue”. So I paid my bill online.
We got packed up and said goodbye to Phil and Linda from Philly, and Keenan from Sacramento.
The ride out of Wytheville was pleasant with GENTLE rolling hills. The landscape was pristine with vivid green grass, black and white Holstein cows and blue sky with puffy clouds. It reminded me of a computer desktop image.

 

 

 

We met a variety of other riders on the trail today, Paul and Terry from England, John from Chicago, and 2 fellows from Oregon.

Terry and Paul from the UK

 

 

 

Just before the town of Rural Retreat (yes, that is the name), we stopped at an Amish Bakery. Lots of good snacks, baking supplies, and gluten-free! I bought some Nut-Thins crackers, and some potato chips. Lisa had a slice of the “best ever” carrot cake. It was at the bakery we me John from Chicago. Phil and Linda were also at the bakery so we sat outside eating our yummy food in wooden chair enjoying the sun.

 

 

 

About 30 mins later we got on our way. More pristine hills, cows, painted horses, and gentle hills. Around 2pm we were in the small town of Sugar Grove. We stopped at the one convenience store/hamburger stand in town for snacks. I meandered through the store and found one thing I could, or would eat, an apple. I was shocked at the level of junk food in this store, moon pies to pork rinds. What I found most interesting was the women behind the counter in the area where they cook were smoking, I was having culture shock!
We started the uphill climb to Troutdale; it was a 3-4% grade, not difficult, just a long grind. When we made it to the top we stopped for a breather. Then, a fellow pulled up in his truck and asked if he could take our picture, we agreed. Then a school bus pulled into the wide shoulder, and traffic was coming and going. I think we started a commotion!
The ride into Troutdale was a very fun downhill. At the bottom of the hill was the Troutdale Baptist Church and Hostel. We pushed our bikes up the hill and found the hostel. In the hostel were some familiar faces, Phil and Linda, and John. We also met an Appalachian Trail hiker. The hostel consists of two rooms each with 2 bunk beds. I’m on the top; I hope I don’t roll out. Maybe Lisa should tie me to the bed good measure.
We have no cell phone connection tonight but should tomorrow when we ride to Damascus….I’ll keep you posted.

Day 13 Rest Day in Wytheville

Day 13  Rest Day (Wytheville, VA)

Good thing we decided to make today a rest day as the predicted band of heavy rain made its way to Wytheville. Around 2am I heard the rain pelt my tent from the sides of the shelter. The downpour roared off and on. That said, I had a pretty good sleep even though I was sleeping on concrete, that speaks to a good choice in a mattress. I woke to voices of which I was not familiar. I climbed out of my tent about 7:45am. Lisa was talking to a husband and wife team (Phil and Linda). They stopped by the shelter debating about the weather.  Eventually they decided to stay in the shelter for the day and night. We spent the day blogging, catching up on email, and walking though the 4 block town when the rain took a break.

Wytheville is the home town of Edith Bolling Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson. The museum is housed in the same brick building in which she was born and shared with her parent, 10 brothers and sisters, and grandmother. http://edithbollingwilson.org/

While I meandered around the museum, Lisa had a couple hotdogs for lunch at “Skeeters”(1925) a preserved soda fountain shop with lots of cultural charm.

The rain has made a return. It is now 6pm and has been down-pouring for an hour. I have had to continually move my tent as the shelter is flooding a bit.

Problems: With the heat I have been getting “hot spots” on my feet. I have had to, on occasion, take my shoes off and apply Lidocaine. I adjusted my cleats and that seems to have made a positive difference.

Tomorrow we hope to get to Damascus (60 miles) with the town of Troutdale as an earlier option if the terrain is difficult….I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

Day 12 Radford to Wytheville

STATS
Miles: 45.03
Calories: 5,362
Fastest speed: 33.9
Average speed: 7.8

We left the La Quinta in Radford at 8am after an every enjoyable breakfast at the hotel. I was able to find a few gluten-free item such as eggs, an orange, orange juice, and coffee. They had a wonderful coffee machine with delicious coffee.

We rode about 1 mile to the Food Lion (grocery store) to pick up some food for the next few days: foil packed salmon; rice noodles, instant potatoes, and (gf) Mac and Cheese were on my list. The next town was Draper. On the road I spotted a “ghost bike”.  Many cities incorporate ghost bikes as a reminder that cyclists and cars are a dangerous mix and the car generally wins. The sign on the bike stated “a cyclist was killed here”.  As I stood there taking a picture I thought, “Wouldn’t that be a twist of fate to get nailed by a car as I am taking a picture of a ghost bike?” But as was well, and we continued our ride to Draper.

After we had climbed, yet another hill, a cyclist approach, then another, and another. “Ahhh, I said to Lisa, this must be the TransAmerica Cycling group”. It was indeed.

Note: The organization Adventure Cycling out of Missoula Montana conducts its own cross country ride as a group. They left on the same day as we did, May 3^rd and there are 16 riders in the group.

We chatted alongside the road, who was from where, how tough the terrain was, and where they were going to be staying tonight. There are pluses and minuses cycling with a group. The pluses are the group dynamics and the minuses are the group dynamics, there are also group chores such as cooking and clean up, and a group consensus as to what the meals should be, and a feeling of trying to keep up with the stronger riders.  For example, Lisa and I rode through a very small hamlet named Newbern. There were some interesting historic homes, and an early water work/brick reservoir.  I noted that none of the stragglers stopped for pictures; then again, maybe they were not picture takers.

Town Water Works, circa 1870

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did note this sign as we rode by:

And now I’m going to make a harmless side comment:  “And I thought all I had to do was use sunscreen!” (sorry, couldn’t help myself)

We cruised through Newbern and made our way to a stop in the road, Draper.  Here there was a fantastic Mercantile and Restaurant. I’m giving it an A+ as they had a gluten-free bun so I could order a regular sandwich. I had a turkey sandwich with cheese and cranberry/mayo dressing, homemade potato salad, and a dill pickle which I devoured for its salt content, and topped it off with 2 glass of sweet tea. Normally, I am not a supporter of sweet tea as it is just sugar and tea, but with the type of cycling we are doing I need the boost. When we arrived at the Mercantile the Adventure Cycling group was already there having their lunch. We exchanged pleasantries. I doubt we will see them again as they are on a super tight schedule. After lunch we walked our bikes next door to a bike shop. The owner was a very pleasant young man. The shop had lots of cycling merchandise. While there, we used his bike pump to get our tires at the correct pressure and then bid our goodbyes. The road into Wytheville (pronounced  With-ville) included more rollers.

Melinda’s “Philosophizing”- Leaving Draper the sun was blazing throughout the long climb and a headwind kept us pushing hard. After awhile I gave into the wind, I would no longer pedal against her, trying to tame it with each stroke of my pedal. I downshifted to an easier gear and became one with the wind.  I dared to look ahead, “Uggh, one more long climb”. I was covered in swear, my heart pounding from the exertion, my legs feeling weary, I cried out, “I surrendered to the mountain”. Just as I had given into the wind. I was giving into the mountain. I would no longer fight her, push against her, resist here, or curse her height. Once I stopped resisting and accepted the climb I was able to slow it down, reduce the pain in my legs and move with fluidity. Choosing the path of least resistance in not giving in, it is accepting the situation for what it is and remaining open to what it can teach.  In this experience I chose not to resist and learned that the mountain was not going to change, she has been there for millions of years, she would not bend, and she would not change her grade. Life’s challenges are similar, don’t we tend to resist situations or people that cannot or will not change? We push against them rather than accept them for what they are. Perhaps it is wiser to stop resisting while remaining aware of what can be learned from the situation or person, and know when to accept or walk away.  

We entered Wytheville. We knew from our Adventure Cycling map the town allowed cyclists to camp in their city park (yeah..Free!).  I had a bit more strength left to get up the last big climb into the town so Lisa said, “go ahead and find 250 S. 4^th St”.  Off I went hoping I would be able to find the park. Those who don’t know me, I consider myself a directional dyslexic or to put it more bluntly, “directionally challenge”. But I was ready, I was up for this. I rode into town, “I see 17^th st”, and the numbers were going down, “this is good”. I got to 5^th street, then 3^rd. What? Where the heck, where is 4^th st”? I retraced my path, nope, no 4^th st.

While I am directionally challenged I am resourceful. I saw a public library and went in to ask direction. As I got back on my bike I also remembered, “My phone has GPS, navigation”! I plugged in the address and attempted to follow but it was difficult to hear the navigator through my front bag. The map told me to turn right on 4^th, “wait, this is North 4^th, I want South”. I saw a local in his yard and asked for directions. “Go down 4^th, pass 3 stoplights; the park is on your left”.  Perfect, these are the direction I like!  Lisa was lost as well and had to ask for directions so I didn’t feel like a complete failure. The park had a large shelter with picnic tables so we got busy pitching our tents. The weather was to turn to heavy rain so we are considering making tomorrow a rest day as we are not keen on riding in heavy downpours. Upon our arrival there was already one couple at the shelter, a couple from Quebec with heavy accents. They had passed us on the road a few days ago.  A few hours later a young lad, a freshman in college at Wake-Forest College in NC showed up. We all chatted until bedtime which is when the sun goes down. The forecast is not looking good, Lisa and I have decided to make tomorrow, Thursday, a rest day

….. I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 11 Catawba to Radford (5/13/14)

Stats
Miles: 35.02
Calories: 3,654
Fastest speed: 32.5
Average speed: 7.8

We left the hostel about 8:30am, we were up at 5:45am and ready to go at 8:00am but had to wait a bit for Joe as he was going to give us directions to get back on the route without having to climb back up to Catawba to get back on route.  Joe arrived and gave us directions and off we went. The road had hills, of course, but was a beautiful ride. In 4 miles were back of the official TransAmerica 76 route.  On our way to Radford we had to make the climb to Christiansburg. When I say climb that’s exactly what it was.  More 12-15%  grades. Often, we  had to get off our bikes and walk, or should I say push, shove, and kick,  my 87 pound bike (including the panniers) up this long climb.  As you can see from the average speed, it was a slow day. We had a few miles here and there of rambling rollers and some down hills.

This picture is typical of the remnants  of the history of the area. Old homes dating back a hundred years.

“Melinda’s Philosophizing”- In this part of the country it is easy to get caught up in the history of our nation; the pioneers,  the civil war, the artifacts alongside the road rusted away or swallowed up by vegetation. However, there is one aspect of this history this has been silent on our journey thus far, the extinction or near extinction of local Native Americans tribes. There are no sign they were here. No markers that honor their life or livelihood that was taken, no memorials, just silence. ( www.swvmuseum.org)

Here is a “proof of life” picture as I roll through a short tunnel.

We reached Christiansburg at 2pm and had only logged 22 miles on the bikes. The heat (84 degrees) and exertion had taken its toll.  We thought about getting a hotel room in Christiansburg but being only 13 miles from Radford I suggested we take a breather then press on.  I  talked to 3 locals and all said the miles into Radford were mostly downhill.  We decided to press on.  The reports of being downhill were, for the most part correct, and we arrived in Radford around 4pm. There was no camping available in town so we had to get another hotel room which is pinching the ‘ol budget. We landed at a La Quinta motel that had a small Bistro as the center of  town was another 2 miles down the road and we didn’t want to ride another inch nor climb back up a hill with groceries.

It was nice to sleep in a bed, do laundry, and spend 15 mins in a hot shower. I finally went to sleep at 11pm knowing my new internal alarm clock would wake me at 5:45am.

Tomorrow we head to Wytheville…..I’ll keep you posted. 

 

Day 10 Troutville to Catawba (5/12)

Stats
Miles: 25.09 (probably a few more as the Garmin stopped every time we had to walk)
Calories: 3,654
Fastest time: 32.5
Average speed: 7.6

This was my worse day thus far. We left Troutville about 9am headed for Christiansburg which would be about 50 miles. We planned to stop in Catawba for lunch. There was a small market nearby as we said goodbye to Troutville but forgot to stop, but after all, Catawba was only a 25 mile ride, we would be there by lunch or early afternoon.

We cruised through the neighboring town of Daleville and began hitting rollers, they never stopped, EVER. The problem with these rollers is there is such a short distance between them one cannot get up enough speed to get up the next roller. These rollers were 7-15% . Our legs were shot, and the heat (83 degrees) was horrid, and we had little to no food. By the early afternoon we decided to wave our own white flag and walk the steepest part of the rollers. Getting to Catawba was taking forever with these hills!

 

We stopped for lunch along the roadside, again we did not have much food, so for me, lunch consisted of peanut butter and one rice cake (Lisa graciously saved for me). I had a few Luna bars but had already eaten them earlier. Tired, exhausted, and hungry, we carried on.  Finally, we reached the town of Catawba. Our map stated there was one restaurant. However, we found it closed Monday-Wed.” Isn’t that great no lunch”! We also realized there was no way we could make it another 25 miles with these hills. The problem- no camping available, no hotels, no restaurants. I suggested we ride back to the tthe post office to get the “lay of the land”-it was closed as well. However, we met a local woman and questioned her about any options for housing for the night. I asked her about local churches. She suggested I call the Grace Trinity Church. I called the church and explained to the woman who answered the phone that we were 2 female cyclists stranded in Catawba, hungry, tired, and would they allow us to camp behind the church for the night. She said that would be fine. We were relieved and felt we were making some progress. However, 5 mins later she called back and said she had spoken to the Pastor who said “No, we could not stay, it’s a liability issue” Seriously? We are being turned away by a church in our time of need in the back country of Virginia?  Hummm….this is sounding familiar.  I recall a story about 2 weary travelers who were turned away at the inn, yet there was room in the stable. Now we have to find a stable!

No food, no place to go, no way we can ride to Christiansburg…..what does one do? I know, ride 3 miles to the only convenience store for miles. We parked our bikes out front and went inside, “Ahhhhh” we said as the cool air hit our hot and sunburned bodies. What was running through my mind is “I’m just going to plant myself here until something develops”.

NOTE: Things tend to arrive at one’s doorstep at the right and perfect time when one remains open to potential options.

I asked the cashiers about any potential places to stay. “I’ll call Joe” she says, “ He runs a Appalachian Trial and Bike Hotel”, he’s just a mile up the road”.

We have our stable!

We took out food and drinks outside and plopped ourselves by our bikes and gorged on our freshly purchased junk food. Soon Joe arrived, he gave us directions and off we went to our “stable” or in this case, hostel.
Four Pines Hostel (540) 309-8615  bifmitch@gmail.com

There were some interesting comparisons to the hostel and a stable as Joe has chickens, Alpacas’, a dog that loves a good belly rub, and couple of cute kitties. There were about 8 guys at the hostel, all hiking the Appalachian Trail (AP). We decided to pitch our tents but had full access to the fridge, stove, and most importantly the shower and bathroom. Joe’s place is a gem in the Virginia backcountry, especially when a church turns its back on a person (but I’m not bitter).

We had some thunderstorms and heavy rain so we put Lisa’s tarp over our stuff.  In the morning things were pretty wet but we had to pack them up and get going as we were very ready to get to Christiansburg….I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

Day 9 Lexington to Troutville

Day 9  Lexington to Troutville

Stats Miles: 44.27
Calories: 5,176
Average Speed: 27.5
Fastest Speed: 8.4

Because we got into Lexington so late last night and were exhausted by our Blue Ridge Parkway ride, we got a room at the local Motel 6. We were up until nearly midnight and slept in until 7:45am. Lisa wanted a “real breakfast” so we walked across the road to the “Cook Out “ Buffet. Let me tell you, a buffet is a touring cyclist’s best friend. We each had an omelet, fruit, and about 5 other items. We ate, and drank coffee and blogged. We headed back to the motel at 10am and were packed up and cycling down the road by 11am.

We rode through Lexington which houses a large military academy. Cute Victorian homes with manicured lawns line the streets.  The road descended until we reached the “holler” (older homes along the stream). We rode next to the stream for miles with butterflies dancing around us. Some came close fluttering beside me, or in front, as if they were leading the way: yellow ones, black ones, and monarchs.

More caterpillars today, “gaggles of them”. Many were dying on the road becoming overheated on the hot repaving asphalt where the road had received touch ups. I tried to save one by  breaking off some vegetation dangling it next to her so she could climb on and be carried across the road to safety. Rather than grapping hold of the stalk, she fought my help. People do that as well, they will fight those who try to help them.

“Melinda’s  Philosophizing”– From a Darwinian perspective, hot asphalt roads are new to the caterpillar. Not enough time has passed in their evolutionary history to be leery of hot roads. However, those who make it across by avoiding the hot road of the afternoon will survive and their genes will pass to the next generation.  Over time the caterpillar will adapt to its changing environment, in a way, they will be smarter, much smarter that two touring cyclists who leave town at 11am and have to ride in the hot sun for most the day.

The ride to Troutville was a much easier ride than yesterday, more rolling hills, beautiful pastures, and an occasional log home tucked back into the hillside nearly swallowed up by green vines and vegetation. We also saw stone works. We don’t know there history, but they were beautiful and interesting.

By 2pm we were hot tired and ready for a break. I had been thinking about how wonderful a  root beer and a sack of potato chips would taste, foods I would normally never eat but I give myself permission to “go off the wagon” when touring. I had just climbed a long hill, a 7 percent grade. I stopped just shy of the top to take advantage of a shady spot. All I could think of was the salt of potato chips and a sweet root beer going down my throat. But where, where would I find them, how long would it take? Lisa arrived a few minutes later. We enjoyed the patch of shade, looked at the road signs, consulted our map, and took off. We hadn’t gone more than 10 ft; we turn the corner and there it was the most beautiful thing one could imagine, an Exxon station with a convenience store. The gas station shone like an oasis in a hot desert. I shouted, “root beer and chips…whoo who!”  

The day was moving along faster than we were. We still had at least 3 hours to get to Troutville, the sun was hot and I thought about our leisurely morning and breakfast, but we were now paying the price by riding in the full sun of the day.

As we rode the last few miles into Troutville, a fellow pulled alongside the road, “You cyclists going to Troutville?” We confirmed and told us to go to the ball park for camping. Troutville is another small town and since we were arriving on a Sunday, all was closed. We saw a park but not what we would consider a baseball park or a fire station that was suppose to be nearby.  We continued on through town. Asking directions we were informed that the “ball park” is the community park so, we turned around and rode back through town which was of course, an uphill. The fellow we had seen on the road earlier tracked us down. We were given access to the shelter that included bathrooms.

Tomorrow we are riding to Catawba, it will be a shorter day as we need to stop in Christenburg to do some shopping as we are very low on food. We will also go to a bike shop to pump our tires. We are feeling the need to get into camp earlier in the day so we can have some down time and an “adult beverage”

Until then…..I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

Day 7 Afton to Lexington (5/10)

Stats

Miles- 55.05
Calories- 7,972
Fastest speed- 29.4
Average speed: 7.1

We left the “Cookie Lady’s” House at 8am and walked the first switchback; I rode the last two, a hard thing to do first thing in the morning. We crossed on to the highway and climbed about 2 miles at 8% grade which dropped us into the entrance of the Blue Ridge Parkway. There, we met 3 Appalachian Trail hikers “Seymour”, CoCo, and “Mouse” (these of course are their trail names which is common among hikers) Lisa and I wondered if we should have trail name such a “Doc” and “Sneezy”.

“Moose, CoCo, Seymour”

The first 5 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway we had nice weather, then the rain came, and the battery of my camera “died” so I had to rely on my phone to take picture, but, couldn’t take many pictures as cell phones and rain and are not a good mix.

For those who are used to riding hills, the Parkway was challenging but do-able. The challenge is the constant hills! There are few breaks, just climb, climb, climb. The climbs ranged from 7-15% with average of 9-10%. The Blue Ridge Parkway is beautiful, gorgeous vistas and, yes, a blue tinge to the mountains.

It began to rain about 11am, light but steady. On the few downhill’s we were careful of the slick road.  Quickly the light rain began to gain strength so we stopping on donned our rain jackets. The rest of the day we experienced short breaks from the rain.  Riding, riding, riding, hills, hills, hills, that is the best description of our day….until the wind kicked up. Soon the wind began to howl. I shifted into my lowest gear my legs pounding against the wind that seemed bent on keeping me from moving forward. I turned into a switchback and the wind was blowing though like an aerospace wind tunnel! The lowest gear made no difference I moved inches at a time, I quickly unclipped from my pedal so not to fall over, letting the wind have its victory. I began pushing my bike; the wind seemed to be laughing at me as I struggled to move forward. It was then I heard a crash.  I looked back and the wind had knocked Lisa over. Fortunately she was fine; however, she will have more bruised to add to her collection. She too was trying to unclip from her pedal and in doing so, the wind pushed her over. I turned around to go rescue her, now with the wind was at my back pushing me and my bike. We righted her bike and trailer and continued to push forward up to the next bend in the road and into the cover of trees which lessen our exposure to the wind. We were able to get back on our bikes and continue riding.

I was riding about 100 yards ahead of Lisa when a black bear ran across the road right in front of me. It took me a moment to interpret what I had seen. Yep, “that was a bear”. We had scoffed at our older sister when she had warned us about bears.  For good measure I clapped my hands, shouted out “Hey, bear, cyclists come through”, anything to get her far away from us. Another mile down the road I noticed something moving high in a tree about 15 feet from the road. I thought” Humm, is that a raccoon?” As I got a better look I realized I was looking at 2 bear cubs. Uh-oh, where’s Mom!!!!!!!!

I stopped in my tracks. I turned around and rode a short way back to Lisa.  It was probably Mom-bear that had crossed the road in front of me earlier.  I told Lisa, “It might be better if we ride together past those bear cubs and make some noise”

We rode past and got a good look, the cubs were about the size of a small dog and “cute as a button”. I kept up the noise saying, “We’re not interesting in your babies Mom-bear, don’t be interested in us!”

Once past the bears we could breathe again and were cognizant that we had seen something quite special.

The rain began pelting us hard, my face stung.  My rain jacket did its job but I was still in shorts, my shoes were wet and I was starting to feel cold even though the temperature was in the low 70’s.

As we descended I could feel pockets of warm air hitting my face, it felt good and signaled warmer weather as our decent continued. While it was still raining I knew it would end soon as the birds who had been silenced by the wind and rain began to sing once more.

More hills and more climbs battling deer flies every time we stopped.

There would be brief moments of tailwinds but 90% of the day was head or side winds. Finally, we made our way to our final decent, we knew this decent was like nothing we had experienced. The downhill grades were at least 20%, our rims began to heat up, our brakes squealed. We had to stop every quarter mile to let our rims cool as they were hot to the touch. Our hands ached from applying the brakes. At some points we had to get off our bikes and walk, or should I say the bikes walked us down the hill due to the extreme grade. While this downhill was only 3 miles it seemed to go on forever. Finally, we decide to, just go for it. We zoomed down the hills, breaks squealing, rims heating, rubber burning, and finally the road leveled off. We inspected our brake pads- half were gone. Looks like we will need new pads when we reach Kentucky.

Lisa made an “executive decision” to continue to Lexington rather than staying at a campground we passed. We rode an additional exhausting 8 miles. We finally got in to town at dusk. We decided to get a hotel room, we were too exhausted to order pizza, just a hot shower, camp food,  and off to bed.

Tomorrow we ride to Troutdale….I’ll keep you posted.

Day 6 Charlottesville to Afton

Stats:
Miles: 25.87
Calories: 3870
Avg. speed: 7.6
Max speed: 29.1

Note: The average speed today gives you a clue as to how difficult our day was.

Day 6 began with a tearful goodbye to Jodee. We texted her throughout the day to let her know how we were doing and our adventures, which were many.

We left the motel in Charlottesville at 7am and headed to Afton which is at the foothills of the Appalachians. We rode through Charlottesville which was just waking up so we had little traffic. We were enamored by the beautiful manicured homes and estates we rode by. Absolutely beautiful…old money I presume.  The next 20 miles were hard. We encountered a variety of rolling hills with 7-9% grades. This picture is our first glimpse of the foothills of the mountains. As you can see we are surrounded by pristine valleys.

foothill of Appalacians

We finally made it to the small town of Whitehall and stopped at this country store. Besides the general items one might find at a country store, there were 4 crock pots with pulled pork, bean, soup, sloppy joes.  The locals were sitting in an adjoining room discussion the news, weather, and events of the day. Lisa and I sat at a small table, I had an ice tea and she an egg biscuit. The locals were very friendly and wished us well as we set upon our way.  Before we left they mentioned that there are a variety of celebrities that own or have owned property in the area such and Tom and Katie Cruise (pre-divorce), Sissy Spacic, and the manager of the Dave Matthew’s Band. Who would have guessed?

 

We continued up a hill, Lisa shifted, and, ker-clunk!!!!, I see her bike chain handing on the ground.  Uh-oh.  I rode to the top of the hill and waited for her as she walked her bike up the hill.  We pulled over on to a side street to assess the damage. Uh-oh again, a broken chain.  A broken chain means you go nowhere.  Lisa sat on the asphalt to assess the problem. From the looks of it the quick release link had broken (this link keeps the chain together). This was actually good news. The chain itself was intact.  We quickly debated what to do. 1. Hitch a ride back to Charlottesville-  not really an option 2. Sit on the side of the rode in despair over our predicament- an option, but why bother. 3. Figure out how to correct the problem ourselves- we chose this option

Our wonderful mechanic Dave made sure I had an extra chain with me…thanks wonderful Dave!!!!  Lisa who had no extra chain..bad Lisa… was able to use the quick release links from my extra chain on her chain.  It worked and about 45 mins later, we were back in business and on our way.  We did however have a concern. What if the link broke again? Was her chain stable?  What would we do crossing the Appalachians and this were to happen again or a chain did break?

In the interim a nice fellow, Buzz, who was out for a ride on his road bike stop by to see what the trouble was. We explained our predicament. He said he was out for a ride and on his way back if we were still in distress he would help us in any what he could.

Life has a way of manipulating circumstances to create a positive outcome. Miles down the road who comes riding up to us?  It’s Buzz!  He had returned to our previous spot and saw we were gone.  What were the chances we would meet on the road again just a mile from his hous?. We explained we had used the quick release links from my extra chain to put Lisa’s back together but were unease about going over the mountains with a “rigged” chain.  It was then Buzz became our TransAmerica Trail Angel!  Buzz would give us a ride to the next town of Waynesboro that had a bike repair store. We gladly accepted as we had planned to unload our gear in Afton and ride to Waynesboro and back to Afton which would have taken about 3 hours.  The drive with Buzz took 15 minutes! The mechanic at Rockfish Gap Outfitters said Lisa’s chain looked fine so she bought 3 extra quick release clips and we were on our way back to Buzz’s house. We thanked him for his assistance and said our goodbyes to Buzz and his dogs Emma and Lucy.

“Buzz” our TransAmerica Trail Angel
THANK YOU !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buzz’s dog Emma or Lucy, we think Emma

Once on our way we stopped at another country store/peach farm and had lunch which included a big basket of strawberries.

We continued our climb to the “Cookie Lady’s House.  June Curry was known as the “Cookie Lady” for decades, offering touring cyclist water and cookies. She passed away two years ago but her home has been preserved as cycling house/hostel. The climb to her home in Afton was 9-13% grades. It was hot, humid, and a tough climb. Once we arrived we had some difficulty finding the home/hostel. As we stood by the side of the road, watching someone’s peacock strut by, Mike came riding up on his bike. Mike is from Chicago and has been putting in some long mileage days. We found the right house. This evening we visited with Mike, made dinner and relaxed a bit. Mike will head out early around 5:00am. We won’t be out that early but will plan to be ready to ride by no later than 8am. Tomorrows forecast is rain and thunderstorms…lovely.

Tomorrow will be one of our toughest days as we climb the Blue Ridge Parkway and finish out in the next town of Lexington
…. I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Changes are Afoot

Day 6  (Rest Day) Charlottesville

I know, we are only 6 days in and already taking a rest day?  We decided to go ahead and take today as a rest day to let our legs rest as tomorrow we begin to climb the Appalachians (ugh).  Today, Lisa’s feet were feeling better so we rode over to the local bike shop to get our gears adjusted (Blue Ridge Cyclery). We then went over to  Kroger’s (aka Fred Myers) to pick up some dinner. I picked up some more rice noodles, bananas, and foil packed salmon. My pannier for my food is heavy but we will have minimal food options over the mountains.

Changes are Afoot: In my last post I told you there were some updates. Jodee has “surrendered to the trail”. She has waved her white flag and decided to head back to the West coast. She decided living out of a tent for 3 months  and hauling all that gear was not her cup of tea. Jodee is a strong rider and powered up every hill we encountered thus far, we absolutely enjoyed having her with us and will miss her dearly.  Lisa and I honor her decision and know she will continue rooting for us from home. She leaves us tomorrow with her head held high and our best wishes for a safe journey home on 4-wheels instead of two. She has family in PA and will be visiting them for a few days then begins her auto-trek back to the west coast. We love you Jodee, although you will not be riding with us we know you with be with us in every other way.

Onward and Upward (literally): Lisa and I have now had our rest day. The weather has turn hot so we plan to leave Charlottesville by 6:30am and carry on to our next stop Afton. It is only a 30 mile day but it is another hill-fest.  Afton is the last town before the ascent of the Appalachians.  Keep your fingers crossed for a strong tailwind. We are expecting rain on Saturday so it should be cooler as we make our climb.

An iconic symbol of American history

They’re making it too easy….

Feeding a squirrel in Wiliamsburg

Internet Access: I now have my “hotspot” up and running so should be able to access the internet as long as I have cell reception.  Funny how dependent we are on having internet access. That has been my battle cry whenever we stop at a campground, “make sure they have internet”. 

As always…I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

 

Day 5 Mineral to Charlottesville.

TODAY’S STATS: Day 5: Mineral to Charlottesville

Miles:   55.19

Calories: 6,673 (woo-hoo!)

Average speed: 8.8 (hills certainly wipe out a good avg. speed)

Top speed:  33.5

Our night at the Mineral Fire and Rescue was pretty good. The “Carnies” stopped working on setting up their carnival around 9:30pm but the area flood lights continued to blaze into our tents. I finally had to grab a tee-shirt and put it over my eyes to create some sense of darkness so I could drift into slumber. No more trains came barreling through, no sirens wailing, just yappy dogs. I woke about 6:30am and felt fairly rested.  We, again, packed up our gear after breakfast and coffee on a cook stove.

THANK YOU MINERAL FIRE AND RESCUE FOR A PLACE TO STAY, A SHOWER, AND A BATHROOM!

As we headed out of town we were greeted by the gobble of a turkey in the brush. I thought of our hunting friend Brian (we agree to disagree on the hunting issue).

Let’s get back to those caterpillars. Today more made a run for the other side of the road and we continued to dodge them.  Lisa and I were trying for determine what one calls a group of caterpillars?  A flock, a gaggle, a herd, a pride? I kind of like a gaggle. A gaggle of caterpillars, it has a nice ring to it.

To put it mildly, today was a “hill fest”, up and down, up and down. Lisa was very good at reading the topographical maps from Adventure Cycling; she was able to see the creeks and rivers which unfortunately meant some great downhills and some miserable up hills.

The other challenge was the narrow roads. Our shoulder consisted of about 6 inches, not very conducive with sharing the road with the many logging trucks that tried to squeeze past us.  However, we are cautious cyclists and often pull over to let the logging truck pass.

Speaking of logging, I was surprised by the vast areas of clear cutting and was not seeing any type of restoration in older clear cut areas.  I know logging is a necessity, but was thinking of the lost habitat of the birds and other wildlife among the acres of downed trees.

We made our way up Hwy 53 and on to 20. It was a two lane highway heavy with traffic coming out of Charlottesville with again, no shoulder, and the drivers reminded me of “typical big city drivers”, all in a hurry and impatience because we made them wait 30 seconds before they could maneuver around us. Lisa got an earful from an impatient driver saying ” it’s 5 o’clock get off the &$%$%^& road”.  We however had little choice as we had to get to Charlottesville.  Finally we had enough and decided we should indeed get off the road. We found a spot at the top of a hill and waited 30 mins until the in-bound traffic decreased.  Here is a picture of Lisa studying the map.

Lisa studying the map

Melinda’s “Philosophizing”:

As we sat, perched at the top of the hill, I reflected on the hardships of the early pioneers and their teams of horses that pulled and pushed their way inch by inch across and over these rolling hills. I considered the effort needed to clear the land, build log homes, and birth and raise the next generation. Americans come from a hardy stock with an innate sense of determination, tenacity, and courage. As we passed Monticello (birthplace of Thomas Jefferson) I was reverent of the hardships as well as the pain and suffering of people who lived, worked, and died on the plantations. Our American history is rich; full of growing pains, evils, and triumphs.

We finally made our way into Charlottesville around 7pm that included a great downhill.  We passed the University of Virginia and noted the “college town” feel with numerous cafes and bistros luring college students. The smells coming from the restaurants reminded us of our need to eat dinner. We wove our way through town; many took a second look seeing 3 fully loaded touring bikes. Some called out “where ya going?”  “The Oregon Coast” we’d shouted out as some jaws dropped and eyes widened with surprise. We finally found the Budget Inn our stop for the night. We decided to get a hotel room as the only camping was a KOA that was 10 miles off our route and included many hills. We were not going to do that. Our legs were weary, and after today’s climbing need a long hot shower.
More history:

 

We are talking about taking another day at the Budget Inn as Lisa’s bike need’s some work as the shifting was not quite right, we need more sunscreen, I need more Gluten-Free food, Lisa’s feet are a bit swollen perhaps from sunburn as she cycling in Keen sandals, we needed to do some laundry, and rest our legs before we begin our climb of the Appalachian mountains (GULP!).

And there is more interesting news which I will share in the next few days as details emerge (that will keep you coming back for more!)

Next stop Afton, VA

…I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

Day 4 Ashland to Mineral

Miles– 45.08
Calories– 5,291 (good, as we splurged and ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant)
Average speed– 9.1
Maximum speed– 27 .8
Keywords for the day: Hills, falls, horses, cows, dogs, caterpillars’, trash, trains, and carnivals.
What? Keywords? I’ll explain, I was trying to think of a way to recall all the things I saw and experienced each day. So I came up with a way, to string together icons for the day’s events. I figured it was good for the ‘ol memory as well.
Hills: We left Ashland at 9:10 am much later than planned. The KOA offered of free breakfast so we had to take advantage of it. Lisa lost one of her cycling gloves so there was a hunt for that. The glove was never found.
The previous day we met a fellow that warned us about the “three sisters”. No, not real people, hills, that we would encounter as we left Ashland. The first hill was not terribly bad, then we hit the middle sister, WOW! We had a short downhill and then, “there she was”. Jodee started up first and she disappeared around the bend. I started up and my gear dropped so I had to quickly unclip from the pedal. Lisa started up and she had some problem as well. Rather than turning around and making a second attempt, we pushed our bikes up the hill. This hill was a 18-20 percent grade! As Lisa and I rounded the corner we heard Jodee cry out. She was attempting to traverse the hill and she “was heading for the ditch” so she crashed. Fortunately, only a bruised elbow. However, she was in a precarious position, if a car came barreling over the hill it would take them both out. Just as I said, “I’ll stop traffic”, a car appeared over the top of the hill. We all held out our arms to yell “STOP”. The driver did, whew! We got Jodee righted and we pushed the bikes the rest of the way. We thanked the driver for her cautiousness on the hill. We took a breather at the top, licked our pride and wound and carried on. The third sister was a hard climb but not “the Alps”. Later, Lisa made the comment, “middle sister’s are always difficult”. Being that I am the middle sister, do you think she was saying something?
Horses: Obviously the civil war battles were few and far between Ashland and Mineral as there were no historic battle signs so I just enjoyed the views. For miles we road through beautiful horse country. Large homes on 15-20 acre spreads with Arabian, Paints, and other Performance horses corralled by white fences.

Cows: I have seen many a cow but are these not the cutest you have ever seen? Look at those markings. Of course, I stopped to take a picture. When I caught up to Lisa I asked her if she knew what kind of cows those were, she said, “Oreo”, it took me a second…ah… I got it.

Dogs: We had our first dog chase today. Well actually they went for Jodee, Jodee’s having a rough day. None of the dogs got too close but one little dog with short stumpy legs was fast as lightning. I could have sworn I saw a cape on his back as he flew toward us. In the end, they gave up the chase.
Caterpillars: Anyone driving behind us must have thought Lisa and I were intoxicated cyclists, weaving to and fro. What we were doing was avoiding the multitude of caterpillars on the road. They must have recently hatched. Do caterpillars “hatch” ? We dodged hundreds and hundreds for probably 20 miles. Inching their way out on to the asphalt, escaping the confides of their grassy existence, taking risks, hoping for more of life of “the other side” of the road. Some made it, others fried on the asphalt others……..oops, not nailed by a bicycle tire.
Trash: Virginia is a gorgeous state but something needs to be done with the trash along the beautiful country roads. Coke, beer, water, power drinks, cups, you name it it’s out there. From a car, it is easier to avoid seeing the trash, but on a bike, one’s sees every piece. Seriously, do people still just throw their bottles and trash out the window? Is that still happening? Obviously it is.  That was so 40 years ago.  I know when California and Oregon began charging a refundable bottle tax trash when way down. Like many human behaviors, one only creates change when there is enough incentive to do so.

Camping: Tonight we are staying at Mineral Volunteer Fire and Rescue. They allow cyclists to pitch a tent on the lawn use the bathroom and showers. Were “pitched”, but I think it is going to be an interesting night. A train just blew through town about 300 ft from us and I’m sure the fire department will get a call some time tonight and the sirens will go wailing. Finally, the large patch of grass we are on, is also the location of a mini carnival that starts tomorrow night so we are surrounded by carnival rides and there is a yappy dog near by…it’s going to be a long night

The next picture is of a house we came across with an interesting story.

Here is a picture of the house.

Tomorrow we ride to Charlottesville….I’ll keep you posted

Day 3 Glendale to Ashland

Miles: 40.35
Calorie burn:  3,803

KUDOS: Virginia drivers have been extremely courteous and careful to give us a wide berth.

KUDOS: Thank you Tom, who we met outside Kroger’s in Mechanicsville, made a donation to Senior Retirement Project.

Today’s journey: We left Glendale at 8:10am, better time than the day before, and began our trek to Ashland (that’s Virginia, not Oregon), I’m not lost!

We spent most the day on quiet scenic back roads meandering through serene wooded areas. The songbirds are constant company. Their melodies seem to announce our presence as we pedal along.

Our ending point today was Mechanicsville. Between Glendale and Mechanicsville there are more battle sites than you can shake a stick at. We must have passed 25 markers for this battle and that battle. The thought that these battles did not take place in some a distant field but were right at one’s home is horrific. Imagine looking out one’s window and seeing soldiers bearing down through one’s fields and pastures.  We were taken by the story of one  family, The Garthright’s, who battled with guns and pitch forks to save their home as it was overrun by Federals (the Union). The home was saved and used by the Confederate’s as a hospital. As the story goes, the wife hid in the basement and was horrified as blood seeped through the floor board. The dead were quickly buried in their front yard only to be removed later and buried in a cemetery across the street. (CLICK ON PICTURES TO EXPAND)

The Garthright Home

Also, one thing I noticed was the continuing use of the phase “7 Day Battles” on numerous battle signs. I thought, “really” every battle was just 7 days”? Who’ idea was that?
What else does one have to do while cycling miles and miles but to mull things over. I decided there was one 7 day battle that encompassed many areas over 10-20 miles. When I get home I plan on getting a good book on the Civil War and give it a good read. I’m embarrassed by my minimal knowledge of the Civil War. On the other hand I was born and bred in California so I guess I paid more attention to my own “neck of the wood”.
For example, I can tell you all about the “La Brea Tar Pits”.

We made our way toward Mechanicsville, an interesting name and am sure there is some history behind it. Our route became more residential with narrow roads and little shoulder.

We stopped at a Kroger’s to pick up lunch and food supplies. Mine were low so it was good to stock up on a few things. I have been nursing an intestinal “issue” for the past 4 days.  Not thinking I ate some wheat/gluten and have paid the price, or I picked up a bug, don’t know which. But am now OK as you can tell by the lunch I had:
Can of Oysters with a gluten-free Rudi’s tortilla
Kombucha drink
Coconut yogurt
Strawberries

Sounds disgusting but it felt good to fill my belly after minimal food the last few days.  As we entered Mechanicsville we missed our turn for the KOA where we planned to stay. A light rain began as we corrected our error and headed in the right direction.  Finally the rain ran its course and we were able to leave our tents to make dinner and start blogging for the night. It is now 10:30 PM, Lisa and Jodee have called it a night. I think I’ll take a melatonin tonight so I can get a decent nights sleep as last night I was only able to sleep 5 hours. My “night owl” tendencies are being put to the test!

Tomorrow we head to the town of Mineral……I’ll keep you posted.

 

Day 2 Chickahominy to Glendale

Miles:  34.83
Calories burned: 5,341 (they add up carrying 57 lbs!)

Our goal of getting out of camp by 7:30 am hasn’t happened yet, but we will have time to perfect the art. We left Chickahoniny after a rough night’s sleep. We had some rowdy twenty-something’s with their extra loud 4×4’s a few tent sites down. They partied until 3am, somehow we got a few winks of sleep. I woke up at 5:30am a little cool as I forgot to wear my wool socks. 

We finally broke camp 8:30am and began our ride to Glendale (we are still in Virginia). The ride began with a slight uphill and crossing a bridge strewn with broken glass. I dodged and zigged and zagged. Once through I checked my tires to see if I had in shards, whew, A-OK.  The miles to Glendale reflect much of our early history. For those history buffs I am going to include many of the historical signs in this post. If you click on the picture, it should expand so you can read it. The miles were easy with a few small hills. Most of the day we were on two separate bike paths. As we rode we could see a new bike path they are in the process of building with wood bridges over the creeks and stream. It will go for miles and miles when completed. We met quite a few cyclists on the road today. We thank you for your encouragement as we make this trek across the US. 

As we got closer to Glendale we passed a site of a battle “7day Battle of Malvern”  Again, one can only imagine the bloody scene, lives lost, and the cannon smoke as it settled in the trees like a fine mist.

A few miles past the battlefield we arrived at our destination for te night. The Willis Methodist Church. They open their community room up to cyclists. We have the place to ourselves with includes, internet (yeah!), microwave, snacks, (gluten-free) bars which made me very happy and the best of all, a shower!

Tomorrow we head for Ashland. We go through Mechanicsville where we will resupply.

BIKES: Our bikes are holding up like the champs they are.

FOOD NEWS and GLUTEN-FREE: Stores are hard to come by. We are going through our food reserves. For you gluten-free followers, I have had to make my rice noodle concoction for dinner for that last two nights (rice noodles, instant mashed potatoes to thicken, one pouch of salmon, spices). I still have quite a variety of bars so I’m certainly not going to starve. I was really happy to see a box of gluten free bars in the “cyclist’s  food cupboard” at the church.

Until next time….I’ll keep you posted !!!!!

Below is a product endorsement. I picked up this powdered peanut butter before we left on Friday. It is very good. Two tablespoons of powder, one tablespoon of water…mix. Super tasty, light weight!

 

Day 1 Yorktown to Chickahominey

Day 1  Yorktown to Chickahominey

45.08 miles, Calories burned  5341

Details:  Bike weight- 31 lbs. Gear: 4 panniers and handlebar bag  57 lbs. I know that seems a lot, and it is, although I did not “win”. Jodie was gear was 60 and Lisa 61. I am carrying about 4 lbs of extra food for emergencies and my electronics with weight about 5-6 lbs.  Unfortunately, there is nothing I can leave by the side of the road like they did on the Oregon Trail. I need it all and will use it all.

In Yorktown, we started our day at 6:30am, a hotel breakfast, and headed for the Victory Monument. For those who do not know me personally, I am a bit of a directional dyslexic. However, I have a brand new compass on my bike and as long as I am following West, I should be OK.

Our sister Laurie met us at the Victory Monument to take our picture and memorialize the “wheel dip” in the Atlantic.

 

Victory Monument

 

 

A teary goodbye and off we went.  We got on the Colonial Parkway which is a wide road with no curbs or gutters, just a flat road which does not disturb the natural beauty of the area. We biked out of Yorktown but before we left I took picture of the remnants of the Revolutionary War.

The area, of course, is rich in American history. The cannons, earth works (mounds of earth where the cannons were fired from). As we biked through the parkway one is taken by the beauty: the tall trees with stories to tell, the clay earth and sand where so much blood was spilt, while the songbird’s melodies echoed throughout the wooded fields.

Around noon we made it to Williamsburg, a restored colonial town with reenactments and people costumed of in attire from the era. We sat in the commons, an acre or so of grass in the center of the settlement. As we ate our lunch many people stopped by to asked us where we were headed. Some were shocked by our statements, “the Oregon Coast”, and all rooted for our tenacity and success.  After lunch we continued on the parkway to a Chickahominey.  The campground was in the woods and our site is on a river bank.  As the sunset, I felt encouraged by our first day. The tents got up, we filled out bellies with dinner, a cup a decaf for me and off to bed at nightfall. Morning will begin at 6:30 -ish and we will head for Glendale . But for now, I am nestled in my tent, writing to you, and eager to see what tomorrow brings and nursing a leg cramp.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bike Tweaking, Riding, and a Party

A quick post to let you know we will head out to Yorktown in the AM (Friday).  Today, Jodee’s bike was having a bit of shifting issues so we road to Rainbow Cycles in Southern Pines. They made the necessary tweaks on her bike and they fixed some minor problems I was having. THANKS RAINBOW CYCLES !
We then found a deli with great food. Nana’s carries uncured meat without preservatives, nitrates, or anything else that will might be on your no-no list. I was very happy as they had some gluten free options. I had the Turkey wrap which was delicious. Both Jodee and I were eyeing Lisa’s sandwich with Ham, cheese, sautéed apples and onions…..yumm.  Thanks for the delicious lunch and great customer service.

  Total cycling miles for the day was 38.36. When we got back we jumped in the shower (not together), and headed to our Dad’s retirement community to see him before we leave. This is our fantastic Dad.

Our Dad, age 94

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back to Seven Lakes and our sister Laurie, aka Martha Stewart had whipped up an amazing dinner of pulled pork, cole slaw, almond flour muffins, chips with a delicious salsa, amazing deviled eggs, etc. We ate and ate, ” carbo loading” ya know.  Thanks Laurie!!!
We also met some of her friends. They brought food as well…what a feast! We enjoyed talking to them about our trip. It was a great evening.

It is now after midnight, I should be in bed but wanted to catch you up on things. After riding our bikes fully loaded the other day and “feeling the pain”, we have already filled a box of items we think we can live without. I added a few things, but I think Lisa wins in total number of items she is sending back. It’s a tough call and we may regret sending some of those items back, but we all want to keep our gear as light as possible.

Off we go, it will take about 5 hours to get to Yorktown, we’ll check into our hotel and hopefully have some time to explore the area and it’s history.

….I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Made it to North Carolina

We left Spokane about 1:40 pm on Monday.

The flight to Denver was uneventful but the flight from Denver to Raleigh/Durham was a white knuckle rollercoaster!  You’ve been watching the news? We flew right through, over, and under that horrific weather swath. Poor Lisa, she hates flying. Ignorance would have been bliss but her husband texted her in Denver and told her about the weather we would be flying through. Bad Ray!

The last 45 mins of the flight it calmed down and we sailed smoothly into Raleigh/Durham. We knew our luggage, 1 suitcase and 2 BOB bags made it on the plane as we saw them “toss” them on to the luggage belt in Denver. When they “tossed” mine I thought, “Aaaahhh, there goes the chamois cream, exploding in the Ziploc”.

We landed at 11:40pm, 45 mins behind schedule. We eagerly waited for our luggage as everything is in those bags!  Laurie (older sister) and hubby Roger picked us up. We had an 1.5 hour drive back to their home in Seven Lakes, NC. When we arrived we were properly greeted by their two Corgi’s (Chepstow and Tenby).

Jodee and I got the two extra bedroom and Lisa took the couch, I think Jodee and I made out on that deal!  It was 2am by the time we bedded down for the night. I had been up at 7am so I was ready to collapse into bed. As I drifted off to sleep I was comforted in knowing I had all my gear was tucked in at the foot of my bed and tomorrow I will be reunited with my bike. Oh, by the way, the chamois cream survived.

Tuesday- We picked up our bikes at Rainbow Cycles in Southern Pines, NC. They did a great job getting them back together. We spent the rest of the day visiting our father and sorting through “our stuff”

Wednesday-

Today we loaded most of our gear on our bikes and road to Quail Haven retirement community. We spoke to the seniors about our ride and how they can log exercise miles to “ride” along with us. As always, they had some great questions and we thank them for their best wishes. We also had the opportunity to share our ride plans and the mission of the Senior Retirement Project with the local newspaper The Pilot.  We wrapped up by 3pm and headed home as thunderstorms were predicted, but never materialized.

Our ride today, with the majority of our gear, was a reality check and this evening we all took another look at our gear and found some items we can ship home now. Tomorrow we plan to enjoy one more ride before we head up to Yorktown, VA. We hope to ride about 35 miles to Southern Pines to get Jodee’s shifting “tweaked” at the bike shop and have a nice sit down lunch. Later in the evening there will be a party to celebrate our “launch” we look forward to meeting Laurie’s friends and sharing our adventure.

Showing residents the sign/flag Lisa made that states:
3 months, 10 states, 4,243 miles

Pointing out our route

….I’ll keep you posted.

We Fly Out in 17 hours !

Is it tacky to throw a party for yourself?

Tacky or not, we threw ourselves a bon voyage party last night. All of these people are our cycling buddies with WOW CYCLING SPOKANE. We will miss riding with them this spring and summer but will see them when we return in August.  When we get back on our road bikes it will feel like we’re riding on air after riding our two-ton Tillies’for 12 weeks.

We enjoyed lots of good food, drink, and conversation at the party.  Note the beautiful cake made by Lisa and daughter Heather. Thank you, it was great. While I couldn’t partake (the gluten-free issue) it smelled and looked delicious! Also, thanks Heather for the goody bags filled all sort of items we will need. I especially liked the toilet seat covers!

 

Other thoughts and anxieties:
I made the ‘mistake’ of weighing all my gear, 52 lbs! OMG. I can subtract about 5 lbs for the suitcase but am still at 47 lbs. May I say it again? OMG!  I quickly opened up the suitcase searching for items, any items I could leave out. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a thing to leave behind. I am packing some food and snacks, which weigh about 5 lbs but will eat most of that in the first week so that will lighten the load a bit. Bottom-line, it is what it is. I need it all and will therefore have to carry it all.

 Vegas, the “conduct disordered” cat I introduced you to in a previous post knows something’s up. She’s been exceptionally affectionate lately which is not in her DNA. I keep telling her “it is OK, I’ll be back”. She will have the house sitter to bond with, play with, and attack. When I get back she’ll shun me for days. Eventually I will be forgiven, with strings attached.

Thanks FedEx! The bike shop in North Carolina received our bike earlier this week. We will pick them up on Tuesday  and go for a few rides to make sure all is shifting, braking, and sounding like it should. On April 30^th we will ride, to Quail Haven Village a retirement community in Pinehurst NC, to give a talk about our ride and how residents can “ride” along with us by logging exercise miles.  By the way the cost to ship ….$163.00 ouch!

We all got really short haircuts. (Jodee, (left), Me, Lisa (right). We shouldn’t have to get a trim for a few months. On the upside, we won’t have any serious helmet hair.

 This is it, a year of planning, dozens of conversations, and hundreds of training miles have finally come to fruition. We are checked in for our flight and at 1:40pm tomorrow off we go.

Thanks for joining me on this adventure !

…I’ll keep you posted.

My bags are packed I’m ready to go…..well sort of.

Training miles last week: 77.8 cycling miles.

Had a good riding weekend. However, most notable was the wind, both days.  Jodee and I rode in the countryside, the best place to ride. The picture is of an old country school house. A plaque on the building reports it is on the Historic Registry. We sat on the front porch and ate the lunch we had packed.  If one listened carefully one could almost hear the laughter of children in the blowing wind, their essence can still be felt within the peeling paint and stone foundation.

Back to reality. As you can see from the picture my suitcase is full. I have had to beg for free space in Lisa’s and Jodee’s carry-ons for my tent and clothes bag. I keep looking at and lifting the suitcase and saying, “Really? I need all of that”? And yes, it is all necessary.

My only error, thus far, was when I ordered that big blue bottle of electrolytes in the suitcase; I ordered tablets rather than capsules. I swear the bottle weighs a pound, should have gotten capsules as they are much lighter. Oh well, I’ll probably go through half of them climbing the Appalachians!

My calendar is booked solid for the next 7 days and don’t think I will be able to squeeze in a final bike ride before we board our plane a week from today. I’m sure we will get a bit of riding in during our week in North Carolina before we head up to Yorktown on May 2^nd.    ….I’ll keep you posted.

 

Dismantled and Packing

Countdown: 12 days before our flight…yikes!
Last week’s training numbers: 131.5 cycling miles.

Here are our “babies” (3 bikes and a Bob) all dismantled, covered with foam, packaged, protected, and ready for some really big boxes. A BIG thanks to Dave, our “pack-man”. Jodee’s bike is at the top of the picture, Lisa’s in the middle, and mine at the bottom with the cool wood fenders. Soon we will get the bad news which is how much FedEx is going to charge to get our babies to North Carolina. What? I thought you were riding from Yorktown VA? We are, but will make a stop in NC to visit big sister, Dad, and give another talk at his Retirement Community.

Seeing the bikes all ready for boxing is sobering and makes this whole trip real. The dreaming, planning, talking, and speculating has manifested into reality.

This week I placed my last REI order, a compression sack for my clothes since my other one disappeared when my daughter vacationed in Europe years ago. I also stopped by my local REI today and bought a waterproof compression sack for my sleeping bag. The bag I currently use is like stuffing a sleeping bag into an envelope, too much effort. The new sack, a (Sea to Summit-eVent) is great, it cost a small fortune, but will serve the important function of keeping my bag dry.

eVent compression sack

Normally I put my sleeping bag in my rear pannier but with the added electronics I am carrying (netbook, waterproof netbook bag, cords, etc), I just don’t have room to put it in the pannier so now it will be bungeed on the back protected from spring downpours, hail, sprinkles, and spitting Llama’s.

I picked up a used suit case at a local second hand store and have begun to throw things into it. I will leave the suitcase on the east coast as I didn’t want to bring my good one. On the plane I will carry my handle bar bag as my purse and one of my rear panniers as my carry-on. Everything else will go into the suitcase and checked.

So much to do, so little time: Got the taxes in the mail today, and have an appointment this week to get my will in order (no premonitions, just being a responsible adult). I’m still busy with work and am planning to do lots of cleaning next week, can’t stand to leave the place a mess, not that the cat will care.

By the way, don’t be fooled by that sweet cat face, she has been diagnosed with “conduct disorder” in the Feline DSM-V.

 

…I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 

The Psychology of Cycle Touring

Countdown: 17 days until we fly back east, 24 days until we begin our journey!

I have been racking up the cycling miles. Last week I logged 136 miles; this week should match or exceed that amount.

I am also gearing up for another reality of a long cycling tour, the psychological challenge. As a mental health therapist, one would think I would be well prepared for the emotional challenge of, eat, sleep, ride, collapse, eat, sleep ride, collapse, over and over again. I have been cycling nearly daily over the past week and I am catching myself wanting a break every 3 days. I can’t do this on the trail or we won’t get back until September! Generally, the first  four or five days of a tour are novel, then it can get mentally tough which often coinsides with the toughness of the terrain.

What are some of those psychological challenges?

1. Daily Camping: Taken in moderate dosages, camping is great fun. However, putting up and tearing down a campsite every single day can be tedious, especially at 6am and again after an exhausted day. We will be on the road for approximately 93 days. That’s 186 (93×2) times of inflating and deflating my mattress, 183 times of putting up and taking down my tent, and 93 days of washing out cycling clothes for the following day, “wear one, wash one”.

2. Loading and Unloading the Bike: Unloading a bike can be quick: releasing bungees, unclipping panniers, autopilot kicks in and the process of set up camp begins. Loading, for me, is more tedious, everything drug out must go back into its designated bag, sack, or compression bag. Things must be re-squished, deflated, repacked and bungeed back on the bike. I remember some of my first cycling tours, I made sure everything was loaded precisely and aesthetically on my bike and I knew what was in each pannier (saddlebag). On my last tour in September I found myself tossing things in my panniers with little rhyme or reason and the added frustration it created when I want to find something and couldn’t. God forbid you leave your lip balm at the bottom of your rear pannier; everything comes off while you dig for it.

3. Physical Exhaustion: That’s a given. Riding 50-60+ miles a day, day after day, is physically challenging. Does it take a toll? Yes. When one wakes up and says, “I can’t do this again”, one knows the reality of touring has set in and one has to dig deep and remember why one is riding, what adventures are waiting to be experienced, and the sense of accomplishment gained with each passing day. 

4. Relationships: Riding with other people whether it’s with one’s own group or with people one meets along the way is fun, entertaining, and enhances the journey. However, put tired, exhausted, stressed, and sometimes hungry people together and tempers can flare, and patience tested. There are a few things one can do. 1. Ride by yourself for a while, while keeping others in sight. It’s like giving oneself a two-wheel time out. 2. Express yourself. Traveling with others in very close proximity for months is not the time to hold things back as that builds resentment. 3. Remember you’re having fun. Focus on the daily experiences, the vistas, the critters, (not the road kill), and hourly accomplishments. Use humor through the rough patches and be open to your friends giving you a “time-out”.

4. Journal. Keep a personal journal as there are some things you shouldn’t announce to the world on your blog. Keeping a private journal allows one to reflect, vent, explore feelings and hopefully put them in perspective.

5. Know Thyself: Being aware of one’s idiosyncrasies is important when traveling with others in close quarters. For example, after years of denial it was brought to my attention, I snore; there I have shared that with the world (how embarrassing). So Breathe Right strips will accompany me. I blame it on an allergy which I have yet to determine. Also, I require a high level of the “unknown”, the idea of now knowing what is around the bend, or where we might sleep tonight adds, for me, a level of excitement and surprise. I like creature comforts, but don’t require them.  I like to wear a bit of make-up every day and I take the mild teasing with grace. I am picky about the food I eat but make every effort not to let my food choices affect others and their choices. When I am tired or overwhelmed I need to be alone, but you won’t find me in my tent, you’ll find me communing with nature to regain some balance.

 Lisa, Jodee and I have toured enough together to know each other’s behaviors and have adopted a new mantra to get over any rough patches- “Be flexible”

Having read numerous blogs from others who have ridden the TransAmerica trail, it seems to touch everyone in a different way. Some discover themselves, some find the heart of America in the kindness of strangers, some discover only difficulty and pain as that is the lens in which they view the world, and some discover nothing new.

In twenty-four day I can be assured of one thing; there will be physical and psychological challenges and I can let them enhance my journey or affect my journey. It’s a choice.

 

…I’ll keep you posted.

Community Talks and Q & A’s

Lisa, Jodee, and I had a wonderful turn out at Riverview Retirement Community. We spent two hours sharing our upcoming adventure (May 3^rd) with residents, and in turn, loved talking about our bikes and gear. Last week we spoke to residents at Harvard Park Retirement Community, and prior to that Orchard Crest Retirement Community Thank you all for your encouragement and well wishes!

We had some great questions from the seniors about this upcoming journey so I thought I would share some of them as not everyone following this travel log (blog) is familiar with touring on a bike.

Q: Will you carry your food on your bikes? Not much as it is too heavy. We carry a small amount of food such as protein bars, dried soup, dried noodles, and trail mix. This is more for emergencies, for example, if we do not get to our next destination and we are stuck in the “boondocks” with no grocery store. Most days we will stop at local markets to pick up dinner, breakfast, and more snacks for the following day.

Q: Where will you sleep? Campgrounds, cycling hostels, fire stations, and sometimes churches along the trail let cyclists use their activity room to bed down. Occasionally, we may need to knock on the farmer’s door and ask if we can camp in their “back 40”.

Q: How many miles will you travel a day? We are planning on covering 50-60 miles. However, weather, mountain ranges, and headwinds can slow us down. On some days we might cover 30 miles, and call it good. Other days we might complete 60-80 or more miles (a tailwind in Kansas might be nice)!

Q: Will you take any days off?  We plan to take a “rest day” ever 7 days to 10 days and will probably spring for a hotel room and enjoy a long hot shower and a real bed.

Q: Three women riding alone, are you worried about safety?  No, we’re not worried and are pretty resourceful. We worry more about cars and inattentive drivers. We all carry cell phones and the TransAmerica trail hosts a lot of cyclists in the spring and summer so we will cross paths with each other.

Q: Will you carry any weapons? No, just dog spray! Kentucky is notorious of dogs off leashes so we will carry dog spray and whistles in case one looks like it wants to take a bite out of our ankles.

Q: How much does your bike and gear weigh?  My bike, a Surly (brand name), weighs around 32 lbs. One needs a heavy steel frame bike as it is carrying about 40 pounds of gear plus the rider.

Q: Are you worried someone might steal your bikes? No. We each carry a bike lock, and a 32 pound bike with 40 pounds of gear loaded on it is a good deterrent in itself. Beside, our bikes are out “babies”, we keep a close eye on them.

Q: How long will it take to ride from Virginia to Oregon? The TransAmerica Trail is approximately 4,243 miles. Some complete it in 10 weeks; we plan to enjoy the journey and will do it in roughly 12 weeks, finishing around the first week in August.

Q: How many mountain ranges do you cross?  We will get “up close and personal” with the Appalachians, the Ozarks, and the Rockies. The highest pass is Hoosier’s Pass at 11,500 ft.

Q: How many gears does your bike have? Touring bikes are built with mountain bike gearing so one can climb those mountain ranges and steep grades. We have 27 gears on our bikes.

Q: How much clothing do you pack? As little as possible. Generally just two sets of biking clothes, a set of clothes to wear off the bike, and rain gear. See the MY GEAR tab on the travel log this is where I have shared more about my gear.

Q: How will you charge your phones? We each carry a solar panel that will sit on the back rack of the bike during the day. My panel charges a battery power pack, so once in camp; I can charge all my electronics off the powerpack.

I hope that provides a bit of insight in to cycle touring.

If you would like to know each time I post something new on this adventure? Sign up with your email address (on the right side of this page) and you will receive an email when I post a new story and pictures.

 

…I’ll keep you posted

The Long and Short of it All

Twenty-five days before we blast off to the east coast and my to-do list is growing. Yesterday on another training ride the word “shoe goo” came to mind. “I need to put shoo goo on cuts in my tires”.  I can’t take credit for this brilliant idea it came from my trusted mechanic. A little dab of the shoe cement works wonders to seal little rock cuts in tires. Another option is Gorilla glue so I will add it to my growing list: “travel-size gorilla glue”.

Speaking of tires, I have Schwalbe Marathon Racers on my bike, a touring tire with great puncture protection and excellent rolling ability. They are relatively new maybe 800 miles on them. I have been struggling as to whether I need to buy new tires for this journey, as that’s another $100 bill out the window. I took a long hard look at the tires yesterday and noted some minor wear on the rear which, on a touring bike is the first tire to show wear as the rear tire does the majority of the support of me and my gear. I decided to split the difference and order 1 new tire for the rear. The ETA is April 9th, the bike will be shipped around the 15^th so it looks like I will get it in the nick of time.

With twenty-five days to go I think it’s a good time to catch you up on previous posts, and mini-crisis’s that have been managed or solved. As you recall I had a nerve/shoe/”what am I going to do” post last week. The long and short of it is, I got my new shoes and I think they will work well. I wore them on a 25 miles ride this week and yesterday’s 50 mile ride and no nerve pain. As you can see from the picture, the top of the shoe laced up and the shoe is cut low on the foot so there is no ankle pressure. There is a lot of mesh on these shoes so they will be great in the hot weather and I will be bringing my toe covers for cooler weather.  Thank you Pearl Izumi…good job! (manufacturer).

Fifteen Minutes of Fame- We enjoyed coverage of our bike trip and my non-profit organization in a recent newspaper article. It certainly gave my organization, Senior Retirement Project, a shot in the arm and spread the word about the importance of exercise, at any age. In addition, we have enjoyed delivering presentations at local retirement communities about our trip and asking residents to “ride” along with us by accumulating miles through exercise, then chart those miles along side us across the country.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/mar/24/counselor-gives-seniors-mental-health-attention/

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/mar/24/cyclists-promote-active-lifestyles-by-embarking/

Goal Zero Solar Panel–  Now that the sun is out, I have had the opportunity to try my solar panel and it works splendidly.  I still need to find the right size bungee cords to attach it across my panniers -another thing on the list.

Count Down-Week 5 Training–  Ummmm, let’s just say I was able to get in two days of swimming and leave it at that…OK?

Week 4 training is shaping up to a respectable level. I have already put in 105 miles on the bike and will be swimming this weekend as it is supposed to rain. I should go ride in the rain, it’s not like we won’t hit rain, thunderstorms, and maybe even a few tornados in Missouri, but my current mindset is, “why ride in the rain when I don’t have too”.

Weekly planning sessions– Our weekly planning sessions at Starbucks continue. It is nice to “process” this trip, express our real or imagined limitations, and new found strengths over coffee and “carbs”, and we all have the “deer in the headlights look” as we mumble, “only 25 days to go!”

That’s the long and short of it. I am excited to get this show on the road yet am getting overwhelmed with the things I need to get done. When the day arrives to hop on that plane I’m sure many things will be left undone but I’m also sure they will still be there when I get back.

…I’ll keep you posted.

When it Hurts…Stop !

Thirty-six days until we depart from Yorktown so it’s a good time to get new things broken in. Following my own, perfectly rational advice, I have been breaking in my new cycling shoes for this cross-country journey. Makes sense, there are no inherent problems in that, well, I found a whopper.
Generally, I never buy shoes off the internet as I have “boats” for feet, size 10.5 (43 EU). But, size is relative as I am 5 ft. 7 inches. However, when the shoes arrived I decided I did a good job as the shoes actually fit. I did note the tongue was a bit long but decided it wouldn’t be a problem, and my little toe was pinched a bit but the shoe would loosen up, right?

I wore these shoes on the next four rides. The first time my feet got a bit numb, the second time, numb-er, the third, numbing pain, the 4th, my only thought was, “you numb-skull, when something hurts…stop!”  I finally acted and on the 5th ride I wore my old shoes, but the damage was done.

A bit of internet exploration and self-diagnosis (my favorite kind),  I have determined I have irritated my superficial peroneal nerve that runs along the top on the foot. The culprit? The tongue, as it  has been pressing into my ankle. That is my best guess, any podiatrists, or chiropractors out there with some free advice? Also, I did not take the time to go to my local bike shop (LBS) and have the cleats adjusted based on my last bike fit.

Now what? Thirty-six days to go and my feet are burning with numbing cold.  I have decided to stay off the bike for the rest of the week hoping the nerve settles down.  But what do about the shoes?  I took scissors to them!  I trimmed down the tongue so they don’t bite into my ankle. No sending them back now!

Do I wear them again and risk another bout with numbing irritation? Will the nerve get better, did I do any serious damage? Will this be a continuing problem? What does one do when in trouble? Oh, I know, pull out the credit card!

Yep, I headed to REI deciding I am not going to risk riding in those shoes even with a trimmed tongue. I needed a pair that would not put a lot or minimal pressure on the top of my foot and not pinch my little toe.  I found a pair of Pearl Izumi’s that have a “quick lace system” rather than velcro straps.  They were out of stock in the women’s 43 so I tried the men’s. It was ok, but I want the women’s fit.  The price ? $100-ouch!  Everyone, keep your fingers crossed as the 20% coupon starts tomorrow and there are only 5 left. It’s in my cart, I’m ready to buy, but will they fit?  How will they break-in?

I hear myself scream “Stop” in my head.  I remind myself that people are dying in mudslides and fires and I’m stressing over shoes, how self-absorbed is that! The body is a magnificent machine and I keep mine well oiled with herbs, healthy foods, and exercise. It will find balance again. Perhaps that is another reason I am riding a bike across America, to find balance, to restore, and to put things in perspective.

And if push comes to shove,  I’ll switch out my pedals, put on my  five-finger barefoot shoes and ride “barefoot”!

 

….I’ll keep you posted

Confessions of a Training “Slacker”

Training Week 6

This week’s training has ended and I put in a pathetic performance.

Bike: 68 miles
Swimming: 45 mins
Running: a big fat zero.

I’m not sure what happened. Well that is not quite true. A four letter word (work) kept me busy, and I wimped out on a few cold days.  Isn’t it amazing how we justify things? A month ago I was out there running in 34 degree weather and this week I used 40 degree weather to stay behind closed doors.

That said, we were able to get in a lot of hills over the weekend. Today started with a get-together at my house for a “gear party”. We sifted through all of our gear deciding who was going to bring what as we don’t want to duplicate. Case in point, do we really need three mallets?  We decided on two. Lisa has a clothesline plus two other nylon ropes. I asked her if she REALLY needs all that rope and she came up with some pretty good applications such as extra tie-downs. However, I think she is bringing all that extra rope in case she finally has enough of me after three months on the road, ties me to my bike, and leaves me along side the road with a sign that says, “deliver back to the Northwest ASAP”. I’m keeping my eye on her!

After our gear sifting we got on our bikes and road 28 miles (hills and flats). Lisa was the brave one today and hauled her fully loaded B.O.B. trailer while I cruised along without panniers and Jodee without B.O.B.

When we got home I fired up the bar-b-que. We ate our proteins of choice, chips, pasta salad, (GF) chocolate cookies, and GF (gluten-free) beer, and Lisa shared her Fireball.  Medicinal purposes of course.

Tomorrow I will get back on the “training horse” with a swim and Tuesday another bike ride. Jodee and Lisa will be out-of-town for four days this coming week so self-motivation must kick in.

….I’ll keep you posted.

Coffee, Riding, and Food (a perfect day)

Lisa (yellow), Jodee (orange), and me (pink) met at Starbucks this morning to do more TransAmerica planning. We then went for a 24 mile ride which included hills. Actually, we did  quite well for our first “hill-fest” especially so early in the season.  After the ride we decided lunch and a beer were in order. The weather is a bit on the cool side, cloudy and at time rainy, but at least there is no snow.
I will post my weekly training totals as it keeps me accountable.

Week 7 Training Totals:
Cycling:  123 miles  (calories burned, 6,690…sweet!)
Swimming:  1.5 hours
Running:  3 miles

…I’ll keep you posted

Spring Has Sprung…I think

Bikes are getting ready to roll, and their riders are chomping at the bit!

It looks like the weather made a significant improvement with the change to daylight saving time, so training is officially in high gear. Only 6 weeks and two days until we fly back east and begin riding the TransAmerica.

I am making every effort to do some physical activity every day either, bike, swim, or run. My dirt running trail is still a bit soggy but it has not deterred me. However, I am hyper vigilant of rocks, dips, or anything else that would cause me to stumble.  At this stage, no injuries are allowed.

Today I swam and Lisa and I put in 20 miles on the bike a few days ago. I am currently riding my road bike as my Surly is with my trusty mechanic getting a facelift, a new rear cassette, chain, cables, and bar tape. I decided on Lizard Skin bar tape (3.2 thickness) as I want a bit of padding and it came highly recommended.  I’ll get my Surly back on Tuesday and then the “real” training begins.  I will ride it exclusively until I ship it back east on April 16^th.  Each bike has a different feel and fit so I want my body to get used to it since I’ll be riding it for 3 months.

In early April, we plan to do an overnighter at a local state park to practice and get to know our equipment again.  Our last tour was in September but it will be a good trial run.

By the way, I noticed the tulips have emerged, I guess they got the notice that spring has sprung (my fingers are crossed).

I’ll keep you posted…..

“Here Comes the Sun” Solar Power on the TransAmerica

I purchased a Goal Zero Guide 10 Solar Charger  to provide “juice” on this journey. This solar kit charges a pack of 4 AA or 4 AAA batteries which then charges all the electronics I plan to bring. These items can also be charged directly from the solar panel although it is suggested cell phones charge from the battery pack only.

That said, I have been debating as to whether I will really need it as the TA trail is not a desolate no-man’s land. Yes, some towns may only have a few facilities such as a gas station and convenience store, but we will have access to power every night and even during the day at some rest stops or coffee shops.

To help with my decision I tallied up all my electronic gear which includes: 1 Front light (3 AAA) 1 Tail light (1 AA), 1 tent light (3 AAA), Phone, Garmin, iPod, and Netbook.

My front light, tail light, and Garmin will run 8+ hours every cycling day so will go through power quickly. In addition, my cell phone will need daily charging. While I can “stealth charge”, accessing electrical outlets from coffee shops, libraries, restaurants during the day, I have decided I would rather not have the hassle and just do all my charging in the evening from the charged solar pack. Extending a break, just to get 30 more minutes of charge, or bugging people to “let me” plug-in, is one less thing I need to worry about. Fellow traveler Lisa has her own solar panel so I will share with Jodee. Furthermore, it is a lot more “green” to use solar power rather than blowing through batteries and having no way to recycle them. Between the both of us I think the solar charger will be used daily, if not, I can always ship it home.

…I’ll keep you posted.

When You Find a Good Mechanic, Hold Them Tight

My last post discussed my bout with organizing my cycling and camping gear. That is all behind me now and am currently focused on fulfilling my list of “needs” vs “wants”. On my “need” list was a new rear cassette and chain. I only have about 2k or so miles on my touring bike, a Surly Long Haul Trucker, yet my mechanic “Dave” schooled me on the wisdom of beginning the TransAmerica with a new rear cassette and chain.  I listen to my mechanic, First, he fixes my bike out of the kindness of his heart, a few bucks or a Starbuck card (Thanks Dave!).  Second, I know he has my best interest in mind and will make sure I am mechanically safe on my bike. Outside of family and a few close friends, one never  truly knows who has your back. However, I know my mechanic has my back.

Buying a new rear cassette should be relatively easy, and it is, until one is presented with  20-30 options. In addition, I was encouraged to select a cassette with 34 teeth in the large ring rather than 32. Apparently those 2 extra teeth will help me up the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Appalachians, and the Rockies (I’ll let you know if I notice the difference). But now I wrestle with the question posed by Dave “the mechanic”, will my rear derailleur handle a 34? I pull my index finger back from the keyboard and the “Purchase” button. Aarrgh, it can never be simple.  I decided to take the direct route. I called the folks at Surly, “Will my Shimano Deore M77 work with an 11-34? Answer: Shouldn’t be a problem.  The next call is to REI, “Will my Shimano Deore work with a 11-34? Answer: Shouldn’t be a problem.  Two for two, good enough for me!  Back to Amazon (sorry REI they out bid you by 20 bucks), and now I need to add a chain so I can get my free shipping. I type in SRAM PC 971 9-speed, I get 15 options, again, why is it never simple? Some say 114 links others more, what’s a person to do?  You know, there are times when you just want to cut through the crap and go right to the source. I place a call to SRAM in Chicago. “Hey SRAM, I have a Surly Long Haul Trucker, I want to buy your chain on Amazon, will the 114 links be enough? ANSWER: it will be fine.  Back to Amazon and “CLICK”. They are on the way I have been charged $60 and some change.
I’m glad it’s over, I’m exhausted, but my steed will be happy, and Dave “the mechanic” will soon be approached by my smiling face, a few bucks, or Starbuck card in hand saying,  “When you have time, would you please put these on my bike? ” He’ll pretend to grumble, then a grin will spread across his face and say, “How about Tuesday.” I know my mechanic has my back, and for now, that will have to be enough.

…I’ll keep you posted.

TransAmerica Nesting Confession

Many pregnant women “nest” just prior to giving birth. They tend to have a burst of energy and begin cleaning, organizing, and making lists. I think I am experiencing “TransAmerica Nesting”. Today is the 3-month mark. Three months from today the journey begins and I’m already organizing and making lists. It started with a question. “I wonder where those waterproof socks are, maybe I should take those on the trip?” Big mistake. That simple question started an all-out sorting, classifying, and organizing rampage.  The shocking reality was just how much bike-stuff I have accumulated over the years.

It’s easy to get sucked in to buying the latest gear, gadgets, whistles and bells. I justify my purchases with heartfelt statements such as, “I need this new gadget as it is 6 oz lighter than the one I have.”  After all the organizing and sorting, reality smacked me upside the head—I have everything I need, it’s time to pull back on the reigns. The success of this journey is not contingent upon having every piece of gear. After all, there are great stories to be told when one decides not to bring, forgets, or misplaces gear. Think of the crisis we could have if I forget to pack a corkscrew and we can’t open the bottle of wine we carried up a 7 percent grade for 15 miles! Or, how my drying sports bra flew off the back of my bike on to the windshield of a passing car because I left my bungee cords at home!  There are stories to be told and I wouldn’t what to be deprived of telling them because I over thought the process.

That said, I am not returning my new helmet, new cycling shorts, new cycling shoes, new footprint, new sunglasses, new solar panel, and I’m still looking for the perfect tent light.

 

 

Staying Gluten-Free on the TransAmerica

I added a new page to this blog to share a bit about living GF and red meat-free on the trail. Riding across the country, passing through small towns where the only choice might be gas station snack foods will be interesting.  I will be sharing with you, what I find “out there”, how I manage, and if I had to raid any chicken coops for a midnight protein snack because the only available food was a hamburger on a bun!

Pre-TransAmerica “Chatter” January 2014

The decision to ride a bike across America has evolved over the past year. As with many  things, once an idea has been verbalized, said out loud, the idea becomes real.  The “what for’s” morph into “why not’s”.

There are many reasons people bike across the country, some for the journey, some to find themselves, others to challenge themselves. I can identify with all of those reasons but there are more that will reveal themselves as the journey progresses.

This journey has another focus which is to raise awareness to the emotional needs of our senior population for the Senior Retirement Project, a Spokane, WA based non-profit.
Senior Retirement Project

I invite you to join me on this journey, through this travel log, that begins April 28th with a flight to the Raleigh/Durham airport in North Carolina. There will be two others on this ride, Jodee (a brand new retiree), and Lisa (my younger sister).  We will spend 4 days visiting our 94 year-old father, a local retirement community, and getting our gear and bikes together. Then, on May 2nd we will catch a ride to our starting place, Yorktown VA and begin the ride early in the morning on May 3rd.

HISTORY OF THE TRANSAMERICA TRAIL

 The TransAmerica trail, also called the Bikecentenial Trail in 1976, meanders through 10 states, beginning in Yorktown, VA and ending in Florence, Oregon. Its conception dates back to 1972 and the big ride across America commenced in 1976.  “In 1976, Bikecentennial operated 300 trips servicing 4,100 men and women. All fifty states and several foreign nations were represented. Just over 2,000 bicyclists rode the entire length of the trail.” -Bike Report, 1976.

The story of this event is an interesting read. Click on this link Adventure Cycling  to read a full history.  There are a couple of things that stand out in the above photo, no helmets and look at the size of those sleeping bags and tents! I am happy to report today’s tents and sleeping bags are a fraction of the weight. In future post I will be sharing the gear I will be taking on this trip. Then, after the trip is underway I will let you know which items I mail home.  My current motto is, “you pack it, you carry it”.  It is pretty sobering to carry 40 lbs of gear up an 8 percent grade.

People ride this trail west to east, or, east to west. We decided to ride east to west. Why?  Leaving in early spring one misses the heat and humidity of the east coast, and arrives in the west after the snow melts- in theory.

Please come back and catch up on the adventure…I’ll keep you posted.