The Mo Mo Tour: Day 17 – Hindman to Hazard area

I neglected to mention an interaction with three old guys at a filling station. I stopped to buy a cold drink but this was an old fashioned filling station. Just car repairs and gas. The old men spoke mountain English. Fortunately I could understand most of what they said. “There’s a Faniky Dollar just up the road.”!one of them got up and fetched a cold bottle of water from his pickup and poured it into my empty bike bottle. Nice guy.

I should also mention the ten-year-old boy who helped me take my things up the stairs to the hostel.

I hung out in the hostel playing word games on my phone and trying not to think of steep hills and aggressive dogs. I skipped breakfast because mass quantities of pizza were still working their way through my tummy.

The hostel room is up some stairs from the street so it took some time to get started. I hit the road around 9:30. Two miles later I came upon this.

A bridge was being replaced. This area of Kentucky was devastated by severe flooding in 2022. This bridge was one of the victims.

There was a steep, narrow dirt path on the other side of the equipment. At best I could get through in 15 minutes; at worst I could tumble over the side and die a quick death in the river. Now that I think about it, maybe I have that backwards.

I looked at Google maps and decided to improvise a detour. I backtracked to Hindman (just a couple of bored old dogs along the way). I headed over to Kentucky state highway 80, a four-lane road with very wide shoulders and rumble strips.

One kind of rumble strip was narrow and deep. If you hit them at speed you have to stop and pick up your filings. In Kentucky these strips are continuous, only broken when a side road intersects with the highway. That means you can’t cheat by using the travel lane then cutting through a gap in the rumble strip to safety.

The other kind of strip was quite shallow and spanned the entire paved shoulder (which was often 20-feet or more wide). I preferred the latter. It was no bumpier than the backroads.

After a long climb I came upon a detour sign that indicated I could return to my planned TransAm route. Nope. I like this four lane just fine. The only dogs I heard were caged at an animal shelter I passed.

Highway 80 – like riding out west. Note the deep rumble strip on the left.

The highway cut through the tops of mountains that came about one mile apart. The climbs were significant but not very steep. No walking today.

It’s a good thing today is another cool day because there was absolutely no shade on the highway.

After about a dozen of these hills I saw a sign for WalMart. I knew there was one across from my hotel but I wasn’t expecting it yet. Sure enough my hotel was only a quarter mile farther.

The Walmart was part of a shopping district on the top of one of the mountains. I’ve seen this in West Virginia.

There are several eateries in this flattop complex. I chose Wendy’s for lunch. A chicken wrap really hit the spot. I lingered to kill time until check in.

There’s a rental car agency next to the hotel. It has dozens of shiny cars. So tempting until I googled a return route to home. THERE’S NO WAY OUT OF HERE!!!

Tomorrow is a long, hilly one with more dogs and a possible flood-related detour.

Miles today: 22

Tour miles: 840

Final note: Today is my 36th wedding anniversary. Wife and me: 36. Trump felony conviction: 34.

The Mo Mo Tour: Day 16 – Breaks Interstate Park, Virginia to Hindman, Kentucky

This was a day that had it all. Which is not necessarily a good thing.

I slept poorly despite the lovely accommodations. I was groggy for the first ten miles. This is not a good thing because the road conditions here are bad. The shoulder of backroads often is a drainage ditch. Also, there were countless places where flooding broken off the edge of the road.

The day began with salad for breakfast because the park restaurant was closed. And because the salad would not have lasted much longer in my front left pannier.

I rolled out at 8 headed for Hindman, over 70 miles away because the small towns that used to offer shelter to bike tourists stopped doing so. No idea why.

I descended into the town of Breaks where I met a big floof of a dog at the side of the road. He seemed harmless and let out a WOOF then I started past him then he started growling. He began to chase me. In no time at all he had sunk a tooth into my right rear pannier. I was pissed! I stopped and, with the bike between us, confronted the dog. His face said,”Uh, oh.”

Then I began stalking him in a short green space along the road. He was totally freaked out. Where do I go? What do I do?

My actions caused him to completely disengage. Lesson learned.

I descended into Kentucky and came to the town of Elkhorn City.

There was a proper sign a mile with the Governor’s name on it later but this one sufficed.

I had decided to put my dog whistle in my mouth. A dog started trotted down a side road from a county building. I blew hard on the whistle and the dog seemed to say “fuck it“ and went back to the building. The problem with the dog whistle is that it is metal and rough on the teeth when bouncing along bumpy roads.

The country roads for most of my route passed homes, about half of which had a dog. Every so often I’d see a loose dog running toward the road. I tried my horn but discovered that it doesn’t work well when it’s not held vertically with the horn on the top of the gas cylinder. It did deter one dog, however.

Later two dogs started to give chase. The horn was peeking out and of my handlebar bag attached using Velcro. I hit the horn button three times and the dogs disengaged. Not bad.

Still the idea of waiting for a dog to be in full flight seemed like a bad strategy. So every time I saw a dog or dogs running toward the road, I stopped. This did away with panic pedaling with a dog snarling along side me. Instead the dogs chase instinct was short circuited. I still had to get past the dog but at least I now had some control over the situation. (When I watched a YouTube video describing this technique I thought the guy was insane. He has it right.) Of course, doing this slows my progress but after the dog disengages I’m much less stressed out.

One time a dog came off his porch and ran straight at me on a walkway perpendicular to the street. I stopped at the end of the walkway and told him to “Get in the porch” and he did.

Later I was chased by three small dogs. One of them was an old dachshund bitch that just wouldn’t disengage. I pulled out my mace and gave it a shot but she had pivoted in response to her owner and I only sprayed her butt.

The last dog was a somewhat muscular looking mutt. I stopped and yelled. There were kids and parents hanging out on a lawn about 50 yards from the road. They clearly didn’t give a shit about my predicament. After five minutes of my pleading with them to get their dog, they sent a ten-year-old girl to get it. The dog eluded her and kept harassing me. I appealed to the adults on the lawn but they didn’t budge. “He won’t bite you.” It took a good ten more minutes to gradually escape the situation with the help of pickups coming in both directions.

Dogs around here don’t chase motor vehicles. It’s something about the sound of a bike that sets them off.

There were five steep climbs on the route. I walked part of four of them, probably for a total of five miles. It sucked.

Backroads were pretty but the dog attacks ruined any ability to enjoy the scenery. Whenever I passed a building within sight of the road I went into scan mode.

The route did feature some fun downhills. One dog tried to give chase when I was hauling ass down one of these and the dog seemed to realize that he couldn’t catch me and stopped running.

I was on highways a couple of times. They were flat and had decent shoulders (marred, however, by rumble strips). It’s fun to cruise along at 15 to 18 mph and not have to worry about dogs.

I’m staying at another church hostel. These are big community rooms that have limited amenities. This one has a shower and a washer and dryer. There’s a take away pizza place across the street. I ate a medium all by myself. It was mediocre, a step above the Hunt Brothers variety on sale in every GSCS.

See. It’s pretty. Note the absence of dogs or an old man pushing a bike up a steep hill.

Mikes today: 71.5

Tour Miles: 818

Tomorrow I have the choice of a 60+ mile ride to a camping hostel at a church in Booneville or a semi-rest day of 20 miles to a hotel in Combs. I’ll decide when I wake up. Right now my back hurts and my hamstrings are so tight that I fall backward when I stand.

The Mo Mo Tour: Day 15: Elk Garden to Breaks Interstate Park

Lights went out at 9 last night. Before turning in I raided the fridge for a small frozen Salisbury steak dinner. This was after I ate a bowl of beef soup and downed an Italian sub. Gimme protein or gimme death.

In the morning, after eating some prefab oatmeal, I hit the road, headed north to Honaker on rolling roads.

I saw some trash along the roadside after Rosedale. I counted five syringes. I’m in Demon Copperhead country where the despairs of daily life are eased by a shot of death.

In Honaker, I stopped at a GSCS for second breakfast: a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit, a day old banana, and some chocolate milk. It was a good thing too because I had the lame idea that today would be flat-ish until the finish.

After Honaker, I encountered a 1,000-foot crusher of a hill. No worries. I biked what I could and walked the steep part in the middle. Peter from LA caught and passed me. After the hill I enjoyed a fun downhill, followed by a good 16 miles of relative flat roads.

I saw a fairly large ranch house down the hill to the left of the road. Two boxers sensed my approach and started barking. Then they started running. No way they going to run up a 100-foot hill on a 1,000-foot driveway.

Way.

They came after me barking up a storm, one on each side. I tried to use my air horn but had trouble getting it to work. The alpha dog was at my left, a foot from my pedal. The beta dog was just off my right rear pannier. I sped up and started yelling maniacally like Fay Wray.

Alpha dog backed off momentarily, then came after me again. I swerved at him trying to hit him with my front left pannier while accelerating up a mild grade.

Thankfully the dogs lost interest after the longest 30 seconds of my life. I don’t think that they would have bit me, but you never know.

I resolved to stay more vigilant in the future. I’m also going to put some stones in the concave dent in the top of my handlebar bag.

In Davenport I stopped at a grocery store. There was Peter having a nosh and having his ear bent by a local man. As soon as he was finished with his sandwich, he took off. Cant blame him. I followed with neither the intention nor the physical capability of catching him. He’s way too fast.

Ahead await today’s main event: three short, steep hills in rapid succession.

Hill number 1 was just outside Haysi. It was well over 10 percent in spots. I rode about 3/4ths of it, pushing The Mule for the rest. After an entertaining descent came hill number 2. I climbed it without stopping. Dang. Hill number 3 put the hurt in me. I walked the steep bits.

This county is where Ralph Stanley, bluegrass legend, lived

I was expecting the entrance to Breaks Interstate Park to be a few miles beyond the summit but it was to my left just at the peak, a couple of miles early. Happy face. The road to the lodge where I am staying was laughably steep. I hoofed it.

I arrived at 1. My room wasn’t ready so I had me some all-you-can eat Sunday buffet. One man with an enormous belly demonstrated amazing skill at balancing fried chicken on a plate. His gluttony kind of turned me off so I had pot roast instead. And green beans. And a roll with butter, and a big salad on a separate plate. There was fruit salad and ice cream for desert. So good!

After lunch my room was ready. It’s huge. It has a balcony in the trees. It has a hot shower, my first since Whytheville. Life is good.

Tomorrow will be brutal. With no places to stay, I have to ride 70 miles to Hindman. Five climbs. Easily the most challenging day yet.

Miles today: 43.5

Tour miles: 746.5

The Mo Mo Tour: Day 14 – Damascus to Elk Garden

The hostel was quite cold last night. And my knees were aching from yesterday’s hill fest. I didn’t sleep well.

At 8 I walked the block to the Damascus Diner where I ate dinner last night. I ordered “The Hogg” and I felt like one after eating it.

Before leaving town I stopped at a bike shop to use their floor pump. Next I headed along rolling country roads to Meadowview. It was a net gain of 100 feet of elevation over 15 miles.

The next 5.7 miles are a descent of about 500 feet to the town of Hayters (rhymes with highters) Gap.

Shortly after the town came the 3-mile, wooded climb to the eponymous gap at 3,000 feet. Fortunately, no trucks are allowed on this road so it is relatively safe despite numerous switchbacks.

I made the first mile without much difficulty. I could tell the grade was increasing with each switchback. I decided to climb 1/3rd to 1/2 mile then rest. This worked well for a mile. I stopped to rest and put both feet on the ground. When I went to start pedaling again, I couldn’t get enough momentum to keep from toppling over.

So I started walking. I soon discovered that pedaling bike up a grade at 3.2 mph is much harder than pushing it bike up at 2.9 mph. So I walked the last mile to the top.

The descent was equally steep, so much so that I stopped twice to let my rims cool.

I stopped for the day at a United Methodist Church bike hostel at Elk Garden, 33.5 miles for the day.

I’m accompanied by Peter from Los Angeles who is traveling light and arrived from Troutdale.

Tomorrow’s destination is the lodge at Breaks Interstate Park. Their restaurant closes at 4 and doesn’t reopen until Tuesday so I need to get up and ride. It’s about 50 miles with some short, steep hills.

Miles today: 33.5

Tour miles: 703

The Mo Mo Tour: Day 13 – Whytheville to Damascus

Yesterday was the “I want my mommy” day of this tour. It ranks as one of the of the ten worst days I’ve ever spent on a bike.

Today was the “Who’s your daddy?” day. the last 20 miles are among the best I’ve ever ridden.

I slept in two to three hour spurts. Mindful of comments about my diet being rather inadequate to the task at hand, I had bacon and eggs with coffee for hotel breakfast.

Last night in a search to purge weight from my bags I found four BelVita packs and four apples. I decided not to grab food for the road from the hotel. Time to consume the consumables.

Before leaving I cleaned and lubed my chain and put a drop of lube on various places on my cables and derailers. Ready to roll.

I coasted downhill for a stop at WalMart then rejoined the route in downtown Whytheville. I didn’t feel very good but decided to continue anyway. On top of the brutal hills, I’ve been dealing with pollen issues for several days. Having sinuses filled with gunk makes me drowsy.

The route took me southwest on Lee Highway, US 11, the old main route through the Shenandoah Valley. Traffic was light and drivers gave me plenty of space. More importantly, the grade of the road was gentle, rarely exceeding 2 or 3 percent, despite what my map’s elevation profile said.

I seemed to be getting stronger by the mile. A light headwind didn’t seem to be slowing me. I came to Rural Retreat and stopped at an Amish-run bakery and coffee shop for second breakfast.

Note the sign at lower left that says “ Yoder’s”, an Amish name.

As luck would have it, today is National Doughnut Day. I bought a cup of coffee and was treated to a huge glazed doughnut. So much for my dietary improvements.

The best things in life are free. And big.

About a quarter mile later, I went into a grocery store and bought dinner, a big turkey and egg salad. My planned destination was a church hostel in Troutdale. There is no food there or in town so it’s BYOS.

According to the elevation profile, I had climbed about 200 feet to 2,500 feet.

I was now headed south toward Cedar Springs and Sugar Grove. Gradually I was gaining more elevation but I really didn’t notice. The wind was no longer on my face and I was locked in. I call it The Trance.

I was buzzing along on this two-lane country road, admiring the scenery and chatting with the cows and goats and horses grazing near the roadside. I look up and there are two cars coming toward me in the other lane. A third car starts to pass them in my lane!

The driver was an old lady with a permanent, white hair stacked up on her head like a helmet. She was taking her time. Coming right at me. No worries. I pulled off the road onto a mowed lawn. Old lady never blinked an eye as she drove by.

At Sugar Grove I started the six-mile climb through the Mount Rogers Recreation Area to Troutdale. The ride wound through a beautiful forest. The grade was gradual. I just kept buzzing along. A raging creek and wild pink flowering bushes running along the road. My legs never tired. I stopped at the top for a snack then flew down the two-miles to Troutdale. Big fun.

I arrived in Troutdale at 1:15. I’d ridden 38 miles, the weather couldn’t have been better, and my mind and body were ready for more. What a contrast to yesterday.

I was at about 3,500 feet before the descent to 3,000 at Troutdale. I decided to ride 23 miles to Damascus. More gradual climbing to 3,700 feet then a couple more short climbs. None of the climbs bothered me in the least. I was cookin’ with gas. And the scenery was perfecto.

I could have taken dozens more but I didn’t want to spoil my downhills

I had the option to ride the Virginia Creeper Trail for the last 13 miles into Damascus. I didn’t bother. The road was a total blast, gently winding this way and that down to Damascus at 2,000 feet.

I’m staying at The Place, the first hostel to cater to hikers on the Appalachian Trail. It has been welcoming TransAm cyclists since Bikecentennial in 1976.

This must be The Place. The Mule abides.

I am two miles from Tennessee. I’ll save that state for a Natchez Trace ride in 2025.

Tomorrow is a short ride to a church hostel in Rosedale. The midway climb over Hayter’s Gap is 1,500 steep feet. These boots are made for walkin’.

I’ve booked a room at the lodge at The Breaks Interstate Park on the Kentucky border for Sunday.

Thanks to all the readers who bolstered my spirits after yesterday.

Miles today: 59

Tour miles: 668.5

The Mo Mo Tour: Day 12 – Draper to Whytheville

I had another good Warmshowers experience with my hosts Curtis and Jennifer in Draper. They own and operate the Spinning Jenny Vineyard. At dinner they served me some of their red wine. It was really, really good so I chugged a whole bottle.

Just kidding but not about the quality of the wine.

After coffee and Cheerios I hit the road. It poured yesterday after I stopped riding so my decision to do a short day was a wise one.

Today’s ride on rolling country roads featured a strong, constant headwind with gusts well above 20 mph.

After 5 miles I stopped and ate a banana. It had no effect on my speed or attitude. At 10 miles I stopped for second breakfast at a McDonalds. It helped a little but soon the beat down continued.

Today’s plan was to ride 50 or 60 over a mountain ridge to Troutdale. I didn’t come close. I struggled mightily on even the smallest hills.

All the while the skies threatened to let loose with a downpour.

On prior tours, after about a week, I got stronger. This time I seem to be getting weaker. It was so discouraging that I stopped at a city park and checked to see if my brakes were dragging on the rims. Nope.

Interesting sign in downtown Whytheville

After lunch in Whytheville I knew I was done for the day. I ate hot dogs in an eatery in the first floor of an historic building; Woodrow Wilson’s wife was born on the second floor.

The last two days have been a constant struggle on even the shortest climbs. I am not having fun.

I checked out the possibility of renting a car and going home. The understaffed rental agency in town had nothing available so I rode across town and up yet another monster hill to a hotel.

I checked in and took a nap.

Tomorrow I’ll decide whether I’ll continue. The incessant climbing has worn my ass out.

Miles today: 29 (felt like 129)

Tour miles: 609.5

Update: The nap did me good. After dinner, I read a bunch of online journals about the part of the TransAm I’ve been riding. Nearly all say the hills are much steeper than the elevation profile on my maps indicate. I probably climbed 4,000 feet the last couple of days in short bursts.

They all agree that the big climb tomorrow isn’t nearly as bad as they thought.

I’m thinking of ditching a spare water bottle that I haven’t touched in 300 miles.

The Mo Mo Tour: Day 11 – Christiansburg to Draper

I slept poorly last night until I realized the AC wasn’t turned on. I awoke shivering at 7:30 a.m.

The first order of business was to lay waste to the hotel breakfast bar. Mission accomplished.

I left late because my hosts for the night, 30 mikes away, won’t be available until 4 p.m. I stopped at a hardware store to pick up some Velcro strips. I’ll use them to attach my air horn and mace canister to me or my bike. I am preparing for the dogs of eastern Kentucky.

As for the dogs of Virginia, they seem to be on vacation.

The topography of this area is a series of ridge lines running southwest to northeast. I’m in between two ridges following country roads that rise up 100 or 200 feet then go down 100 to 200 feet. None of these climbs were particularly challenging but I walked two anyway because it’s really not much slower and much easier that grinding away at 3 mph.

Before Radford I saw the word SLOW painted on the road. Properly warned I zoomed down and around a steep hill.

In Radford I stopped for lunch at a hot dog place. I ordered a large Diet Pepsi. It was more ludicrous than large. The food was fine.

The drink was so big, it didn’t fit into the picture

I crossed the New River and continued south with dark clouds coming over the ridge to my left. The temperature started to drop. Winds increased. I stopped and put on my rain jacket. Small leaves started falling and swirling across the two-lane road.

I looked up and saw a 100-foot tree swaying ominously. Limbs started falling onto the road. A few football-sized rocks were dislodged from the jagged rock face to my right.

Time to get off the road. I came around a bend and saw a dozen or so big branches in the road. As luck would have it, the was a house with a covered porched to my left. I took shelter as the storm raged. In ten minutes the show was over and I was in my way.

The view from the porch. Doesn’t look too bad, but it was.

I arrived at my Warmshowers hosts an hour early. They were here and ready to greet me.

I’m staying with the owners of this vineyard

I started the day at 2,000 feet and ended it at 2,200.

Dinner tonight is spaghetti and meatballs.

Tomorrow’s planned destination is a church bunkhouse in Troutdale, near the Appalachian Trail. The 60-mile ride involves quite a bit of climbing to about 3,000 feet.

Mikes today: 33.5

Tour miles: 580.5

The Mo Mo Tour: Day 10 – Troutville to Christiansburg

I didn’t sleep well last night, probably because I washed down my Subway (the closest place to the hotel) meatball sandwich with a 24 ounce beer.

I did myself proud at the breakfast bar, finishing with two apples and two bananas for the road.

I rode on a local highway to get back to the route, stopping at a Kroger on the way. I picked up some Bel Vita cookies and some flatbread (I ate my tortillas back in Lexington.)

The temperature was already in the 70s so I knew I was in for a warm day.

Back on the road I took Catawba Road west towards Gravelly Ridge. After ten miles I stopped to eat an apple and banana. The two-lane country road was busy with dump trucks. I heard a massive explosion in the distance. Soon I passed Roanoke Cement, the mining company that blows up mountains and processes the rocks (and coal, apparently).

After the mine, I encountered sawtooth terrain, one short, steep hill after another. Combined with the increasing heat, these hills were beating up my legs and my mental state. I pushed The Mule over the top of three of them, all the while thinking how will I ever do the truly big climbs head?

The road surface wasn’t helping. An especially bad part was the descent to a creek bridge full of huge potholes.

I crossed into Montgomery County and the road leveled out. Even better I hit a five-mile section of new asphalt. I stopped for a quick snack before attacking the last third of the day’s miles.

The skies behind me were darkening as a scary looking cloud formation, flat and dark, came over the ridge to my left.

I started to look for shelter as I rode. That porch looks okay. That barn will work. But I kept pedaling, now with slightly cooler temperatures and a strong tailwind. My body and mind were feeling much better.

I knew from the elevation profile in my maps that the ride climbs 500 feet in only a few miles just before the finish. I stopped in the town of Ellett to fortify myself with Gatorade and ice cream at a CSCS.

About two miles later the climb began. I’d ride until my heart and respiratory rates were maxing out. After a few minutes, I’d get back to work. The third time I did this I was weak in the legs, making restarting dangerous; I could wobble in front of a car or into the ditch next to the road.

I pushed The Mule up around a bend and there was the top at last. As it turns out, Christiansburg is at 2,000 feet of elevation.

Once into Christiansburg, I rode to nearby I-81 where my hotel is located. The front desk clerk informed me that it was 89 degrees outside.

As I’m writing this a classic summer thunderstorm erupted outside.

Tomorrow is a short mileage day to a highly recommended Warmshowers host in Draper. They won’t be ready for me until 4 p.m. so I planning on sleeping in.

Miles today: 49.5

Tour miles: 547

After the sawtooth section I saw this. I’m saved!!! Alas, it was closed

The Mo Mo Tour: Day 9 – Lexington to Troutville

My Warmshowers stay was excellent. Not only did I do laundry and take a nap, but I had a fabulous dinner and breakfast cooked by Dirk and Chrissie my hosts.

I hit the road around 8:30. The first couple of miles contained an unexpected set of rollers into Lexington. I rode through the campuses of the Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University.

After that the route turned into back country roads. There were streams and forests and deer and cows and calves and goats and sheep and a bunny. There were landed estates way off the road fronted by massive lawns and a row of hillbilly shacks that seemed impossible to live in (but of course they were). Most of the homes fell in between these extremes.

Off to my right were the Short Hills, a rather imposing ridge line. The route skirted them all day. I spent probably more than half the day along a stream, a rail line, I-81, or US 11, all of which run along the southern Shenandoah Valley.

Whenever the route left these features, I found myself grinding up a short, steep hill.

At 20 miles, near Natural Bridge, I stopped for a snack at a GSCS (Gas Station Convenience Store): a pint of Arnold Palmer, a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, and a CPB ( cherry pie in a box).

I checked to see if the hostel had responded to my request for lodging. Not getting one (until just now at 6 p.m.) I booked a room in the Comfort Inn in Troutville.

My legs were pretty tired after the climbing of the last two days. The food brought them back to life for a while.

In the town of Buchanan, 33 miles into the day, I had lunch in a bar. (The town’s other two eateries are closed on Mondayso.) The bartender/cook went about her business with a cig in her lips. I only eat at the finest establishments.

I ate a fried bologna sandwich with a side of fries, washed down with nearly a half gallon of iced tea and water.

At this point, temperatures had risen into the mid-80s. The AC in the bar did as much for me as the food.

Back on the road I headed for Troutville. I came to a barrier across the road. Eastbound Greg had warned me at the Cookie Lady’s house that there was a road closure. When he encountered it, there was no warning so he convinced the road crew that they should let him pass. I wasn’t going to take a chance when I could see on Google Maps an alternate route.

Blue Mountain Road had three steep climbs. When I hit to the third one I stopped midway up to catch my breath. Two golden retrievers behind a fence came over to urge me to move on. They were harmless so we had a chat. Woof. Sit. Woof. Go home. Woof. Later.

I was 100 feet from the top so I decided to push my bike up, probably saving my knees in the process. I turned onto Lee Highway, US 11, and headed south.

There wasn’t much of a shoulder but there was even less traffic. After a few miles I reconnected with the route only to hit a steep hill just outside of Troutville. Again I rode most of the way and walked the rest. No hurries.

The ride into Troutville was a twisty 30 mph whee!

My hotel was a mile off route on Lee Highway. I checked in just before 3 and called it a day.

My wife texted me. I’ve been called for jury duty in mid-July. I figure I can finish this tour as planned by June 30, but jury duty would kill extending the tour. That may not be a bad thing. In any case I can reschedule.

For those of you wondering what the climbs I’ve been doing look like take a look at this elevation profile. The horizontal lines are increments of 1,000 feet.

The last two days were that big bump in the middle

Miles today: 50

Tour miles: 497.5

I think that’s Short Hills in the distance.

The Mo Mo Tour: Day 8 – Afton to Lexington

We had a fun group at the Cookie Lady’s house last night. Phil, Masha, and 4-year-old Brooke arrived in the late afternoon. Daddy Phil is pulling Brooke in her trailer. Momma Masha is carrying a huge load of gear too. They were quite fun people. Australian Phil has great taste in music; he’s a Neil Finn fan.

I slept poorly but the price was right. Greg left for the east at sun up. I headed west at 7:15.

The first two miles were straight up Afton Mountain Mountain to Rockfish Gap where Skyline Drive meets the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I stopped to take a picture of The Mule at the sign pointing south for the BRP and north for Slyline.

After a mile of climbing I was tired and went to post the picture. I deleted it instead. Derp.

There were plenty of sights to photograph though. This section of the BRP had two big climbs: one to 3,000 feet another to 3,200 feet. I felt like I was out west climbing in the Rockies without the thin air. In between the two high points I descended to 2,600 feet.

Anyway I rode 27 miles on the BRP before descending on a steep and windy mountain road to Vesuvius. The road looked incredibly like the road over Deepwater Mountain between my in-laws childhood homes in West Virginia.

It was raining during the climb to 3,200 feet and the descent to Vesuvius so I put on my jacket. The cool air and raindrops were welcome relief from the hard work going up and the hot braking surfaces going down.

I did stop twice on the descent to let my rims cool down. The first time I’m sure I was close to a heat-induced blowout. These v-brakes are infinitely better than the cantilever brakes I used to have on The Mule.

The road from Vesuvius to Lexington was mostly flat but for a hill near the start and a couple of tough climbs near the end.

I’m at a Warmshowers house just east of Lexington. Dirk and Crissy have a chill golden retriever named Roxy.

Tomorrow I’m shooting for a hostel in the Appalachian Trail in Troutville.

Miles today: 49

Tour miles: 447

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