HIlls and headwinds

DAY 07
Lexington, VA to Catawba, VA

Good ol' Southern hospitality. That's what our Warm Showers hosts Rebecca and Lee exude. We begin our day with Rebecca making us all pancakes served with a glass of orange juice. Or you could have freshly squeezed milk from one of their cows if you prefer. They wish us well as we repeatedly thank them for their kindness. 

Becky and Renee in their matching jerseys!!!

Getting ready to set out in the morning

62 miles to Catawba. I thought I'd feel terrible today, but on the contrary Becky and I are in great spirits. Unfortunately it doesn't take long to bring us back down to reality. When traveling, one of the worst things in the world is following a shabby map. I have to say so far I'm not impressed with the maps we're using. Especially for the price of $180. The written directions are useless, and yesterday a massive climb was completely missing from the elevation profile. Today at the very beginning of the day, a turn which was supposed to be 2 miles, was in fact 5 miles. That's a huge mistake. Our day just went from 62 miles to 65 miles, and we're only on mile five. How demoralizing is that.

Burger King to the rescue. On the outskirts of the small town of Buchanan we parallel the interstate for a few miles. A large billboard announces the upcoming Burger King. I honestly thought we'd be eating fast food every day of this bicycle adventure. Not true. The bike route sticks to back roads and tiny towns with only small convenience stores. Not many opportunities for fast food.

The miles slowly add up. However, exertion from the past week is noticeably becoming a factor. It's hard to believe we've been at this for a whole week now. I still don't consider myself a cyclist. Becky says I look the part even if I may not feel it. I tell her she looks like she's off to her tennis match in that bicycling skirt. 

The rolling hills west of the Blue Ridge are more up then down. I pedal by Becky as she climbs off her bike on one such hill. "You're spent, aren't you?" I ask. Unable to muster a response she simply huffs at me. The steady 25 mph headwinds, with gusts approaching 45 mph don't help the matter. As I creep up a slight incline, one such gust hits us head-on. Becky is nearly pushed into the ditch. All of my forward momentum comes to an abrupt halt, the handlebars and front tire shake as gravity threatens to pull us to the ground. When the gust passes, my wheels begin to roll again averting the slowest crash in bicycling history.

Troutville, VA

We finally make it. Seven hours of pedaling in 85° humid southern air. Our wonderful maps had told us there would be camping for cyclists behind the convenient store. The said convenient store we stand in front of is boarded up. As we stand in the parking lot an angel drives up. Trail angel for the Appalachian Trail that is. "Hi I'm Joe. I run a hostel up the street for AT hikers. Y'all can stay the night if you like. I'll even throw your bikes in the truck so you don't have to ride them up the hill". Joe I think I love you.

Daisy, Joe's adorable dog

Stats: 
Miles: 65.05
Average speed: 9.4 mph
Max speed: 34.8 mph