Shout out to our brother Jim, 45th bertday
today.
Last night I said we stayed at Elk something. It was officially Elk Garden, United
Methodist Church. We have seen zillions
of churches. You will see Regular Baptist,
Freewill Baptist and they are distinctly different. Some even involve hiccupping during the
services. And no notes when addressing
the congregation.
I have seen more
bananer trees. I saw one in a pot
bigger than the ones I have at home.
Lots of kudzu still. It is like a
weed taking over our country. It grows
over our shoulder on the road many times.
It covers and smothers trees.
We left just before sunrise. Had a major climb right out of the
chute. The other climbs were not as bad as anticipated. Very gradual even though they were high. Rides were beautiful. Lots of streams again and mountains, Blue
Ridge. Beautiful backdrop. Saw a couple waterfalls on the streams. Last major climb is Mt. Vessuvious, a couple
days away. Glad to be finished with most
of the climbs. Our goal is almost in reach. We can almost smell the ocean.
Went through Hayters Gap, Meadowview, pop 967, Damascus,
pop 1025, Konnarock, and then into Troutdale, 464. We are in a hostel that is for hikers and
bikers. It is along the Appalachian
Trail (AT). Damascus is a big stop on
the AT. The hostel is at the Baptist
Church of Troutdale. Has bunks and showers
and a Jobsite Johnny Portolet. No
tents. Jack stopped in Meadowview for
coffee and shook some babies and kissed some hands. Jerry and I and Sue stopped in Damascus. We thought there would for sure be a café
there, but they were not open and we had to settle for some “pancakes” at a
place called Cowboys. I will give them a C-.
We crossed the AT several times.
Jerry recognized many of the places from his trip on the AT back in
2010. Damascus a trail called the
Virginia Creeper Trail which is a bike trail made of crushed limestone. It provides things to do for tourists. Couple of bike rental places in Damascus for
anyone interested in a day trip to Damascus.
In Virginia, they actually recognize the Transamerica
Trail. There are these signs with a bike
and the year 1976 on them. They are like
markers along the trail telling you when to turn and reassuring you that you
are on the right road. The only state
that has had them. 1976 was the first
year the trail was traveled as part of the bicentennial.
When we got to the hostel, Jack said that it was a great
ride, but he wanted to see the last hill from the other direction. I thought he was only kidding, but he got
back on his bike and road back up the same hill he just came down just for
fun. Needless to say, I didn’t accompany
him. We have a beautiful view from the
front porch of the hostel of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Quiet and peaceful and no bugs. The last couple days and nights, it seems
like the bugs have disappeared. Can’t
figure it out, but why question it. Live
for the moment.
While Jack was riding backwards, he ran into a guy whose
buggy was off the road. He helped him
get in all the way off the road until horses cam to pull him back. He gets the Good Samaritan award for
today. Jerry helped a turtle across the
road earlier in the week, so kudos to him for doing that. Jack thinks the turtle needs to learn about the traffic and the consequences of
walking so slowly across the road.
Darwin would be proud. I saw two
horses being ridden on the road. Just
like they were supposed to be there.
They also left some bonus material on the road.
Tentative plans are to head for Radford tomorrow. Closer and closer to the promisesd land,
Yorktown.
Today we did about
60 miles, 76 to Radford.
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