Hostels, hills, hikers, and happy

Slept like a baby

Something happened last night that was unusual. I slept from 10PM until 4:45AM all the way through. It felt amazing. I feel more groggy and slow to get going when I sleep through the night, but at least I’m not tossing and turning every hour. Plus, my tent wasn’t setup, so I could take my time packing up. I quickly consumed my three packets of overly sugarfied oatmeal and was off. Our goal was to arrive at the local diner, Virginia heights, the minute they opened in order to snatch the tables with outlets. We ordered our usual coffees, mine black with no room for cream or sugar. We began writing our journals, and I ordered a veggie omelette with a housmade biscuit. Always got to make sure it’s housemade. It’s the south, I expect it now. We got to writing, but the noise and TV were a bit distracting, and with a big day of hills to our end destination we decided to utilize our breakfast fuel and push on early in the day. The road was somewhat busy, but rolling hills and blue skies made it a nice morning ride. The wind was there, not enough for an attitude though. We decided we’d throw on some music until our lunch break. When you have a hill coming and your music is blasting you seem as if any hill is achievable. The power of music is essential in terms of motivation and changing any emotional feeling you’re having. When a certain Coldplay song comes on, all I can think about is my boy Brian Bowers and I crushing exams in organic chemistry. I smile ear to ear every time it comes on, and suddenly my legs, as sore as they are, start cranking out some serious RPMs. I’ll pay for it later, but in the moment it’s hard to hold back.

Gas station lunch break

We accomplished the first hill of the day, and determined a rest break was necessary for the larger hill coming up. We stopped at a gas station for some lunch, today mine was tortillas, peanut butter, a lot of trail mix, clif bar, and coffee. However it all goes down doesn’t matter, as long as it’s in my stomach I’m a happy man. We sat on the grass along a fence with shade, and talked about some of thousands of Brian’s stories while touring during his life. His stories are fascinating; I could and would listen to them all day. After touring 19 countries and biking across America 4 times, you know stories will come of it. I’m happy to continue to learn everything I have from this guy, but don’t tell him that or he’ll make me carry an item of his as payment for the education. I was having a blast sitting there, sometimes the best moments are when you’re laying in the grass in the middle of no where. We both knew we should get going, so we were off for the next hill. We encountered an interesting obstacle along the way, a huge tree fell 15 minutes before we arrived. We had to unload our bikes and walk through the woods to get around. Wasn’t to big of a deal, just crazy that it happened.

Slow and steady

One important lesson Brian has taught me is ‘slow and steady on the hills’. The risk of blowing out a knee or straining your lower back isn’t worth the extra 5 minutes you’ll save by powering up the hill. It’s likely one of the most important lessons to learn if you need to stay healthy for a while. I took this advice for today’s hills, and it paid off. As long as I pull up and push down with my clipless shoes and pedals, I am able to take advantage of both pedal strokes, which is important on your legs for balanced muscle distribution. Eventually, after crossing the AT several times and stopping to chat with thru hikers, we made it to the top. Remember what happens when things go up? Swooooooooosh. That sound mimics my shirt flapping in the air at speeds up to 38 mph. We basically rollled what felt like 6 or 7 miles into Damascus, a BIG Appalachian Trail hiker town. It’s such a mental difference knowing we can roll into town instead of climbing into it. We were happy bikers.

Which hostel to choose?

The AT runs right thru Damascus, so there were plenty of hostels and BnBs to choose from. Back in the early 2000’s, Brian came to Damascus and stayed in a place called, The Place. The house is run by the methodist church and contains bunk beds, electricity and a shower. We were just happy to be in a place with so many hikers. They are a breed of their own, and we met some really cool ones. We exchanged experiences, similarities, and differences between riding and hiking long distances. Brian and I made a trip to our favorite grocery store, Dollar General, and purchased some food and snacks. We prepared a nice meal during perfect weather at our hostel, and life was great. We decided earlier in the day that we would take our first rest day here, so tomorrow we will have a zero day to recuperate and resupply. The town has zero service, and our hostel had no wifi, so we headed down to a burrito place for beers and wifi to contact family. The corona hit the spot; it felt like a small pat on the back. We set up our pad and sleeping bag on the wooden bunks, lights were out by ten, and I chose to read a bit. Immediately I was drifting to sleep thinking about what these past 9 days have been like, and what the next 2 months will bring. It should be a wild ride, nonetheless.

Stats

Start: Wythville, VA End: Damascus, VA

Today’s mileage: 54ish miles Total: 496ish

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0