Day 10: Rural Retreat to Meadowview; the Highest I Have Been So Far

May 15, 2015

Rural Retreat (Craig's back yard) to Meadowview (Camping at Methodist Church)

(Note to readers regarding the elevation profiles; the profile is calculated from Point "A" on the map to Point "B" on the map. Since I am traveling east to west on the first half of this transcontinental journey, my route of travel is usually shown on the map as being from right to left. However, the elevation profile is shown from left to right, so it must be "reversed" in your head to understand it.)

Climbing Today; 3,152 ft -- Total So Far; 25,025 ft

My life has devolved to the basics of survival, which I list in this order of importance:

1.) Do I have enough water with me, and where is the next water stop?,

2.) Do I have enough food to supply my bike "engine" with fuel for the day's run?, and

3.) Where will I find shelter tonight?

I was rolling at 5:57 a.m. after leaving my hosts a thank you note. This was going to be a tough day; in other words, just another day of cycle touring in the Virginia Appalachians. I have become accustomed to being happy if I can get 1 restaurant meal a day, and some days that hasn't happened and I have had to do with whatever I can easily consume from a small town grocery store or convenience store. Earlier in the trip I had rediscovered a love for Applebee's after not having a "real" meal for 2 days and then stumbling onto an Applebee's as I approached my hotel for the night. So I rolled on gently uphill to Sugar Grove and was happy to find that the convenience store had breakfast sandwiches; that's "almost" like real food, so I scarfed down a bacon/egg/cheese gut grenade with pleasure. The Appalachian Trail is nearby, and a through hiker had hitched a ride to the store for supplies and we chatted a bit. Then I rolled on, anxious to make the climb into Troutdale and beyond before the heat intensified. There are so many beautiful streams in Virginia that it is just obscene; it seems as though Virginia had first choice and chose to be the state with all the beautiful streams. So here are a few more;

Another Beautiful Stream, Note The Waterfall on the Left

I Was Captivated by all the Beautiful Streams

Believe it or Not, I'm Only Photographing Some of the Beautiful Streams

I climbed on to Troutdale, and then tackled the big climb of the day between Troutdale and Konnarock where I topped out at about elevation 3700, which appears to be the highest I will get prior to reaching the Colorado Rockies.

I was in the Lewis Fork Wilderness area, and I approached a young couple who had been hiking and were trying to hitch a ride back to Damascus. As I got closer, a van drove past but wouldn't stop for them even though it only contained the driver. When I rolled up I joked, "I only have room for 1 of you." We chatted a bit, and then no more than 50 yards ahead of us a mother black bear crossed the road with her 2 cubs! I unzipped my handlebar bag as quick as I could and snapped a pic with my DSLR, but all I got was empty road cause the mom had spotted us and shuffled quickly across the road and into the woods.

The young couple told me they had hoped to call for a shuttle to get back to Damascus (where they had started), but they had no cell service. Neither did I, and that was the story for much of my trek through rural Virginia. After leaving them, I stopped for a break. I wear a skull cap with a neck drape to protect my neck from the sun. It does a decent job of covering my ears as well, so I only need to use a bit of sunscreen on my face and legs.

I had injured the muscle immediately beneath and behind my right knee earlier, and that caused me to take my 1st rest day a few days back. During this rest break I stepped off a small ledge and felt a sharp twinge in that spot. I chewed myself out rather sternly; "Dude, you're in a wilderness area with hardly no traffic, what traffic there is won't even stop for a nice young couple and they certainly aren't going to stop for a grizzled old man like you, you don't even have cell phone service if you get hurt - be careful you dumb ass!" OK, I got it; this wasn't the time or place for stupid mistakes. So I collected myself and rode off, tenderly nursing my sore leg - it seems to be OK when I ride, it's just an issue when I walk.

The Appalachian Trail crossed my path a few times.

The AT is marked with a white slash, such as on the rock below;

I rolled on down to Damascus, where I hoped to satisfy 3 needs I had; a meal, laundry, and some adjustment to my bike. I spotted a bike shop, laundromat, and restaurant all within about a quarter mile of each other. My bike is still quite new, and the shifter cables had stretched a bit; this is a normal thing and easy enough to adjust, but I also needed a better lubing of the pedal retaining clip springs than I could do with my small bottle of chain oil, and I needed some sort of spacer to fill a gap where my rear rack was attached cause the fender stays kept it from being snugged up tight. So I offloaded my panniers at the bike shop and left the bike, put on my walking shoes, collected my dirty laundry and headed off. I really should say I hobbled off, cause limping was the best I could do. I reached the Laundromat and it was locked tight despite the "Open" sign, so I hobbled on down a few more blocks to the restaurant and had a burger and sides. By the time I returned, the bike was ready, so I repacked and headed off - I still had miles to go and hills to climb before I sleep.

Tomorrow's quest includes the climbs up Hayters Gap and Council; the first is a steep 1500 foot climb and the other is an equally steep 1000 foot climb. I got my first look at the ridge I will climb tomorrow;

And if that wasn't enough to get me excited, the highway sign makes it even more interesting.

I Think This is a Clue That I'm Destined For the Mountains

I finally rolled into Meadowview, exhausted from the day's effort. I wanted to reach Meadowview because it was close to the start of the climb up Hayters Gap and I was hoping to tackle it with fresh legs the next morning. Daniel had texted me that the Methodist Church would let me camp, and I tried unsuccessfully to reach the pastor by phone. But when I found the Methodist Church, another cyclist was already there and I met Wesley.

Wesley started his tour in Delaware and cycled down the Atlantic coast and joined up to the Transam route. He plans to leave the route out west and take the Western Express route to Cedar City, UT, and then take the Grand Canyon Connector route to the north rim, and then somehow cycle to Las Vegas, and then ? He is traveling on a road bike not built for touring, and has already broken 2 spokes and had to have a new wheel built.

We have a beautiful place to camp behind the Methodist Church in a pavilion.

We had electricity in the pavilion to recharge electronics, and a garden hose for water. I hadn't showered in 2 days and I was getting kind of ripe, so I hung the garden hose up over the pavilion support and enjoyed a rather invigorating and COLD shower with my bike shorts on.

Wesley followed suit and "enjoyed" the cold water shower also. Someone from the church showed up later (maybe they got a report from a neighbor about cyclists showering behind the church), and they opened the door and gave us temporary access to the bathrooms while they watered plants. I turned in early with my alarm set for 4:30 a.m. as I wanted an early start for the Hayters Gap climb.

Today's ride: 59 miles (95 km)
Total: 522 miles (840 km)

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