June 8, 2006
Day 7: Troutville, VA to Radford, VA
59.94 miles, 5:17:00 Ride Time, 11.63 Average Speed, 37.0 Maximum Speed
I woke up early, around 5:30, and started packing everything up. I had my act together this morning, and was riding out of the park by 7:10. It had been sprinkling since I woke up, so I wanted to try to beat the rain.
I rode through some fairly hilly terrain, but was able to make 40 miles by noon. I was slowed down a little by a road repaving project, when I had to ride about 5 miles on a gravelly surface. For the second time on the trip, my chain came off when I was trying to move from the middle to the small ring. It took a few minutes to get it back on, and to clean the grease off my hands as best as I could. I need to get some rubber gloves for this kind of situation.
Around this time I met my first West-to-East TransAm rider. His name was Steve, and he told me had left Oregon in April. I asked him about the dogs in Kentucky, and he seemed to think they weren't a big deal. In fact, he said he had quit using his "Halt" dog spray at some point, when it wouldn't stay clipped on his bike. I told him it should all be downhill from now on (well, maybe not the climb up from Vesuvius...)
I finally got rained on today - once for about 10 minutes near Ellett, and later as I climbed into Christiansburg. I had been dreading riding in the rain since I started the trip, so the fact that it finally happened, and wasn't too unpleasant, was actually sort of a relief.
The climb into Christiansburg wasn't too bad, although I was getting tired at this point. When I got to Christiansburg, I noticed that the my maps and the "Bike 76" signs did not agree. I remembered reading that the maps had been changed to re-route around a particularly steep hill ("Danger Hill"), but that the signs had apparently not been moved. I stopped at an antique store and asked the ladies there about the hill. They told me it was down the block, and that yes, it was very steep. Since I was making good time, and the weather was now clearing up, I decided to make a short detour and check it out. As I had heard, it was incredibly steep. I was able to get to the top, but only in my easiest gear, and standing up the whole way (unclipped - I was afraid I would slow down and fall over otherwise).
That accomplished, I got back on the updated route, and rode toward Radford. I hadn't decided where to stay in Radford, so when I got to the edge of town and saw a local guy on a mountain bike, I asked him for directions. He said the route he was riding would take me close the hotels, so I rode with him for a few miles until I got to the Super-8.
After I checked into the Super-8 and cleaned up, I walked downtown (I should have ridden - it was probably 1.5 miles) and had lunch at a local restaurant - BT's. It was the kind of place that had a wall of photos of celebrities who had eaten there. The one I remember was the guy who played the oldest son on the Brady Bunch. I had lasagna (good), then walked back to the hotel.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 428 miles (689 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |