Day 5: 10/3/2022: Riverside Campground to Draper, VA

First breakfast this morning was several peanut butter and crackers since there were no restaurants nearby.

Below is a pic of the Holsten River, which I have been following alongside for awhile.

After about 8 miles, I hit my first big climb today, Hayters Gap.  It actually wasn't as tough as I thought it was going to be, or maybe the peanut butter and crackers kicked in.  It was about a 1.8 mile climb.

The first town I came to was Emory.  Below are some pics around Emory and Emory and Henry College which is in Emory.

I then made it to Chilhowie where I had my 2nd breakfast at McDonald's, make that a big breakfast with hotcakes.  Some pics below around Chilhowie.

Then came Marion.  Few pics below.

I spent a lot of my ride today on USBR 76 (pic below).  I got on it at Hayters Gap and got back on it again at Rural Retreat.  I stayed on the route  from Rural Retreat to Draper.  I got off the route for several miles because I did not want to go to Damascus, which would have made the day a lot longer.

Not NO, but heck NO :)

Some scenery pics from today.

A couple of pics of Draper below.

When I got into Draper, population about 600, I went to the New River Trail and asked a couple of people where a cyclist could pitch a tent for a night. They told me to go talk to Brian, and told me where he lives. I went to Brian's house and he told me I could camp on his nearby farm.

This is Brian and Christabel.

This is his farm.

View of Peak Knob from the farm.

This is where I will be sleeping.

Sunset views from the farm.

And the lights on the greenhouse ceiling twinkle.  It's like stargazing. Sweet dreams.

Total miles today: 87.9