Day 9: 11/14/23: Lexington to Harrisonburg, VA

Today's the finale.  I will be meeting Lisa in Harrisonburg, spending the night there, and then driving with her to PA.

Another great night's sleep inside last night with no need to mess with a wet tent this morning.  Dave and Tasha cooked a tasty breakfast of scrambled eggs with veggies mixed in and sourdough bread.  We said our goodbyes and I left there with a full tank.

Today's ride was not as hilly as some of the days have been, but there were still plenty of hills.  Pic of some scenery below.  This is beautiful country to bike in, but the terrain is very challenging.

About 12 miles from my final destination today, my rear tire got spongy.  I stopped and felt the tire, slow leak.  I really didn't want to pull everything off the bike this close to the end, so I just put more air in the tire.  It got spongy again about 2 miles from the hotel, but I made it to the hotel on the tire.  

I made it to Harrisonburg at about 5:00 p.m. and the traffic was horrible.  Over the past several days, I have been on roads that I pretty much had to myself.  In Harrisonburg, I had to quickly acclimate back to constant vigilance because there were cars coming from every direction with many passing within a foot of me.  It was so bad I resorted to riding on the sidewalk beside some of the roads.  That creates an entirely different kind of stress, turning vehicles, cracks in the sidewalk, etc.  It all ended well as I made it to the hotel and checked in.

I called Lisa and she was caught in Interstate traffic as there had been an accident.  She made it to the hotel about an hour after me 

Bicycle touring this time of year can be stressful, especially longer, multi-day trips.  The number of riding hours in the day is greatly reduced.  Even with shortening the miles each day, I barely made it to my destination each evening before dark.  Also, the colder weather makes it more difficult to get up earlier for needed early departure times to arrive before dark.  Or maybe it's not either that makes it tougher, maybe I'm just getting older :) This was another good, challenging trip.

Total miles today: 65.2

Total miles this trip: 697

Day 8: 11/13/23: New Castle to Lexington, VA

It wasn't as hard to get going this morning since I didn't have to mess with rolling up a damp tent.  That is what really gets your hands cold starting a day, getting your hands wet from the tent and then hopping on a bike and getting the chill of the cold air.

I went by a little restaurant about 7 miles outside of New Castle and had breakfast.  An 80 year old man named Chuck was sitting in the booth next to mine and he was quite interested in my trip.  We also discussed his bikes and the simple joys of cycling.  When I was almost ready to leave, I ordered an egg sandwich to go for lunch.  I went to pay and the cashier said my total was $3.83 for the sandwich.  I reminded her of my breakfast plate, and she said a couple sitting near me paid for that when they left.  I asked her to please thank them for me the next time she sees them.  

As has been this entire trip, today's ride was challenging.  I was on a gravel road climbing mountains for many miles.  The gentleman at the restaurant warned me that I would probably get on some gravel roads if I went the way Google Maps directed me and he recommended I stay on the paved road.  When I got to the turn for the gravel road, it didn't look that bad so I took a chance and went down that road. It turned out being a very good biking road.  I have ridden on blacktop roads that were rougher that these gravel roads were.

Below are some pics.

 

On the first gravel road I came to a point where I had to make a decision.  Either try to ride or push through this...

...or go over this...

...no brainer, I chose door #2.

A couple more scenery pics from today.

Tonight I'm staying at the home of another Warm Showers host couple, Dave and Tasha (pic below).  Dave opened up a bike shop in Lexington, but the Covid pandemic hurt his ability to get supplies so he had to close it permanently.  His basement at his home looks like a bike mechanic's dream with all the bike tools.  Dave cooked some delicious lentil soup for supper and we also had homemade sourdough bread he purchased.  Tasha was at band practice a couple of hours after I got to their house.  She is in a band with 4 other women who are practicing to play at a wedding in Texas in the near future.  The band consists of 4 women and they are called "Betty and the Hot Flashes."

Total miles today: 65.9

Day 7: 11/12/23: Appalachian Trail to New Castle, VA

Another cold start to the day.  There were ice crystals on my tent's rainfly, and some of the support poles were frozen together at the joints.  I warmed them up with my bare hand to thaw them so I could pull them apart.

Pics below of a covered bridge near Newport VA and some scenery from today.

Passed this little fella today.  He must have been injured because he did not attempt to run away from me.

Whoever painted the rock below did an excellent job.  I thought it was painted on a cut out piece of plywood until I got closer and realized it was painted on a rock.

Tonight I'm staying inside at a Warm Showers host, Brandon, in New Castle VA.   This will be the first time I have slept indoors since Day 1 of the trip.  Brandon is a pilot for a private airline company and also flys towing gliders for the gliders club in New Castle.  

Total miles today: 65.1

Day 6: 11/11/23: Cedar Bluff to Appalachian Trail, VA

It was a frigid morning and it was tough making myself get out of the nice toasty sleeping bag.  I finally forced myself to get out of it, break camp, and get on the road.

In addition to having to put my cellphone in my sleeping bag, I had to put the lanolin I use to keep my lips from chapping in my sleeping bag with me to warm it up so I could squeeze it out of the tube 

I rode about 6 miles into Saltville, VA and had a warm hearty breakfast along with a couple of big glasses of hot tea to warm me up at Coach's Diner.  I also ordered an egg sandwich with tomato and lettuce to go for supper tonight.

After a cold morning, the day warmed up nicely but quickly began getting much colder again close to sunset.

Couple of scenery pics below.

I made it to Bland, VA where I had been given permission to camp at the fairground there on a previous trip.  I planned on this being my camping spot tonight.  I called the sheriff's office to get permission, but this time I was denied.  It was recommended that I go to the national forest at the Appalachian Trail.  So I rode about 12 more miles, luckily it was on the route I will be taking tomorrow, and found a spot next to the trail.  Below are pics of the Heron on the trail and my campsite.

It'll be a miracle if I don't break out with poison ivy or something because there were little "leaves of three" all around where I pitched my tent.  Unfortunately, it was the only somewhat flat spot I could find and I was desperate.  I just tried being as careful as possible to avoid it, but it was practically impossible.

I crawled into my cold tent shivering, ate the cold egg sandwich I got earlier, and then went to bed.

Total miles today:  65.9

Day 5: 11/10/23: Duffield to Cedar Bluff, VA

Last night before I went to bed I did a pinch test on my bicycle tires and the back one had a little "give" in it.  It was enough to make me wonder if it was leaking air, but not enough that I knew for sure it was.  So I went on to bed.

This morning I woke up early to get an early start and checked the tires again. Back one almost completely flat, so it definitely had a slow leak.  I took the bike into the restroom and repaired the tube with a patch.  I couldn't find anything in the tire that caused the leak so my guess is a sharp rock penetrated the tire during my ride on the gravel roads yesterday just enough to cause a pinhole in the tube.

It rained a little last night, but the wind had everything dried off by this morning.  I broke camp warm and dry, loaded up the bike and headed toward Gate City, VA for breakfast about 15 miles away.  About 2 miles after leaving the campground, a cold rain started and temps began to drop.  It rained steadily all the way to Gate City, and I was chilled to the bone when I made it to McDonald's.  I couldn't stop shivering from being so cold.

I pulled out some dry clothes from my bags and changed out of the wet clothes in the McDonald's bathroom.  I used the air hand dryers in the bathroom to dry off my wet clothes as well as I could and put on the dry clothes.  I sat in McDonald's for over an hour drinking hot tea and eating breakfast trying to warm up.  Pic of my table at McDonald's below.

This morning, I also started having a problem with my cellphone's battery.  It went from about 75% charged to about 15% charged in a short time, without it being used. All I could think that it could be was reaction to the cold weather.  I recharged it to almost full at McDonald's and after I left and started riding it did the same thing.  It got down to about 25% charged in a short time with little use.  To try to keep it warm, I put it on my thigh under my bike shorts.  Next time I checked it was  up to about 57% charged, and it was not hooked up to anything.  So the cold air is definitely draining my battery.  From now on, it will be riding on my thigh during the day and will be in my sleeping bag with me at night to try to keep it warm.

I disburse camped tonight at the Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area near Cedar Bluff VA.

Total miles today: 69.3

Day 4: 11/9/23: Heiskell TN to Duffield VA

Rolled out of camp about 4:30 a.m., so that means about 2 hours of riding in the dark.  First stop was a truck stop about a half a mile away from where I camped.  Not knowing if I would pass another place to eat today, I bought a biscuit at the truck stop and had it, some banana/oatmeal pancakes I have been carrying since I left home, and some nuts for breakfast.  

About an hour and a half into my ride, it was still dark, I pulled into a church parking lot to look for an outside water faucet,  but there were none there.  While I was there, a neighbor's dog started barking and the dog's owner saw me leave the church parking lot.  As I was passing his house he hollered for me to stop, which I did, and he asked what I was doing at the church.  I'm sure it was pretty suspicious looking because my bicycle headlight probably looks like a flashlight.  I explained what I was doing there and he topped off my water bottles for me.

Fortunately, there was a small market about 40 miles into my ride that has a grill.  I ordered 3 eggs and another biscuit and ate them for "second breakfast." I also ordered an egg sandwich to go which I ate for lunch.  The rest of the day, I did not pass any type of market.  I didn't pass through any city or town and didn't see a single traffic light.  It was a full day of rural riding bliss.

However, about the last 15-20 miles today were on rough mainly loose gravel dusty roads. That did tend to damper the blissfulness of the rest of day's ride.  It's all part of the adventure.

Even the campground I'm staying at is very rustic.  There are no security lights so it's very dark.  It is located on a gravel road just inside Virginia. It's a very scenic campground on the Clinch River. Pic of my campsite below.

Total miles today: 89.3

Day 3: 11/8/23: Crossville to Heiskell, TN

The day started at about 4:45 a.m.  My stomach convinced me to alter my course today and ride through Crossville to get breakfast.  This added several miles to my distance, but it was worth it.

Pic of the county courthouse in Crossville before sunrise below.

There were a lot of steep hills on my route and a lot of pretty scenery.  I was primarily on back roads with little to no traffic.  Below are a couple of pics of some of the scenery.

 

Before I started this trip, I looked online for campgrounds that had tent camping that were along my route.  I saw somewhere online that Escapees RV Parks in Heiskell had tent sites for $12.  So I figured that would work out for me.  I got there a little before dark, and the worker said all of their sites were taken by RVs.  I explained that I would not need any hookups and that if she had a small grassy area (which they did from my observation) that that was all I needed.  She told me they had nothing like that and proceeded to tell me about another campground in Knoxville.  She knew I was on a bicycle and seemed to have no empathy for my situation.  She did say there was another campground a half mile down the road.

I went to that campground and inquired about tent camping knowing I was at their mercy to charge me some astronomical amount.  The lady at that campground told me they do have spots for tent camping, BUT you have to have a vehicle.  I almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of that explanation but I didn't.  I pointed to my bicycle and said that's my vehicle.  In a snarky way, she said "You know what I mean, a motorized vehicle." I almost told her mine has a motor, me, but I saw this was going nowhere so I moved on.  I looked on line and saw that tent campers at that campground must have "transportation." Hard to believe that something that has transported me several hundred miles over weeks and months is not "transportation." :)

There is a church across the street from the 2nd campground, so I went over there thinking I might could pitch a tent on their property.  As I was sitting by the front door of the church, Tyler, the youth pastor at the church and his family pulled up to get ready for Wednesday night service.  I explained my predicament to him, and he called Chris, the lead pastor, and got permission for me to pitch a tent behind the church.  They also fed me some stew, and I played a couple of board games with Tyler, and his children, Ryen and Allison.  Allison won the first game and I won the second (beginner's luck).

Total miles today: 92.9

Day 2: 11/7/23: Coalmont to Crossville, TN

I slept really well last night.  I woke up this morning to a bountiful breakfast made by Pat (pic below).  I definitely left their home with a "tank full of fuel."

Unlike yesterday's ride, today's ride started out with some fairly steep but short rolling hills.  The terrain remained pretty much the same throughout the day with a lot of short ups and downs.

Today's route ended up being almost completely different from the route I had printed out.  The Google Maps route that I had printed out had me turning on ""Bowater" road and staying on it for about 7.5 miles.  I was leery of that road when I saw it on the route because Bowater was a paper mill in Tennessee.  Sure enough, when I made it to the turn for Bowater Road, the road was made up of large, loose rocks, and I imagine it was used primarily for logging trucks.  There was no way I was going to attempt to ride my bike on that road.  I backtracked a couple of miles to a main road and pulled out my cellphone and came up with another route, which ended up being very nice.

I rode through Fall Creek Falls State Park and did end up on a rutted, gravel road (pic below), but it was for a fairly short distance and the surface was not all bad.

My initial plan for camping tonight was to go to Cumberland Mountain State Park, but it was going to be $42 to camp in a tent.  So I looked online and found a city park on a lake (Meadow Park Lake) that I was going to try to find a spot at to "stealth camp." When I made it to the lake, I discovered the city actually has a campground at this park complete with a bathhouse, and it was only $16 to tent camp there.  Pic of my campsite and the lake below.

Total miles today:  76.5

Day 1: 11/6/23: Athens, AL to Coalmont, TN

This trip is about our granddaughters, Harbor , age 2, and Eden, who is due to make an appearance on 11/16/23 in Pennsylvania.  The plan is for me to bike to Harrisonburg, VA, meet Lisa there on 11/14, then ride with her in the car to PA on 11/15.  That all could change with an early appearance by Eden.

Today was a beautiful day with a nice tailwind most of the day.  I left the house before sunrise because I knew it was going to be a long day.  Pic below of the Limestone County courthouse in Athens before sunrise.

Pic below of some scenery from today.

Today's ride was relatively flat until mile 91, when I came upon about a 2 and 1/2 mile mountain climb.

Tonight I'm staying with Ron and Pat, friends of ours who taught both our children in elementary school in Chattanooga.  Ron made a great tasting pizza for our supper.  Pic below of us all enjoying Chef Ron's homemade pizza.

Total miles today: 106.9

10/26/23-10/28/23: Athens - Henry Horton State Park - Davy Crockett State Park - Athens

The weather was near perfect so Mike and I decided to go on a 3-day bike trip.  Our first campsite was at Henry Horton State Park. 

As we were sitting around our campsite, another touring cyclist came rolling in to the campground and rode up to our campsite.  We invited him to pitch his tent at our campsite, which he did.  His name is Max (pic below) and he is from Oregon, but currently lives in Chicago.  He is riding from Oregon to Savannah, GA, and has been on the road for 2 months.

The next morning, I walked into the bathhouse at the campground and saw this...

The note he left with the battery must have worked because the battery charged, unattended, all night.

Max wanted to take our picture the next morning, and pulled out a disposable camera to take it with.  I told him I didn't even know disposable cameras were still made :)

Mike and I then camped at Davy Crockett State Park before heading back to Athens.  A few pics below from our trip.

Pic of Mike below walking across an old dilapidated bridge at Mt. Zion Church.

A couple of our admirers pictured below.

Mileage for each day:

85.7

69.2

50.8