Day 4: 2/27/24: Norris, TN to Duffield, VA

I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and decided to pack up and hit the road.  I told my host last night that I sometimes wake up early and decide to start riding.  We said our farewells just in case, but he advised me I could have some oatmeal with him if I was still around.

Speaking of my host, Jeff, he told me an interesting, funny story about his bicycle touring.  He and his touring buddy did a lot of touring before Jeff got married, and his buddy always talked about biking across the country one day.  When Jeff got married, his buddy, who was an attorney, did a tongue in cheek prenuptial agreement for Jeff and Jenny that included a statement that she would let him do a cross country bicycle trip one day.  Well, they did that 2 month cross country trip when Jeff and Jenny had a 4 month old child.  I'm sure Jeff still owes her big for that trip :)

Today I went through the communities of Andersonville, Liberty Hill, Washburn, Thornhill and Treadway.  Other than a couple of Dollar General stores (of course), there's not much in any of these places.  Liberty Hill has Liberty Hill Market  which may become a regular stop for me on this route.  I like their egg sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and mustard, which I've had twice now. (Pics below)

(I have no idea why my pictures have started coming up sideways.)

There was a lot of beautiful rural scenery today on very lightly traveled roads. In the pic below, it looks as though the building and the bicycle have been abandoned for awhile.

I'm camping at the Clinch River Family Campground.  There's a primarily paved way to get to the campground, but it includes some highly trafficked roads.  I chose the back way to get there, which includes about 5 miles on a road with loose gravel and some short steep hills.  I had to walk my bike near the top of a couple of these hills due to lack of traction because of the loose rocks.

Total miles today: 90.4