Fantastic, our first day off, well deserved for sure!! WE have been riding for 12days straight, the first two days just exploring the area, still, those days were about 25miles each. No chance of a laying but managed to grab 2-3 hours later in the day. I had hoped to explore the town, try the Dairy King and other junk food extravaganza's, but time got the better of me. I cycled around town getting bits and bobs for pancakes. (a firefly just floats past, lovely). No where seems to sale cooking scales! What is wrong with this place ;) lol. Just throw a cup in, well, if your cooking something then it has to be exact quantities, likes like chemistry. Anyway, I got there in the end and made some lovely pancakes. Thanks Delia Smith!
There are lots of walkers here as this town is on a famous walking trail. There are lots of guest houses and different types of lodgings which is great for the traveller. It has been boiling hot most of the day and I really hope it is cool tomorrow as apparently the hills are something to be remembered! Today's cooks had to go to the supermarket to pick up food, so off we went. Fab! Junk food heaven. I also picked up some great magazines too! :) This evening we ate out at this lovely restaurant on the river, lovely views, big food portions and lots of beer and fun talk. We all signed the card I got for Mike, and hope to have it posted soon. I also have some stuff to post back to Jack & Alfie too.
Start time: 07.30
Start location: Wythevilla
Start State: Virginia
Start weather: clear
Total millage so far: 546.67
Finish time: 12.30
Finish location: Damascus
Finish State: Virginia
Finish weather: Overcast
Miles today: 58.37
Total millage so far: 605.04
Today's top speed: 40.2
Today's average speed: 14.4
Music played:
Blancmange - The Platinum Collection
Blondie - Autoamerican
Blondie - Blondie
Blondie - Parallel lines
Blur - Parklife
Blog for this day:
After a long week of
riding and Mikes crash yesterday, the last thing anyone wanted to do today was
to cycle. We are all very tired and just
need a rest, and today by all accounts, was meant to be gruelling. It was pretty hard for sure with long steep
hills in places, but generally they were very long and not so steep sapping
hills. The weather was hot right off but
threatening heavy thunder storms later on in the day. I stayed with Ublad a lot of the way, but the
headwinds were pretty strong and I ended up falling behind about 20-30miles out. Lots of animals on the trails today, lots of
differetn coloured large butterfly's and loads of caterpillars. There were rabbits about and chipmunks
too! Another large dear jumped out too,
just waiting to see how the GoPro caught it.
Also lots of trailer parks about, some with lovely old cars rusting away
in their driveways. The roads have been
pretty good too, but some of the driving, like yesterday, was horrendous, I
would say, life threatening.
We beat the rain and
came whizzing down the great hills into Damascus, some gravel and junk on the
road, but overall, very good. No coal
lorries, but plenty of heavy goods trucks and lumber trucks too. Lots of lovely empty houses about too which
is a shame, I would love to own some of them!
So sad. Lots of other houses for
sale, or having yard sales to raise cash.
Some of the little towns too were drop dead gorgeous. Forget the name of one of them, but it was split
in two by the train rails. The builders
were so old, it really took you back, it was fab!! Wish I stopped to take pics, but i just didn't
get the chance. Now we are here, there
is a pool up the road and lots of junk food shops! I am happy lol.
Start time: 07.34
Start location: Christiansburg church
Start State: Virginia
Start weather: Chilly
Total millage so far: 489.84
Stops:
Notes:
Finish time: 13.22
Finish location: Wytheville, church
Finish State: Virginia
Finish weather: Hot
Miles today: 56.83
Total millage so far: 546.67
Today's top speed: 39.2
Today's average speed: 13.3
Music played:
Andy C &
Grooverider - Drum & Bass Arena
Ashes to Ashes - Series 2
Big Daddy Kane - The Very Best Of Big Daddy Kane
Blancmange - The Platinum Collection
Blog for this day:
Monday, memorial day
here in America. I forgot to mention
yesterday about cycling past Virginia Tech, where a shooting took place the
other year, google check. Also met up
wit another cyclist on the way back to the church last night. We rode or about 5miles, he was in training
for a half iron man. We had a good chat,
nice guy.
Slept ok, but still
waking up, can’t wait to get back to my own house and bed! Also cant wait to see Buster. Up early again today to escape the heat. It was a cooler ride in the morning, even a
bit chilly at times, but got much hotter in the evening. So, I am in the laundrette at the moment as I
write today's blog! I know, me in a laundrette!
Wonders will never cease, I knew this trip would change me. At least I know why I have never been in one!
hahaah. The ride was good and I didn;t
even get lost, mostly because I followed Ublad most of the way. I came across some nice little places, one
really old town with old wild west age shop fronts and courthouse. Wish I had stopped off to take photo’s, but I
wanted to crack on. Stopped off at this
little petrol station where I met another cyclist who talked for Britain, all I
wanted was to get a water and some food.
I managed to get away and found they served some rather tasty bacon and
egg rolls, chomp! A guy on a recumbent bike came in, so we
chatted for a bit. I had seen him
earlier and spoken briefly while on the road.
Saw some more
chipmunks running about and cycled up some long hills which sapped the little
energy I have left, still, there is a day off coming up! Woop woop.
Stopped and took some pics of a rather nasty looking snake after seeing
some squashed friends of his on the road earlier. No idea what kinda snake it was, so I got up
real close to it lol, nah, i kept well away.
Later on I came across this junk shop/flea market. Had a cycle around the outside looking at the
junk in case there was something which took my eye, then the crazy owner came
out. Right out of Pulp Fiction or is it
Falling down, he says “comes inside, I’ve got something which may interest you.”
Gulp! He looks like a crazy kinda guy,
so hey, I went in lol. Turns out there
was no dungeon or gimp tied up in box, nor any rocket launchers, dam I’ve still
not found anywhere to shoot yet! It was
just some bikes he wanted to show me. I
made my excuses and left!
I got into Wytheville
not too long after Ublad. There was no
sign of the van so I gave Paul a ring and it turns out one of the other riders
had crashed earlier and was in hospital with a broken collar bone!! Yikes.
Poor Mike, he had just taken early retirement to do this trip and was so
excited every day about it. Such a nice,
kind, helpful and forgiving guy, it’s a real shame. Hopefully he can rejoin us later on in this
trip. Pretty much everything in the town
was closed but we found this great hot dog shop which has been going for like
500yrs lol. Think I ate four of them as
they were so good, plus the helper behind the counter got another order wrong,
(even though there are only like four things on the menu lol). We spoke to some local boys which was great, must have been for about an hour. As we pulled away they were driving a big Hummer, if I had known that I would have asked to have a ride in it! oh well DELETED FOR HARMONY... means I can come do my blog in peace and quiet and I can shower later on at my
leisure. Not much else happening, popped
to walmart and forgot the code to Wendy’s padlock which was pretty funny I guess.
Start time: 7.30
Start location: Camp Jesus
Start State: Virginia
Start weather: cool
Total millage so far: 415.84
Stops:
Notes:
Finish time: 13.50
Finish location: Christiansburg
Finish State: Virginia
Finish weather: HOT
Miles today: speedo messed up, it was meant to be 56miles, add on at least 18
Total millage so far: 489.84
Today's top speed: 38.4
Today's average speed: ?
Music played:
ABBA – Gold
ABC - Look Of Love The Very Best Of
AC DC - Fly On The Wall
AC DC - For Those About To Rock(We
Salute You)
AC-DC - Who Made Who (Epic Remaster)
Andy C & Grooverider - Drum & Bass Arena
Blog for this day:
Got up at 05.30 this morning to try and beat the sun.Got away when it was cool, lovely.With camp Jesus behind us, we set on our way
through more glorious countryside.I
played cycling leap-frog with the group of Mike, Wendy, Gina and Judy.Not far from camp a dear ran out and I hope
it was captured on my GoPro camera, when I went back to see if Mike had seeen
it, two more jumped out.The day grew
hotter throughout and even though it was tough going, the sun and heat made it
worse.A chipmunk jumped out infront of
me, so he was called Alivin! I did see another later on as well, also a dead
snake and another tortoise with his head out, so I got a snap of him.There are lots of the screaching cenibites
about too, dam they are loud.
These maps, dam they
are crap, sorry guys!They are driving
me totally mad!Yes, I got lost
again!Someone send me a Garmin over!Instead of the roads being coloured like on
normal maps, the only roads coloured are the route your meant to take.So if your on a A road or a B road, or come
to that, any road, you can tell where you are by looking at the street
signs.Well there are harrdly any street
signs here, NONE!Some have nmbers, but
of course the locals all know them by their street name, like we do back home.So if your on a normal map and following the
road, you would be able to tell where to turn off, not on these maps, the
coloured 76 route jusat keeps on going without a hint to tell you to change
roads.Hard to explain but enough to
drive me up the effing wall.So i must
have put in at least, another 18mmiles today in the heat and on the hills.Groan.We did get to swim in the pool on arrival though.Going to hop over to BK for Wifi :)
CRAP, this must be the worst BK in the world, do not come here, SCREAM!!!!
Start time: 7.30
Start location: Love
Start State: Virginia
Start weather: Cool
Total millage so far: 286.22
Stops:
Notes:
Finish time: 14.00
Finish location: Camp Jesus
Finish State: Virginia
Finish weather: HOT
Miles today: 79..63
Total millage so far: 415.84
Today's top speed: 43.4
Today's average speed: 13.9
Music played:
Ministry Of Sound -
Chilled 1991-2008
70s DISCO Hits
A-Ha - Hunting High
and Low
A Flock Of Seagulls -
The Best Of A Flock Of Seagulls
ABBA - Gold
Blog for this day:
After a good nights sleep at the lovely house with the hot tub, I had American
French Toast which was very good and sweet with several packets of sugar
emptied on top lol. Again, I was near
enough the last to leave at around 7.30am.
The riding started bad and it should have been an omen to stay in bed
this day. I took a wrong turn out the
camp, again, and went for ¼ mile down the road before realising. So, back onto the Ridgeway, which is really
amazing. I kept on going and missed my
turning right, not until after an hour or so that I had not caught anyone up,
that I became suspicious! Hey-ho, I was
not going to go back up those hills again, so I pushed on with blind faith that
something would come up. Yeah, lots more
hills! Had some lovely downhill speeds,
but some of the tarmac had sunken into the gaps created by the concrete
below. I had to jump over these while
cycling. Good fun. So, I worked out I could get back on route by
going via Buena Vista and onto Lexington that way. I was pretty tired already by all the extra
climbs but I knew I was getting close to the turn off, so, zooming down one of
the hills I thought I caught sight of one of our team, so wailing like a
banshee I drew into the viewing park. Of
course, it wasn't one of our lot as everyone read the map and went the right
way! I spoke to this cool biker and got
the story of why he was up there, pretty sad, he goes up every year to pay
respect to one of his mates who died. So
there I was, just ruined his moment! He
was a top guy though and we chatted for ages before he showed me where to go
and to be aware of the fast declines. We
saw each other off with a handshake and for me to drop him an email, which I
will do when I get online again. DAM he
was right, this had to be the best downhill cycling I have ever done. F*ck me!!!!!!
It is worth the climb to get up there and come back down again. I hope it comes out on camera as it is truly
awesome. I'm trying to find the best ways
to explain it, just f*cking the best!
The road surface for a start was perfect, no loose gravel or holes. The canvas swept around the corners, gentle
corners, not nasty switch-backs. The
scenery was breath taking, I think I whooped and high-fived my way continuously
all the way down. I did have to apply
breaks at times, but I was tucked right down, legs in, leaning over the
handlebars. You watch the TdF when they
come down the mountains, this was that but x1000!!!! Effing A!
Once down and back to
reality, the town of Buena Vista was nice, one long street with houses and
stuff, and a straight run down to Lexington.
That was a pretty nice place, I zipped around looking at the shops,
seeing if I could see anyone, but thinking that I must be well behind the pace
of the pack, and with no mobile phone, I was worried that I would be missed as
the sweeper would not have swept me, so to speak. Luckily enough I saw the van in town and left
a note on the windscreen letting them know I was alright. (great idea, but the note was not found till
they got into camp, oh well.) So the
rest of the day was pretty nasty, I was tired from all the extra climbing, the
sun was beating down hard. Not all that
enjoyable. Some nice scenery, a squirrel
who wanted to kill me and a peacock with chicks crossing the road in front of
me. A scared little Buster ran across
too, poor thing, miss my Bunnie.
I met up with the
Alaskan’s, I’m sure they are taking EPO or something because they move! Although, in today's heat of around 95, they
were melting quicker than the icecaps! Got
into camp, praise the lord! Yep, full on
Christan camp, so no drinking, swearing and definitely not saying what it is I
do for a job! I’m sure they would still
use that cross at the entrance if they knew about me! At least it’s safe here, you can leave your
bike about, kids play freely and it feels good.
Met some nice people, more from Pennsylvania, seems like that’s where all
the good people come from! Think that’s
it again for now.
Start time: about 8.00
Start location: Charlottesville
Start State: Virginia
Start weather: overcast
Total millage so far: 286.22
Stops:
Notes:
Finish time:
Finish location: Love
Finish State: Virginia
Finish weather: Sunny
Miles today: 49.99 miles
Total millage so far: 336.21
Today's top speed: 41.8
Today's average speed: 12.0
Music played:
Ministry Of Sound -
The Annual 2009
Ministry Of Sound -
Chilled 1991-2008
Blog for this day:
Well lets start today's
blog with what I forgot about yesterday as I was too tired! Dogs, bloody dogs. The advantage they have is that they boost
your adrenalin and wake you up. But when
they start barking and you see them running out into the road behind you, you
just put your foot down. So the two we
had chase yesterday were pretty vicious, they were not giving up. I wonder if this is where Cavendish trains
for his sprints! I certainly put my foot
down even though I was tired.
So last night I had a
lovely night in a hotel, yummy!! I certainly recommend a nice relaxing quiet
night in a hotel once a week. So I’m
here for 12 weeks, that should be fine J)) So I was still up at 6am so I
could get back to the group for 7am breakfast.
The town was amazing, very sweet with lots of young people about. We stopped off at a coffee shop as the others
were there, 2 Jocks sitting down lol. Anyway,
zipped out of town into my most amazing scenery. As i’ve seen and said before it seems that
around every corner and over every hill, there is just the most fantastic
countryside. I cant say enough how
beautiful it is and how you must come. I
really get annoyed when people keep going back year after year to the same
place when there are so many fantastic places to see. The thing is, it gets your brain working and
all your senses ignite so that it becomes a drug and you want to keep seeing
and doing more different things. The
world is still a pretty big place.
Anyway, boiling hot
day again with burning sun. I can’t
remember too much as I'm trying to take in so much “data”, that its hard to
remember it at the end of the day. Lots
of road kill today and some beautiful blue butterfly's. There is also a lot of money around as some
of the houses are pretty dam big, with proper horses in the fields, not the
ones your get down Weston-Super-Mare.
The view of the mountains are pretty intimidating when you see them in
the distance with clouds floating below their summits. When I got to the hills, they started pretty
nasty with switchbacks, the long steady climbs that come later are much easier,
although the roads are amazing still. I
popped in to see June the cookie lady, gave her a postcard of London which she
seemed to like a lot. I didn’t get to go
in and was dripping with sweat anyway. I
got up to the top of her road and a couple of coppers were doing stop checks
which was cool to see. I got confused by the directions and had to double back
and ask them for directions. I got up to
the top and again had to ask some hairy bikers for directions. Dam those motor bikers, very nice and
friendly, but blasting out music from their speakers. So glad I cycle so I can hear what nature is
saying when I look at it. I saw a couple
of bunnies earlier which surprise surprise, I called Buster, and another
ground hog. I saw him, he saw me, I
stopped, he stopped and turned and ran. Oh
well. White Hall was fun, another small
town with a shop, this one had a TransAm book to sign, which of course, we did.
Cycling up the Blue
Parkway Ridge was amazing, this is where Top Gear did one of their
programs. Got to base camp and to pop
down to the local store. We stayed in a
place called Love, I guess I was expecting more as it was a one-shop town. So the store, I went in and there were a
couple of hunter type crazies talking to the guy behind the counter, who looked
just as crazy. They were yapping away
about night vision scopes on their guns and all kinds of other crazy shit like
silencers. I bought what I needed and
ran. Earlier on in the day I pulled over
and had my lunch and there were a couple of other guys who were yapping away
about something and didn't like it that I interrupted their privacy, and they
moved off. A few miles up the road, I
saw them again talking to each other, very strange. Met up with 3 guys on their TransAm, 2 for
Maryland and the other from Philly, so we talked a bit which was cool. Oh just remembered by looking at the map,
Jefferson was born in Shadwell, I guess that’s not the one in South London!
That’s all I can
really remember about this day which is a shame, but there is just so much to
take in each day. Tonight, well, we are
staying in a lovely house with a hot-tub.
Got a good ride down into Vesuvius, very fast apparently.
