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Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
June 20th-21st - Carbondale, IL to Chester, IL
Mileage: 50ish miles
Terrain: Flat Lands
Temperature: 85 ish degrees and Humid
On our rest day we got some laundry done at Seth’s parents’ house. They were so hospitable and were cooking for us constantly. They made breakfast and lasagna and lots of other good food! At 11:00 am we got loaded up in the van and went to a very sweet lady’s house named Joan who has MS. We did a yard makeover and cleaned some windows for her. There is it seems like always news media and newspapers etc. doing stories on our group and we did end up in Carbondale’s Newspaper and on the news. We then went to Wal-Mart stocked up on food, I got some fresh fruit which is wonderful when you are out on the road!! Went back to Seth’s house chilled out, cleaned my bike, got a shower and had some adjustments made on Ruby. This morning at about 8:00 am we all went to a café in town that offered us breakfast at half price. Had breakfast and then started riding. We only had about 50 miles today which was fairly easy and we ended up riding along the Mississippi River which was fairly flat. There was LOTS of flooding around this area and in many cases the road was the only thing above ground. The was one time when we even had to ride through a short part of the road that was flooded and was about 6-12 inches deep. My feet were then soaked for the rest of the day!! We got to camp which we are staying at an Eagles Bar out back. We are tenting and they even have a shower in a little room in the basement. Once I took a shower and got out it immediately started pouring rain. However, there was a small shelter and we are now sitting inside, where it is nice and cool!!
Terrain: Flat Lands
Temperature: 85 ish degrees and Humid
On our rest day we got some laundry done at Seth’s parents’ house. They were so hospitable and were cooking for us constantly. They made breakfast and lasagna and lots of other good food! At 11:00 am we got loaded up in the van and went to a very sweet lady’s house named Joan who has MS. We did a yard makeover and cleaned some windows for her. There is it seems like always news media and newspapers etc. doing stories on our group and we did end up in Carbondale’s Newspaper and on the news. We then went to Wal-Mart stocked up on food, I got some fresh fruit which is wonderful when you are out on the road!! Went back to Seth’s house chilled out, cleaned my bike, got a shower and had some adjustments made on Ruby. This morning at about 8:00 am we all went to a café in town that offered us breakfast at half price. Had breakfast and then started riding. We only had about 50 miles today which was fairly easy and we ended up riding along the Mississippi River which was fairly flat. There was LOTS of flooding around this area and in many cases the road was the only thing above ground. The was one time when we even had to ride through a short part of the road that was flooded and was about 6-12 inches deep. My feet were then soaked for the rest of the day!! We got to camp which we are staying at an Eagles Bar out back. We are tenting and they even have a shower in a little room in the basement. Once I took a shower and got out it immediately started pouring rain. However, there was a small shelter and we are now sitting inside, where it is nice and cool!!
Monday, June 20, 2011
June 18-19th - Sebree, KY to Cave in Rock, IL to Carbondale, IL
Mileage: 55 miles, 83 miles
Terrain: Rolling Hills to Hilly
Temperature: 80 ish degrees
So we finally left Sebree at about 1:30 pm when the rain subsided and the sun began to shine! It turned out to be a beautiful ride with many rolling hills and lots of horses along the way. We had our first rest stop at about 20ish miles had a snack and moved on. Then we came to a little town in Marion, KY and saw the trailer pulled over at a gas station which was our second rest stop. One of the locals that own a café in this restaurant offered to treat us all to dinner since it was about 5:00 by this time. He thought what we were doing was really neat. The food was great!! Probably some of the best food that we have had on the trip so far. So we had dinner there and knowing that we only had 12 miles to the ferry and Cave in Rock we ate up!! We then left Marion to make the last leg of the trip and it was very fast rolling and mostly downhill due to going down the river bank of the Ohio River. Took the ferry to the other side and camped at Cave in Rock National Park in Illinois. The ferry ride was rather short about 5 minutes or so but still a fun experience. By the time we got to camp it was about 8:00ish and we still had to set up our tents and it was getting dark and the bugs were eating me alive! So I hurried to set my tent up as it was past my bed time, went to the shower house, got a shower which was warm however, it was rather dark in the shower house but I made it work. I then crawled in my tent and went to sleep rather quickly as I was very tired. However, it was a very long night as I must have not set up my tent on very flat ground so my sleeping mat kept sliding to the side of my tent. I think my entire tent etc was slowly sliding down the small hill. I then woke up at about 5:00 am when it started to thunder and become very windy and my tent started really blowing. At this time I went in the trailer and decided it was time to stake my tent down. The wind really started blowing and my stakes shortly were pulled out of the ground. I decided that at this time to just get everything packed up and sit in the restroom. So packed everything in my tent up brought it to the trailer and put it away and then when I went back to tear down my tent, it was gone!! It had blown down the hill and it was still dark out!! So with my head lamp on I headed down the hill and soon found it rather far away. By this time it was pouring down rain, so I grabbed my tent and sailed it back to the trailer, tore it down and went to the restroom. Some of the other riders where there as well, however, none of them had the tent blowing away experience that I did. Waited out the storm and then took off around 8:30 am knowing that we had a fairly long day with 83 miles and hills. It was in my book one of the toughest days as I had not gotten much sleep the night before and it was very hot out. We had some sprinkles of rain throughout the day and we even stopped at a restaurant about 25 miles from Carbondale, IL to get something to eat. They were offering cyclist a free desert. So I took them up and had a piece of coconut cream pie…mmmmmm. We finally arrived at Carbondale, IL after passing two beautiful lakes and are staying at one of the riders from last year, house. They had a small pool set up for us and it was cold water, it felt amazing to jump in. They had lots of food for everyone and everyone just chilled out and had a good time. Everyone chose to sleep inside in the air conditioning and throw their mats on the floor. I slept very well as I was exhausted!! Slept until about 8:30 am had a bite to eat and we are all now just chilling out. We have to be ready at 11:00 am to do our service project of a yard makeover for someone with MS. It is a very hot day thus far!
Terrain: Rolling Hills to Hilly
Temperature: 80 ish degrees
So we finally left Sebree at about 1:30 pm when the rain subsided and the sun began to shine! It turned out to be a beautiful ride with many rolling hills and lots of horses along the way. We had our first rest stop at about 20ish miles had a snack and moved on. Then we came to a little town in Marion, KY and saw the trailer pulled over at a gas station which was our second rest stop. One of the locals that own a café in this restaurant offered to treat us all to dinner since it was about 5:00 by this time. He thought what we were doing was really neat. The food was great!! Probably some of the best food that we have had on the trip so far. So we had dinner there and knowing that we only had 12 miles to the ferry and Cave in Rock we ate up!! We then left Marion to make the last leg of the trip and it was very fast rolling and mostly downhill due to going down the river bank of the Ohio River. Took the ferry to the other side and camped at Cave in Rock National Park in Illinois. The ferry ride was rather short about 5 minutes or so but still a fun experience. By the time we got to camp it was about 8:00ish and we still had to set up our tents and it was getting dark and the bugs were eating me alive! So I hurried to set my tent up as it was past my bed time, went to the shower house, got a shower which was warm however, it was rather dark in the shower house but I made it work. I then crawled in my tent and went to sleep rather quickly as I was very tired. However, it was a very long night as I must have not set up my tent on very flat ground so my sleeping mat kept sliding to the side of my tent. I think my entire tent etc was slowly sliding down the small hill. I then woke up at about 5:00 am when it started to thunder and become very windy and my tent started really blowing. At this time I went in the trailer and decided it was time to stake my tent down. The wind really started blowing and my stakes shortly were pulled out of the ground. I decided that at this time to just get everything packed up and sit in the restroom. So packed everything in my tent up brought it to the trailer and put it away and then when I went back to tear down my tent, it was gone!! It had blown down the hill and it was still dark out!! So with my head lamp on I headed down the hill and soon found it rather far away. By this time it was pouring down rain, so I grabbed my tent and sailed it back to the trailer, tore it down and went to the restroom. Some of the other riders where there as well, however, none of them had the tent blowing away experience that I did. Waited out the storm and then took off around 8:30 am knowing that we had a fairly long day with 83 miles and hills. It was in my book one of the toughest days as I had not gotten much sleep the night before and it was very hot out. We had some sprinkles of rain throughout the day and we even stopped at a restaurant about 25 miles from Carbondale, IL to get something to eat. They were offering cyclist a free desert. So I took them up and had a piece of coconut cream pie…mmmmmm. We finally arrived at Carbondale, IL after passing two beautiful lakes and are staying at one of the riders from last year, house. They had a small pool set up for us and it was cold water, it felt amazing to jump in. They had lots of food for everyone and everyone just chilled out and had a good time. Everyone chose to sleep inside in the air conditioning and throw their mats on the floor. I slept very well as I was exhausted!! Slept until about 8:30 am had a bite to eat and we are all now just chilling out. We have to be ready at 11:00 am to do our service project of a yard makeover for someone with MS. It is a very hot day thus far!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
June 17th - Rough River Dam, KY to Sebree, KY
Mileage: 75 miles
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Temperature: 90 ish degrees
Was another interesting day! Got up at the campground and had a can of spaghettios for breakfast. Cold of course, I didn’t bring a camp stove along like many of my fellow riders, I figured that I am not the best of cooks at home and for sure would light something on fire out in the nature!! Began to take down my tent and get everything packed up when some people were talking about going back to the lodge and that there was supposed to be a breakfast buffet. I thought this sounded like a good idea and I was still somewhat hungry so went on over to the lodge. Once we got there we found out that there was no buffet and that it was due to low occupancy at the lodge. So we decided to just order breakfast off of the menu. So it was a slow start and we probably didn’t leave the lodge until about 8-9:00 am which was extremely late considering the time change along with it. We had known that it was a 75ish mile day however, were told that it was going to be a fairly easy ride without many big climbs and that it was compared to some of the other days. So we got on the road and got about 30 miles or so out where the first rest stop was and there was a grocery store about a block down the road so took up the opportunity to stock up my pantry as I was really running low on food! Had a peanut butter milkshake while in this small town and then moved on. Came to the next rest stop had a snack and filled up on water and then moved on. As I was riding along had one dog scare the begezers out of me! Was coming down a small hill and it was hiding in some tall weeds and jumped right out at me. It thankfully did not keep chasing me. One of the other riders Brittany was just a little way behind me so I hollered back “Dog!” well she must have not heard me because I heard her scream when it jumped out at her. This one wasn’t a little either. It is kind of strange because we have discovered that it is the little ones that are more of a threat than the big ones. I think that the big dogs just get too tired quickly. We stopped at a stop sign shortly after and Brittany was like “Did you hear me scream like a gir?” I laughed!
I think it was yesterday that Brittany and myself were riding along and we came upon one of the young guys riding with us standing at the bottom of a long drive way, just sitting on the top tube of his bike and there were about 6-7 dog surrounding him barking at him. He just stood there calm as could be, as we just rode by. I was kind of glad that he was there to distract the dogs so that they wouldn’t mess with me. He had this little video camera called the “Go Pro” on his helmet which gets passed around and was recording the entire thing. Well as he tried to take off later on one of the dogs nipped at him and drew blood. Unfortunately he had shut the Go Pro off before he had taken off. The video is crazy though as all you can hear are dogs barking nonstop.
Kept riding and about 15 miles later one of our fellow riders stated that they were running low on water so we stopped at a gas station along the way and got an Icee as well due to the very hot conditions. Some other riders from our group stopped here as well and stated that there was a storm rolling in. We were just 8 miles out from Sebree, so decided to make a break for it. Turns out that as we turned to the other side of the gas station and started up the road that we were headed right for a very dark storm. We rode about 4 miles looking for shelter as we knew that any minute it was going to start down pouring! We found a little smoke shack at a Tyson Hatchery and took cover. As soon as we stepped in it started to down pour!! Waited it out for about 30-45 minutes here and then it was just sprinkling so decided to make a break for Sebree. Got into town and went to the First Baptist Church where we were staying for the night. They host about 275 cross country cyclist a year and the pastors’ wife cooks for about 245 of them. So she had cooked us all a wonderful meal. However, I wasn’t to hungry because when we got into town I had a milkshake for a local restaurant that was rated by our guide Pepper as the best along the route. I had Reeses and would have to say it is probably the best milkshake I have evey had, it was delicious!! So there was a swimming pool in town here in Sebree until about 2001 when it was shut down. Many cyclists passing through would stop there to shower, camp in the yard and Violet, the pastors’ wife would cook for them. Well once it was shut down the cyclist passing through had no place to stay so in 2002 they built a wonderful addition to their church with a shower!! I was thrilled because it was warm. It seems to be that in many cases the showers that we do get are ICE COLD. So it was WONDERFUL to have a warm shower!! Now they host cyclist and have a lounge downstairs and kitchen and a wonderful eating area upstairs. It is so nice of Violet to do this for cyclist, it seems that she really enjoys doing this for cyclist and hearing their stories and she has many stories to tell as well. She told us and showed picture of a unicyclist that Pepper met that came through here last year. I thought this was amazing because a unicycle is only single speed and could not imagine climbing hill on one of these. He is the one that Pepper asked how many crashes he had and the unicyclist stated that they don’t have crashes on UPD’s also known as unplanned dismounts. Violet also spoke about a paraplegic that rode a hand cycle across America that they hosted and many others on very unique bikes. She also stated that we are some of the early one and that in a few weeks she will be hosting many more cyclist that are coming from the West coast to East. However, she has already had many cyclists that are going East to West as we are.
The day became even more interesting when the pastor had offered to take us to a local place where on Friday and Saturday night they have locals playing country and gospel music. He offered to take us in the church van and it was only about a 2 mile ride however, many of us did not want to have to get back on our bikes. We really didn’t know what to expect but figured what the heck. We arrived and to say the least it wasn’t exactly what we had thought it was. However, the musicians were good musicians and singers however; we were some of the youngest people there. There were probably about 60 or so people there and many of the older men had asked some of us younger women to dance. Well one older guy asked me to dance and I was like what the heck sure! He taught me how to do the two step and travel which I guess is two stepping backwards. We soon realized that none of the guys in our group were dancing and once we left realized that it was because many of the people were very traditional and the guys were supposed to ask the women to dance. It was not exactly what we expected but we all sure did have fun with it!! One of the girls in our group even got up and sang a song for everyone. The pastor told us that it was just a bunch of locals playing music, it wasn’t a group just whoever could come and play along with the group. The pastor brought us back to the church where we slept inside in the VERY nice facility at about 9:30 pm and where we all slept very well. Woke up this morning about 6:00 am to realize that it is storming so I figured that I would get caught up on this blog. It is now about 7:15 am and it has been raining, lightening and thundering for a while and is supposed to be until about 11:00 am or so. It is supposed to be a fairly short ride being about a 55 mile day to the Ohio River where we take a ferry across and cross into Illinois. This is especially exciting as we are going to be in our third state!! I think I was wrong earlier in the blog when I stated how many riding days we have until our rest day, anyway, today is Saturday we ride Sunday as well and Monday is our rest day. So two more riding days and then a rest day. Tonight we are staying at a state park in Cave and Rock and it sounds like there is a lot of neat stuff to see there and along the river!! Should be another interesting day!!
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Temperature: 90 ish degrees
Was another interesting day! Got up at the campground and had a can of spaghettios for breakfast. Cold of course, I didn’t bring a camp stove along like many of my fellow riders, I figured that I am not the best of cooks at home and for sure would light something on fire out in the nature!! Began to take down my tent and get everything packed up when some people were talking about going back to the lodge and that there was supposed to be a breakfast buffet. I thought this sounded like a good idea and I was still somewhat hungry so went on over to the lodge. Once we got there we found out that there was no buffet and that it was due to low occupancy at the lodge. So we decided to just order breakfast off of the menu. So it was a slow start and we probably didn’t leave the lodge until about 8-9:00 am which was extremely late considering the time change along with it. We had known that it was a 75ish mile day however, were told that it was going to be a fairly easy ride without many big climbs and that it was compared to some of the other days. So we got on the road and got about 30 miles or so out where the first rest stop was and there was a grocery store about a block down the road so took up the opportunity to stock up my pantry as I was really running low on food! Had a peanut butter milkshake while in this small town and then moved on. Came to the next rest stop had a snack and filled up on water and then moved on. As I was riding along had one dog scare the begezers out of me! Was coming down a small hill and it was hiding in some tall weeds and jumped right out at me. It thankfully did not keep chasing me. One of the other riders Brittany was just a little way behind me so I hollered back “Dog!” well she must have not heard me because I heard her scream when it jumped out at her. This one wasn’t a little either. It is kind of strange because we have discovered that it is the little ones that are more of a threat than the big ones. I think that the big dogs just get too tired quickly. We stopped at a stop sign shortly after and Brittany was like “Did you hear me scream like a gir?” I laughed!
I think it was yesterday that Brittany and myself were riding along and we came upon one of the young guys riding with us standing at the bottom of a long drive way, just sitting on the top tube of his bike and there were about 6-7 dog surrounding him barking at him. He just stood there calm as could be, as we just rode by. I was kind of glad that he was there to distract the dogs so that they wouldn’t mess with me. He had this little video camera called the “Go Pro” on his helmet which gets passed around and was recording the entire thing. Well as he tried to take off later on one of the dogs nipped at him and drew blood. Unfortunately he had shut the Go Pro off before he had taken off. The video is crazy though as all you can hear are dogs barking nonstop.
Kept riding and about 15 miles later one of our fellow riders stated that they were running low on water so we stopped at a gas station along the way and got an Icee as well due to the very hot conditions. Some other riders from our group stopped here as well and stated that there was a storm rolling in. We were just 8 miles out from Sebree, so decided to make a break for it. Turns out that as we turned to the other side of the gas station and started up the road that we were headed right for a very dark storm. We rode about 4 miles looking for shelter as we knew that any minute it was going to start down pouring! We found a little smoke shack at a Tyson Hatchery and took cover. As soon as we stepped in it started to down pour!! Waited it out for about 30-45 minutes here and then it was just sprinkling so decided to make a break for Sebree. Got into town and went to the First Baptist Church where we were staying for the night. They host about 275 cross country cyclist a year and the pastors’ wife cooks for about 245 of them. So she had cooked us all a wonderful meal. However, I wasn’t to hungry because when we got into town I had a milkshake for a local restaurant that was rated by our guide Pepper as the best along the route. I had Reeses and would have to say it is probably the best milkshake I have evey had, it was delicious!! So there was a swimming pool in town here in Sebree until about 2001 when it was shut down. Many cyclists passing through would stop there to shower, camp in the yard and Violet, the pastors’ wife would cook for them. Well once it was shut down the cyclist passing through had no place to stay so in 2002 they built a wonderful addition to their church with a shower!! I was thrilled because it was warm. It seems to be that in many cases the showers that we do get are ICE COLD. So it was WONDERFUL to have a warm shower!! Now they host cyclist and have a lounge downstairs and kitchen and a wonderful eating area upstairs. It is so nice of Violet to do this for cyclist, it seems that she really enjoys doing this for cyclist and hearing their stories and she has many stories to tell as well. She told us and showed picture of a unicyclist that Pepper met that came through here last year. I thought this was amazing because a unicycle is only single speed and could not imagine climbing hill on one of these. He is the one that Pepper asked how many crashes he had and the unicyclist stated that they don’t have crashes on UPD’s also known as unplanned dismounts. Violet also spoke about a paraplegic that rode a hand cycle across America that they hosted and many others on very unique bikes. She also stated that we are some of the early one and that in a few weeks she will be hosting many more cyclist that are coming from the West coast to East. However, she has already had many cyclists that are going East to West as we are.
The day became even more interesting when the pastor had offered to take us to a local place where on Friday and Saturday night they have locals playing country and gospel music. He offered to take us in the church van and it was only about a 2 mile ride however, many of us did not want to have to get back on our bikes. We really didn’t know what to expect but figured what the heck. We arrived and to say the least it wasn’t exactly what we had thought it was. However, the musicians were good musicians and singers however; we were some of the youngest people there. There were probably about 60 or so people there and many of the older men had asked some of us younger women to dance. Well one older guy asked me to dance and I was like what the heck sure! He taught me how to do the two step and travel which I guess is two stepping backwards. We soon realized that none of the guys in our group were dancing and once we left realized that it was because many of the people were very traditional and the guys were supposed to ask the women to dance. It was not exactly what we expected but we all sure did have fun with it!! One of the girls in our group even got up and sang a song for everyone. The pastor told us that it was just a bunch of locals playing music, it wasn’t a group just whoever could come and play along with the group. The pastor brought us back to the church where we slept inside in the VERY nice facility at about 9:30 pm and where we all slept very well. Woke up this morning about 6:00 am to realize that it is storming so I figured that I would get caught up on this blog. It is now about 7:15 am and it has been raining, lightening and thundering for a while and is supposed to be until about 11:00 am or so. It is supposed to be a fairly short ride being about a 55 mile day to the Ohio River where we take a ferry across and cross into Illinois. This is especially exciting as we are going to be in our third state!! I think I was wrong earlier in the blog when I stated how many riding days we have until our rest day, anyway, today is Saturday we ride Sunday as well and Monday is our rest day. So two more riding days and then a rest day. Tonight we are staying at a state park in Cave and Rock and it sounds like there is a lot of neat stuff to see there and along the river!! Should be another interesting day!!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
June 16th - Hogenville, KY to Rough River Dam, KY
Mileage: 55
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 88 ish degrees
Woke up today and it was a slow start to the day. I had slept in the gym last night and not too many people choose to sleep there, many people set up their tents so it didn’t take me long to get everything packed up and ready to go. One of the girls that was riding with us was only able to do the first 16 days with us due to her work and was originally planning on doing the whole thing so she left us today and now it is just the 16 of us that are ridding the entire thing left. Her dad came to pick her up and is a cyclist so the two of them rode with us for the first 30 miles and then they turned around and headed home. I rode with Amber a lot and she was tons of fun and we are all sad to see her go!! We were informed that the first rest stop was supposed to be around 35 miles out which was between Hardin County and Breckinridge County which is actually the line of the time change which was very exciting!! We were also informed that right before that line that there was a very steep climb. There is Rough River that goes down and then you have to go back up it on the other side right before this line. Got to this hill and it was a series of about 3 and the grade was 16% to 18% however it was fairly short but still a breath taker!! Stopped here for a while chilled out and then rode the last 20ish miles to Rough River Dam State Park where we are camping. Did some laundry and got a shower and then went to their lodge where I am now sitting in some wonderful air conditioning and where we are all going to eat at the buffet!! We are going to clear them out!! Oh more exciting news is that tomorrow we are going to be over 1000 miles for the trip!! It sure has been a quick 1000 miles!!
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 88 ish degrees
Woke up today and it was a slow start to the day. I had slept in the gym last night and not too many people choose to sleep there, many people set up their tents so it didn’t take me long to get everything packed up and ready to go. One of the girls that was riding with us was only able to do the first 16 days with us due to her work and was originally planning on doing the whole thing so she left us today and now it is just the 16 of us that are ridding the entire thing left. Her dad came to pick her up and is a cyclist so the two of them rode with us for the first 30 miles and then they turned around and headed home. I rode with Amber a lot and she was tons of fun and we are all sad to see her go!! We were informed that the first rest stop was supposed to be around 35 miles out which was between Hardin County and Breckinridge County which is actually the line of the time change which was very exciting!! We were also informed that right before that line that there was a very steep climb. There is Rough River that goes down and then you have to go back up it on the other side right before this line. Got to this hill and it was a series of about 3 and the grade was 16% to 18% however it was fairly short but still a breath taker!! Stopped here for a while chilled out and then rode the last 20ish miles to Rough River Dam State Park where we are camping. Did some laundry and got a shower and then went to their lodge where I am now sitting in some wonderful air conditioning and where we are all going to eat at the buffet!! We are going to clear them out!! Oh more exciting news is that tomorrow we are going to be over 1000 miles for the trip!! It sure has been a quick 1000 miles!!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
June 14 – 15th - Berea, KY to Bardstown, KY to Hogenville, KY
Mileage: 95ish, 40ish
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 77 ish degrees
Woke up knowing that I had a long day ahead of me being a little over 90 miles. Got on the road at about 7:45 am and the first water stop was supposed to be about 35 miles out well kept riding and about 35 miles realized that there was no water stop so pulled over at a closed small town store and had a cliff bar to eat, man am I getting tired of force feeding myself cliff bars!! We then realized that we were almost out of water so looked around and found a spicket behind the house next door filled up and were on our way. At about mile 46 we came into a town and had a rest and then moved on. We also found out that one of our fellow riders had tipped over there bike and scrapped up there arm so that is why they weren’t at the first water stop. As we were riding along we saw the mini van (we have 2 support vehicles a mini van and then the big van and trailer) along side of the rode with some of our riders. Found out that one of the older guys had two dogs come out and chase him and one got caught up under his wheel and threw him off of his bike. They took him to the ER to have him checked out and nothing but scrapes. He was lucky enough to be dismissed to ride. One of our fellow riders went to the door and no one was home to inform of their dogs unruly activity. Rode on and at about mile 75 came upon Lincolns’ Parents homestead which was where the 3rd water was supposed to be, and no one was there so I had some food from my bag used the restrooms there and then the trailer showed up as we were pulling out. Stopped said hey and began moving on. We find things to keep ourselves entertained along the way and one of our fellow riders, Ethan, was riding along and all of the sudden a ground hog came out of its hole and must have hissed at him and scared him so we joked around about it for a while and tease him about the ground hog hissing at him continually. By mile 80 I was getting pretty tired and then finally I could tell that we were getting to the outskirts of Bardstown, KY we decided that it was necessary to hit up a tavern in this town since we had been through dry towns for the last almost week. Got some food and chilled out due to the trailer not being at the park that we were staying at. Chilled out there with many of our fellow riders for a few hours and then decided that we still had not eaten enough and were getting hungry again so stopped by McDonalds for some ice cream and then went to the park and by this time it was about 9:00 pm got my tent set up grabbed a quick shower and went to bed. It was a long fun day of touring!!
Woke up this morning at about 5:45 am and went to the rest room realized no one was up yet and went back to bed. We had discussed that since today was going to be a short day of an estimated 44 miles that there was no need to rush out in the morning and that we had plenty of time. However, we are supposed to have all of our stuff in the trailer by 8:00 am so figured we would do this and then get breakfast somewhere in town. Well woke up again at about 7:00 am peaked out of my tent and realized that the majority of people had already packed up their tents and were getting ready to head out. I was so confused and then found out that a storm was rolling in very quickly. Began frantically getting my things together and about 7:45 am it started to rain very hard. This was just as I had begun to take down my tent. So some of my fellow riders had already gone to McDonalds down the road to get breakfast and wait out the rain. I had decided that it was raining and lightening too hard and just rode up to the welcome/ gift shop for the park/golf course that we were staying at. Hung out there with some of my fellow riders for about three hours and watched the weather. It was rather comfy there with comfy couches and coffee. Then decided that most of the storm was through and took off for the first and only rest stop at 27 miles. Discussed that there wasn’t a lot to do in the town where we are staying and someone had asked if it was another dry town. Our guide didn’t know but had pointed out that there was a liquor store right across the street so some of my fellow riders took up the opportunity to get some bourbon which is distilled in the area. (Once we got into town found out that it was once again a dry county.) Had a bite to eat and then road 10 miles to a BP station that one of our fellow riders who was ahead of us had tweeted us that they had make your own soft serve ice cream cones for a dollar. So we thought we had to have some stopped and had a very large ice cream cone chilled out and talked to some locals and quoting one of the toothless locals “Yeah, Kentucky’s a shit hole.” Needless to say, the country side has actually turned out to be quite beautiful and more so as we go west. Also I failed to mention eastern Kentucky has many coal mines and the trucks are known to be terrible and ruthless. We were very lucky to get this part of the state out of the way on a Saturday and Sunday. Finally we got to the pavilion that we are staying at outside of a school, got a shower inside the school and found out that we can lay our sleeping mats out in the gym after 9:00 pm once they are done playing basketball. Had some dinner, PB&J on 12 grain bread…mmmmmmm!!!!!! Getting ready for bed tomorrow, should be a fairly short day tomorrow of 50 some miles with a few challenging hills with grades up to 17%!!! Things are really starting to flatten out, defiantly not flat but not as long or big of hills as previously. Three more ridding days and we will be in Carbondale, IL and then have a rest day on Sunday. I cannot believe that soon we will be in our third state!!
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 77 ish degrees
Woke up knowing that I had a long day ahead of me being a little over 90 miles. Got on the road at about 7:45 am and the first water stop was supposed to be about 35 miles out well kept riding and about 35 miles realized that there was no water stop so pulled over at a closed small town store and had a cliff bar to eat, man am I getting tired of force feeding myself cliff bars!! We then realized that we were almost out of water so looked around and found a spicket behind the house next door filled up and were on our way. At about mile 46 we came into a town and had a rest and then moved on. We also found out that one of our fellow riders had tipped over there bike and scrapped up there arm so that is why they weren’t at the first water stop. As we were riding along we saw the mini van (we have 2 support vehicles a mini van and then the big van and trailer) along side of the rode with some of our riders. Found out that one of the older guys had two dogs come out and chase him and one got caught up under his wheel and threw him off of his bike. They took him to the ER to have him checked out and nothing but scrapes. He was lucky enough to be dismissed to ride. One of our fellow riders went to the door and no one was home to inform of their dogs unruly activity. Rode on and at about mile 75 came upon Lincolns’ Parents homestead which was where the 3rd water was supposed to be, and no one was there so I had some food from my bag used the restrooms there and then the trailer showed up as we were pulling out. Stopped said hey and began moving on. We find things to keep ourselves entertained along the way and one of our fellow riders, Ethan, was riding along and all of the sudden a ground hog came out of its hole and must have hissed at him and scared him so we joked around about it for a while and tease him about the ground hog hissing at him continually. By mile 80 I was getting pretty tired and then finally I could tell that we were getting to the outskirts of Bardstown, KY we decided that it was necessary to hit up a tavern in this town since we had been through dry towns for the last almost week. Got some food and chilled out due to the trailer not being at the park that we were staying at. Chilled out there with many of our fellow riders for a few hours and then decided that we still had not eaten enough and were getting hungry again so stopped by McDonalds for some ice cream and then went to the park and by this time it was about 9:00 pm got my tent set up grabbed a quick shower and went to bed. It was a long fun day of touring!!
Woke up this morning at about 5:45 am and went to the rest room realized no one was up yet and went back to bed. We had discussed that since today was going to be a short day of an estimated 44 miles that there was no need to rush out in the morning and that we had plenty of time. However, we are supposed to have all of our stuff in the trailer by 8:00 am so figured we would do this and then get breakfast somewhere in town. Well woke up again at about 7:00 am peaked out of my tent and realized that the majority of people had already packed up their tents and were getting ready to head out. I was so confused and then found out that a storm was rolling in very quickly. Began frantically getting my things together and about 7:45 am it started to rain very hard. This was just as I had begun to take down my tent. So some of my fellow riders had already gone to McDonalds down the road to get breakfast and wait out the rain. I had decided that it was raining and lightening too hard and just rode up to the welcome/ gift shop for the park/golf course that we were staying at. Hung out there with some of my fellow riders for about three hours and watched the weather. It was rather comfy there with comfy couches and coffee. Then decided that most of the storm was through and took off for the first and only rest stop at 27 miles. Discussed that there wasn’t a lot to do in the town where we are staying and someone had asked if it was another dry town. Our guide didn’t know but had pointed out that there was a liquor store right across the street so some of my fellow riders took up the opportunity to get some bourbon which is distilled in the area. (Once we got into town found out that it was once again a dry county.) Had a bite to eat and then road 10 miles to a BP station that one of our fellow riders who was ahead of us had tweeted us that they had make your own soft serve ice cream cones for a dollar. So we thought we had to have some stopped and had a very large ice cream cone chilled out and talked to some locals and quoting one of the toothless locals “Yeah, Kentucky’s a shit hole.” Needless to say, the country side has actually turned out to be quite beautiful and more so as we go west. Also I failed to mention eastern Kentucky has many coal mines and the trucks are known to be terrible and ruthless. We were very lucky to get this part of the state out of the way on a Saturday and Sunday. Finally we got to the pavilion that we are staying at outside of a school, got a shower inside the school and found out that we can lay our sleeping mats out in the gym after 9:00 pm once they are done playing basketball. Had some dinner, PB&J on 12 grain bread…mmmmmmm!!!!!! Getting ready for bed tomorrow, should be a fairly short day tomorrow of 50 some miles with a few challenging hills with grades up to 17%!!! Things are really starting to flatten out, defiantly not flat but not as long or big of hills as previously. Three more ridding days and we will be in Carbondale, IL and then have a rest day on Sunday. I cannot believe that soon we will be in our third state!!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Video!!
Here is the video that they made for our first week cross country!! I am in it however, you just cannot tell that it is me in some of the clips because they are moving so fast....lol. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2NcCU80bCA
June 13th - Booneville, KY to Berea, KY
Mileage: 50
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 77 ish degrees
Got up this morning got my tent all packed up and got on the road at about 7:45 am knowing that it was going to be a short day of only 50 miles. There was some confusion getting out of town due to a detour however, we got directions that were better and shorter than the detour from a local. We felt that this detour that we think should be part of the Adventure Cycling route however; Adventure Cycling doesn’t want to change it because it has been part of the route since 1976. It was still a very hilly ride throughout the day however; the hills are not as tall as some of the previous ones. We had only one rest stop today, where I stopped filled up with water and had a popsicle. Also got chased by many dogs today I think the total count is somewhere around 10 now. There are tons of dogs here many on chains, many who stand beside the road and bark, many on chains, many behind fences, many who just lay there and stare and many more who feel the need to chase you and growl and bite at your foot and or wheel. There was once time that I had 4 dogs on my wheel. We then moved on did a few more climbs and then finally got to the top of our last climb stopped at the top and one of the girls I have been riding with pulled over with me because I was getting hungry. I stopped and asked her “So do you think we have 3G service yet?” We were only about 5 miles out from Berea which has a much larger population than most of the towns we have been staying in. So we both pulled our phones out of our handlebar bags looked and were overjoyed with excitement!! Finally, service, which we haven’t had in a mere 2 days!! We then descended our last hill out of Bighill, KY and arrived in Berea where we are tenting at their firehouse. Berea seems to be a nicer town than some of the ones we have gone through thus far in KY, however, it is still a dry county as many are that we have gone through. There was also a detour getting into Berea however, we got a tweet with twitter from one of the guides and made it into town with no problems. Got to camp and turned around with some of the others and rode about a mile back into town and ate at a pizza place that had great pizza. Chilled out there and then came back here got a lovely shower and set up my tent. Today is a much cooler day and we got in much earlier than normally. Tomorrow however, is going to be a much longer day with 90 miles so we must get on the road earlier.
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 77 ish degrees
Got up this morning got my tent all packed up and got on the road at about 7:45 am knowing that it was going to be a short day of only 50 miles. There was some confusion getting out of town due to a detour however, we got directions that were better and shorter than the detour from a local. We felt that this detour that we think should be part of the Adventure Cycling route however; Adventure Cycling doesn’t want to change it because it has been part of the route since 1976. It was still a very hilly ride throughout the day however; the hills are not as tall as some of the previous ones. We had only one rest stop today, where I stopped filled up with water and had a popsicle. Also got chased by many dogs today I think the total count is somewhere around 10 now. There are tons of dogs here many on chains, many who stand beside the road and bark, many on chains, many behind fences, many who just lay there and stare and many more who feel the need to chase you and growl and bite at your foot and or wheel. There was once time that I had 4 dogs on my wheel. We then moved on did a few more climbs and then finally got to the top of our last climb stopped at the top and one of the girls I have been riding with pulled over with me because I was getting hungry. I stopped and asked her “So do you think we have 3G service yet?” We were only about 5 miles out from Berea which has a much larger population than most of the towns we have been staying in. So we both pulled our phones out of our handlebar bags looked and were overjoyed with excitement!! Finally, service, which we haven’t had in a mere 2 days!! We then descended our last hill out of Bighill, KY and arrived in Berea where we are tenting at their firehouse. Berea seems to be a nicer town than some of the ones we have gone through thus far in KY, however, it is still a dry county as many are that we have gone through. There was also a detour getting into Berea however, we got a tweet with twitter from one of the guides and made it into town with no problems. Got to camp and turned around with some of the others and rode about a mile back into town and ate at a pizza place that had great pizza. Chilled out there and then came back here got a lovely shower and set up my tent. Today is a much cooler day and we got in much earlier than normally. Tomorrow however, is going to be a much longer day with 90 miles so we must get on the road earlier.
June 12th – Hindman, KY to Booneville, KY
Mileage: 64 ish
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 95 ish degrees
Woke up this morning at the youth center and it was raining. Not extremely hard so we decided to go for it! We got on the road at about 7:30 am and within about a half hour it had stopped raining and the sun started shinning and it became very hot very quickly. The hills in KY so far have been very gradual but long so we started our ascending and descending for the day and about 20 miles out we found our first stop which was at a Wal-Mart. We all stocked up on food and our group leaders were even making pancakes for us in the parking lot by the trailer. We spent probably about an hour and a half at this stop. We have been joking around about how it takes us twice as long to get to where we are going due to all of the stopping that we do. We then decided to keep moving on, made a stop at a place some of our fellow riders were getting ice cream at, didn’t get any though and kept moving on. Stopped at our last provided water stop, had a snack and moved on. We then decided that it was time to get to camp. There was lots of climbing still yet to go though. Finally, we got to camp and are staying behind a Presbyterian church. This is along the adventure cycling route and they have allowed many cyclist to stay here previously, they have even built a small single shower house with a real shower head instead of a hose, however, it is still cold water. Currently there are also 3 other girls and also a couple that are doing cross country self contained. So I then set up my tent and got a cold, refreshing shower!! Then went down to a small mom and pop shop and got dinner, food wasn’t so good but there peach cobbler was!! Now I am waiting in line to get my chain cleaned and then heading to bed. Supposed to be a shorter day with only about 50 miles to go tomorrow!
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 95 ish degrees
Woke up this morning at the youth center and it was raining. Not extremely hard so we decided to go for it! We got on the road at about 7:30 am and within about a half hour it had stopped raining and the sun started shinning and it became very hot very quickly. The hills in KY so far have been very gradual but long so we started our ascending and descending for the day and about 20 miles out we found our first stop which was at a Wal-Mart. We all stocked up on food and our group leaders were even making pancakes for us in the parking lot by the trailer. We spent probably about an hour and a half at this stop. We have been joking around about how it takes us twice as long to get to where we are going due to all of the stopping that we do. We then decided to keep moving on, made a stop at a place some of our fellow riders were getting ice cream at, didn’t get any though and kept moving on. Stopped at our last provided water stop, had a snack and moved on. We then decided that it was time to get to camp. There was lots of climbing still yet to go though. Finally, we got to camp and are staying behind a Presbyterian church. This is along the adventure cycling route and they have allowed many cyclist to stay here previously, they have even built a small single shower house with a real shower head instead of a hose, however, it is still cold water. Currently there are also 3 other girls and also a couple that are doing cross country self contained. So I then set up my tent and got a cold, refreshing shower!! Then went down to a small mom and pop shop and got dinner, food wasn’t so good but there peach cobbler was!! Now I am waiting in line to get my chain cleaned and then heading to bed. Supposed to be a shorter day with only about 50 miles to go tomorrow!
June 10-11th – Rosedale, VA to Breaks, VA to Hindman, KY
Mileage: 48 miles, 72 miles
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 90 ish degrees
On the morning of June 10th I woke up at the church where I slept very well. They had really thick carpeting in the church that was much more comfortable with my sleeping pad, it was quiet and cool. We then began our adventure to Breaks National Park which is on the Virginia Kentucky border!! I was so excited to almost be to Kentucky, it is finally feeling like I/ we are making progress. It was a shorter ride than many of the previous days with only 48 miles. I was thankful for this after coming out of two very long hard days. However, even though it was shorter I was still in for a treat with the monstrous hills!! Surprisingly I am actually getting used to the hills because you get a break from pedaling and really feel like you accomplished something after you get to the top. You feel like you concurred it!! We got to Breaks National Park and stayed at the campground there. I was happy to get a shower since I had not gotten one the night before and only used a hose to wash my hair. So I went straight to the shower house and got a nice refreshing shower. I was excited to get in earlier as many days we don’t get in till the afternoon due to the many stops and things to see along the way. Also because there is usually nothing to do once you get where I am sleeping. So really there is no rush! So I hung around camp for the rest of the evening and then went to the lodge where many people in our group had gone and had a small bite to eat as I had already eaten a ton from my food pantry.
This morning, June 11th I got up and we hit the road at about 8:00 am for the KY border. Of course we had to stop shortly to take pictures!! We then moved on and knew that we had 5 big climbs for the day as we had previously looked at the elevation profile. We also felt it necessary to start counting dogs chasing us and giving them ratings as well based on how threatening they are. So it is known to cyclist that KY has many dogs that are not chained and it was CRAZY how true this is because we did not have one single dog chase us in VA and now that we are in KY there have been tons of dogs along the road barking at us and a few chasing. So we are only counting the ones that are a threat and it has been 3. There is a spray that cyclist use called “HALT” and many of the cyclist have it and one of the girls had to use it today, it was quite the experience. Also I hate to say it but KY isn’t as well kept as VA, there is a lot more garbage in the ditches and houses/trailers are not well kept in the areas we are going through. We road for about 20 miles or so and then stopped at our first provided rest stop, had a snack got some water and moved on to the next stop which was in Bevinsville and we ate at a small mom and pop shop and then moved on knowing that we had 2 more climbs of the day. So the speed for the day was either 5 mph when climbing up or 25+ mph when going down, it was kind of nice to get a break from pedaling and sail through the hills on the way down, also a great way to cool off as by the time you get to the top of these hills you are dripping sweat!! Finally, we arrived in Hindman where we are staying at a church’s youth center and good news, they have one shower. I was very excited when I found this out because on our way in to Hindman, KY when we were about 3 miles out it started to down pour so we had to stop under a shelter by a barn to avoid the down pour. We waited there for about 20 minutes until we decided that the rain had slowed down enough to ride the last 3 miles to the youth center. I didn’t want the rain to be my only shower of the day!! Once I got here I got a shower and set up my sleeping mat and got a bite to eat. It has now stopped raining and I am contemplating putting my bike in the stand they have set up outside for bikes and starting to clean it. It really does need some tender loving care as it is disgustingly dirty and has tons of break dust all over it and grime from the rain that I have been riding in. I am going to need new brake pads in a few weeks as I have been using them a lot with all of the amazing descents!! Still more climbing to come!!
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 90 ish degrees
On the morning of June 10th I woke up at the church where I slept very well. They had really thick carpeting in the church that was much more comfortable with my sleeping pad, it was quiet and cool. We then began our adventure to Breaks National Park which is on the Virginia Kentucky border!! I was so excited to almost be to Kentucky, it is finally feeling like I/ we are making progress. It was a shorter ride than many of the previous days with only 48 miles. I was thankful for this after coming out of two very long hard days. However, even though it was shorter I was still in for a treat with the monstrous hills!! Surprisingly I am actually getting used to the hills because you get a break from pedaling and really feel like you accomplished something after you get to the top. You feel like you concurred it!! We got to Breaks National Park and stayed at the campground there. I was happy to get a shower since I had not gotten one the night before and only used a hose to wash my hair. So I went straight to the shower house and got a nice refreshing shower. I was excited to get in earlier as many days we don’t get in till the afternoon due to the many stops and things to see along the way. Also because there is usually nothing to do once you get where I am sleeping. So really there is no rush! So I hung around camp for the rest of the evening and then went to the lodge where many people in our group had gone and had a small bite to eat as I had already eaten a ton from my food pantry.
This morning, June 11th I got up and we hit the road at about 8:00 am for the KY border. Of course we had to stop shortly to take pictures!! We then moved on and knew that we had 5 big climbs for the day as we had previously looked at the elevation profile. We also felt it necessary to start counting dogs chasing us and giving them ratings as well based on how threatening they are. So it is known to cyclist that KY has many dogs that are not chained and it was CRAZY how true this is because we did not have one single dog chase us in VA and now that we are in KY there have been tons of dogs along the road barking at us and a few chasing. So we are only counting the ones that are a threat and it has been 3. There is a spray that cyclist use called “HALT” and many of the cyclist have it and one of the girls had to use it today, it was quite the experience. Also I hate to say it but KY isn’t as well kept as VA, there is a lot more garbage in the ditches and houses/trailers are not well kept in the areas we are going through. We road for about 20 miles or so and then stopped at our first provided rest stop, had a snack got some water and moved on to the next stop which was in Bevinsville and we ate at a small mom and pop shop and then moved on knowing that we had 2 more climbs of the day. So the speed for the day was either 5 mph when climbing up or 25+ mph when going down, it was kind of nice to get a break from pedaling and sail through the hills on the way down, also a great way to cool off as by the time you get to the top of these hills you are dripping sweat!! Finally, we arrived in Hindman where we are staying at a church’s youth center and good news, they have one shower. I was very excited when I found this out because on our way in to Hindman, KY when we were about 3 miles out it started to down pour so we had to stop under a shelter by a barn to avoid the down pour. We waited there for about 20 minutes until we decided that the rain had slowed down enough to ride the last 3 miles to the youth center. I didn’t want the rain to be my only shower of the day!! Once I got here I got a shower and set up my sleeping mat and got a bite to eat. It has now stopped raining and I am contemplating putting my bike in the stand they have set up outside for bikes and starting to clean it. It really does need some tender loving care as it is disgustingly dirty and has tons of break dust all over it and grime from the rain that I have been riding in. I am going to need new brake pads in a few weeks as I have been using them a lot with all of the amazing descents!! Still more climbing to come!!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
No Internet Access
This is Renee posting on Julie's behalf. I talked to her briefly tonight and she has not had Internet access for the last few days. She has her blogs written and will post them as soon as she is able to get online (hopefully tomorrow). Stay tuned!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
June 7-9th – Blacksburg, VA to Rural Retreat, VA to Rosedale, VA
Mileage: 85 ish miles, 80 ish miles
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 90 ish degrees
On June 7th there was a rest day and we went to two different houses and did yard makeovers. The one house was like a jungle and there were many overgrown trees and LOTS of poison ivy. I now itch everywhere and am not sure if I am developing poison ivy or otherwise I have tons of big bites. So then on the night of the 7th we grilled out at Mason’s house and got a good night sleep!! On the morning of the 8th we got up and were on the road to Rural Retreat at 8:00 am. We road about 40ish miles and then stopped in Wytheville at a truck stop and ate at a buffet! I think that they must have lost money on me due to me eating sooo much!! I also had a new record of top speeds coming out of Blacksburg of 46.6 mph, however, the top speed of one of the guys in the group was 57 mph. One we had lunch we laid under a shade tree and took a nap. After the nap we decided to move on to Rural Retreat where we stayed at a camp for the night. Needless to say it was somewhat of an eventful ride when we got rained on and one of the guys we were riding with had his chain and derailleur get caught up in his wheel Finally we got to the camp and it was back a thick gravel road that was 1.6 miles long so the two vans had to shuttle us to the camp. It reminded me of something like the parent trap camp but not as nice. However, they did have showers and a shelter for us to set up our tents under so that we could stay dry!! I did however wake up in the middle of the night and hear a coyote howling, kind of scary!! We were tucked back in the middle of the mountains in the middle of nowhere and to top it off there was no cell phone service whatsoever!! It was a very long but fun riding day. We have all kind of taken the approach that there is no hurry to get to camp because the trailer usually is bringing up the rear so you would have to sit at camp with nothing to do.
So on the morning of the 9th we woke up and started our journey to Rosedale, VA. We rode about 40 miles to Damascus where our guide Pepper owns Sundog Outfitters and we got to shop and see where he works. We then sat down and ate at a pizza place for lunch and went to the grocery. They parked the van and trailer outside of the grocery so that we could stock up due to not many places to get food for the next few days. We then started on our way to Rosedale from Damascus and about 5 miles out started getting hailed on so we pulled over onto some ones porch and stood around for about 20 minutes until the rain started to subside. About 1 mile down the road we came to a road block, there was a huge tree down and we took some pictures and then threw our bikes over the trunk and kept moving on. On our way to Rosedale we came up to a snapping turtle in the middle of the road and felt that we needed to rescue it and move it to the ditch, so we took some pictures, moved it to the ditch and kept on. So we were warned that about 10 miles from Rosedale there is a huge climb that is 3.5 miles long called Hayters Gap. We stopped at the bottom filled up with water and started our ascent. It wasn’t as bad as what was anticipated. Got to the top and the van and trailer were there with others cheering us on!! Decided to go for the descent and get to the United Methodist Church where we are staying for the night. It was a very eventful day with lots of rain!! Well I am exhausted so I am going to get cleaned up, no showers tonight, and get to bed!! Tomorrow should be a good day with a little bit less mileage at somewhere around 50 miles and we are staying at Breaks, VA which is the border of the VA and KY border! I am excited to cross the border it will feel like we are making progress!!
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 90 ish degrees
On June 7th there was a rest day and we went to two different houses and did yard makeovers. The one house was like a jungle and there were many overgrown trees and LOTS of poison ivy. I now itch everywhere and am not sure if I am developing poison ivy or otherwise I have tons of big bites. So then on the night of the 7th we grilled out at Mason’s house and got a good night sleep!! On the morning of the 8th we got up and were on the road to Rural Retreat at 8:00 am. We road about 40ish miles and then stopped in Wytheville at a truck stop and ate at a buffet! I think that they must have lost money on me due to me eating sooo much!! I also had a new record of top speeds coming out of Blacksburg of 46.6 mph, however, the top speed of one of the guys in the group was 57 mph. One we had lunch we laid under a shade tree and took a nap. After the nap we decided to move on to Rural Retreat where we stayed at a camp for the night. Needless to say it was somewhat of an eventful ride when we got rained on and one of the guys we were riding with had his chain and derailleur get caught up in his wheel Finally we got to the camp and it was back a thick gravel road that was 1.6 miles long so the two vans had to shuttle us to the camp. It reminded me of something like the parent trap camp but not as nice. However, they did have showers and a shelter for us to set up our tents under so that we could stay dry!! I did however wake up in the middle of the night and hear a coyote howling, kind of scary!! We were tucked back in the middle of the mountains in the middle of nowhere and to top it off there was no cell phone service whatsoever!! It was a very long but fun riding day. We have all kind of taken the approach that there is no hurry to get to camp because the trailer usually is bringing up the rear so you would have to sit at camp with nothing to do.
So on the morning of the 9th we woke up and started our journey to Rosedale, VA. We rode about 40 miles to Damascus where our guide Pepper owns Sundog Outfitters and we got to shop and see where he works. We then sat down and ate at a pizza place for lunch and went to the grocery. They parked the van and trailer outside of the grocery so that we could stock up due to not many places to get food for the next few days. We then started on our way to Rosedale from Damascus and about 5 miles out started getting hailed on so we pulled over onto some ones porch and stood around for about 20 minutes until the rain started to subside. About 1 mile down the road we came to a road block, there was a huge tree down and we took some pictures and then threw our bikes over the trunk and kept moving on. On our way to Rosedale we came up to a snapping turtle in the middle of the road and felt that we needed to rescue it and move it to the ditch, so we took some pictures, moved it to the ditch and kept on. So we were warned that about 10 miles from Rosedale there is a huge climb that is 3.5 miles long called Hayters Gap. We stopped at the bottom filled up with water and started our ascent. It wasn’t as bad as what was anticipated. Got to the top and the van and trailer were there with others cheering us on!! Decided to go for the descent and get to the United Methodist Church where we are staying for the night. It was a very eventful day with lots of rain!! Well I am exhausted so I am going to get cleaned up, no showers tonight, and get to bed!! Tomorrow should be a good day with a little bit less mileage at somewhere around 50 miles and we are staying at Breaks, VA which is the border of the VA and KY border! I am excited to cross the border it will feel like we are making progress!!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
June 6th – Troutsville, VA to Blacksburg, VA
Mileage: 42 miles
Terrain: Rolling to Hilly
Temperature: 85 ish degrees
Woke up at the park in my tent and was informed that we were all going to try to ride together and leave at 8:00 am due to some other people joining us from Blacksburg. We had to stop many times to regroup and then when we got into Blacksburg one of the girls that rode last year had the restaurant that she works at here have food for us at a pavilion. So we all rode in together and ate and mingled due to quite a few of the riders being from Blacksburg. So then we went back to one of the route leader’s friends house that is for sale and he currently isn’t living here so we are all staying in an empty house, however, we have managed to have stuff everywhere and fill it up!! There is also a washer and dryer here so as soon as we got here were all started a laundry pile and got some wash done. We then got showered and then walked to downtown Blacksburg and had dinner. We ate at a place called Cabo Fish Taco and then stopped at a few other restaurants as well. Downtown Blacksburg is so nice, it is very well kept!! We then walked back to the house we are staying at and went to bed. Got up this morning and Ambers massage therapist is here so I am waiting to get a massage!! It’s about 8:20 now and we are supposed to be ready to go do yard makeovers for two different houses for people who suffer from MS. Then I have heard that we are cooking out this afternoon!
So all of the people on this ride are very nice, I think it draws a specific type of person, everyone is always in a good mood. There are definitely a variety of people on the ride and it has a lot of culture I would say. There are many different age groups and even 3 men that are 65 years old. They are pretty strong riders as well!! We are all getting to know everyone very well and I am sure will get to know each other even more by the end of the trip!! The riders really do make the ride fun!!
Terrain: Rolling to Hilly
Temperature: 85 ish degrees
Woke up at the park in my tent and was informed that we were all going to try to ride together and leave at 8:00 am due to some other people joining us from Blacksburg. We had to stop many times to regroup and then when we got into Blacksburg one of the girls that rode last year had the restaurant that she works at here have food for us at a pavilion. So we all rode in together and ate and mingled due to quite a few of the riders being from Blacksburg. So then we went back to one of the route leader’s friends house that is for sale and he currently isn’t living here so we are all staying in an empty house, however, we have managed to have stuff everywhere and fill it up!! There is also a washer and dryer here so as soon as we got here were all started a laundry pile and got some wash done. We then got showered and then walked to downtown Blacksburg and had dinner. We ate at a place called Cabo Fish Taco and then stopped at a few other restaurants as well. Downtown Blacksburg is so nice, it is very well kept!! We then walked back to the house we are staying at and went to bed. Got up this morning and Ambers massage therapist is here so I am waiting to get a massage!! It’s about 8:20 now and we are supposed to be ready to go do yard makeovers for two different houses for people who suffer from MS. Then I have heard that we are cooking out this afternoon!
So all of the people on this ride are very nice, I think it draws a specific type of person, everyone is always in a good mood. There are definitely a variety of people on the ride and it has a lot of culture I would say. There are many different age groups and even 3 men that are 65 years old. They are pretty strong riders as well!! We are all getting to know everyone very well and I am sure will get to know each other even more by the end of the trip!! The riders really do make the ride fun!!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
June 5th – Vasuvius, VA to Troutsville, VA
Mileage: 65ish miles
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Temperature: 85 ish degrees
So last night I woke up in the middle of the night and it was raining and thundering!! It was so weird to hear the thunder down in the hills of VA. It sounded nothing like in Ohio, the noise echoed through the trees!! Ruby and I took off at about 8:00 am and the first 20 miles where a gradual downhill so easy riding and they were gorgeous, words or pictures do no justice to what is really out here!! Then we saw the van and trailer at the first rest stop which was in Lexington a cute small little town and we all stopped at a coffee shop and had coffee and bagels. There are a lot of coffee drinkers on this trip! It is really nice to have the van and trailer at scheduled stops due to all of our gear/luggage and food being available to us along the way. We also have what we call the pantry otherwise known as a food cubby to keep food in because there are many times there are not places to stop for food and it also saves money so you don’t have to eat out all the time. We then filled up on water and kept moving along. The next rest stop was at a gas station that we saw the van and trailer and we sat under a shade tree for a while and filled up with water and then moved on the Buchanan, VA and here we all stopped at a small mom and pop restaurant and ate. Well it just happened that they had a two man band playing on this Sunday afternoon, so we chilled out on their patio for a few hours and listened to them for a while knowing that at this point we only had an easy 20 miles till Troutville, VA where we are staying tonight. I was pre warned that there were no showers at this park but restrooms. I am always the first to ask, “Is there showers there?” However, once we rolled in I was informed that the firehouse across the street was so gracious to let us use their showers!! I was SOOO excited after not having a shower last night!! So once we pulled into Troutville we had noticed that the sky was getting pretty dark so we hurried to set up our tents and then took a glorious shower!! I then ate some food that one of my fellow riders girlfriends had brought us to eat and now am sitting in front of the firehouse due to wi-fi being available and an outlet I found on the outside of the building!! So as I am sitting here I hear a train right by the park blowing its whistle and think oh great I get to hear that during the night and it reminds me that there was also a train last night, must be the trend!
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Temperature: 85 ish degrees
So last night I woke up in the middle of the night and it was raining and thundering!! It was so weird to hear the thunder down in the hills of VA. It sounded nothing like in Ohio, the noise echoed through the trees!! Ruby and I took off at about 8:00 am and the first 20 miles where a gradual downhill so easy riding and they were gorgeous, words or pictures do no justice to what is really out here!! Then we saw the van and trailer at the first rest stop which was in Lexington a cute small little town and we all stopped at a coffee shop and had coffee and bagels. There are a lot of coffee drinkers on this trip! It is really nice to have the van and trailer at scheduled stops due to all of our gear/luggage and food being available to us along the way. We also have what we call the pantry otherwise known as a food cubby to keep food in because there are many times there are not places to stop for food and it also saves money so you don’t have to eat out all the time. We then filled up on water and kept moving along. The next rest stop was at a gas station that we saw the van and trailer and we sat under a shade tree for a while and filled up with water and then moved on the Buchanan, VA and here we all stopped at a small mom and pop restaurant and ate. Well it just happened that they had a two man band playing on this Sunday afternoon, so we chilled out on their patio for a few hours and listened to them for a while knowing that at this point we only had an easy 20 miles till Troutville, VA where we are staying tonight. I was pre warned that there were no showers at this park but restrooms. I am always the first to ask, “Is there showers there?” However, once we rolled in I was informed that the firehouse across the street was so gracious to let us use their showers!! I was SOOO excited after not having a shower last night!! So once we pulled into Troutville we had noticed that the sky was getting pretty dark so we hurried to set up our tents and then took a glorious shower!! I then ate some food that one of my fellow riders girlfriends had brought us to eat and now am sitting in front of the firehouse due to wi-fi being available and an outlet I found on the outside of the building!! So as I am sitting here I hear a train right by the park blowing its whistle and think oh great I get to hear that during the night and it reminds me that there was also a train last night, must be the trend!
June 4th – Charlottesville, VA to Vasuvius, VA
Mileage: 47 miles
Terrain: Very Hilly
Temperature: 80 ish degrees
So this morning Shannons’ parents cooked us breakfast which was great with all the climbing we did. I carbed up and ate tons of pancakes and breakfast food. We then began climbing mt Vesuvius!! So there was about 40 ish miles of climbing, honestly I thought it was going to be a lot steeper climbs however, it was really just gradual climbing all day long. And then we got to the top where we got to descend. The climb there was very beautiful scenery, gorgeous overviews of the hills of the mountains. As I thought climbing up the hills it really is a matter of mind over body. My mind was telling me GO, GO, GO and my body was telling me NO, NO, NO!! But I concurred that darn Vesuvius!! It ended up being 5,000 feet of elevation gain that we climbed!! I found out that short stops were better on my legs because if I did long stops and then got back on the bike and started climbing my lets would BURN BAD. Although they felt like they were on fire most of the day…lol, yet somehow the ride was very enjoyable. Oh yeah, so I was going to say that I have really come to like my handlebar bag, you know the one that I thought I would never own…lol.. however, it is so convenient, you can carry LOTs of food and all kinds of good stuff. You can pick up food and stuff along the route at small town convenience stores etc. So we finally got to descend and it was quite the adrenaline rush. I think that my max speed was 32 mph or something. I am quite sure that I could have gone much faster however; I choose to ride my breaks almost the entire way down. I even stopped half way down for about 5 minutes in order to let my breaks cool down. I like to go fast but not that fast, because it can be very dangerous. So we then coasted into mt Vesuvius to a country store named Gerties. It is a very small store/restaurant. They have people write their names on the walls ceiling anywhere you can find a place. This place is kind of like a small hole in the wall. Very small inside and then this is where we camped at, behind this store in a yard out back. The owners who live next door let us use their hose in order to rinse off. The restroom is a porta potty. Well that’s all for today, tomorrow is going to be about 75 miles so it’s going to be a long day.
Terrain: Very Hilly
Temperature: 80 ish degrees
So this morning Shannons’ parents cooked us breakfast which was great with all the climbing we did. I carbed up and ate tons of pancakes and breakfast food. We then began climbing mt Vesuvius!! So there was about 40 ish miles of climbing, honestly I thought it was going to be a lot steeper climbs however, it was really just gradual climbing all day long. And then we got to the top where we got to descend. The climb there was very beautiful scenery, gorgeous overviews of the hills of the mountains. As I thought climbing up the hills it really is a matter of mind over body. My mind was telling me GO, GO, GO and my body was telling me NO, NO, NO!! But I concurred that darn Vesuvius!! It ended up being 5,000 feet of elevation gain that we climbed!! I found out that short stops were better on my legs because if I did long stops and then got back on the bike and started climbing my lets would BURN BAD. Although they felt like they were on fire most of the day…lol, yet somehow the ride was very enjoyable. Oh yeah, so I was going to say that I have really come to like my handlebar bag, you know the one that I thought I would never own…lol.. however, it is so convenient, you can carry LOTs of food and all kinds of good stuff. You can pick up food and stuff along the route at small town convenience stores etc. So we finally got to descend and it was quite the adrenaline rush. I think that my max speed was 32 mph or something. I am quite sure that I could have gone much faster however; I choose to ride my breaks almost the entire way down. I even stopped half way down for about 5 minutes in order to let my breaks cool down. I like to go fast but not that fast, because it can be very dangerous. So we then coasted into mt Vesuvius to a country store named Gerties. It is a very small store/restaurant. They have people write their names on the walls ceiling anywhere you can find a place. This place is kind of like a small hole in the wall. Very small inside and then this is where we camped at, behind this store in a yard out back. The owners who live next door let us use their hose in order to rinse off. The restroom is a porta potty. Well that’s all for today, tomorrow is going to be about 75 miles so it’s going to be a long day.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
out in the hills in virginia, out in the middle of no where!!
I have a blog typed out however cant post it due to no internet. Will post it tomorrow.
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