IMPRESSIONS

CLICK ON THE DAY YOU WISH TO READ

MONDAY    JUNE 9, 1997

REST DAY

Up at 630 with the sun out, 65 degrees, robins singing in the trees. Very idyllic.

Pigged out at the Natural Bridge Restaurant on their lumberjack special which cost only $4.75. Yum Yum!

Got off a couple of cards in the mail. One for Father's Day and one for my niece's birthday.

Spent the day lolly gagging around doing bike maintenance, writing in the journal, resting. Unfortunately there were lots of little gnats flying around trying to get in our bodily orifices. Not pleasant. Got a little annoyed at my Performance sunglasses which cracked in many places. I called them, explained my situation of not having a receipt, they dug up my records, and verified I bought them. Gave me return instructions and refunded my credit card. Good customer service!

Met and talked to a gentleman names Orland Lee, an Army vet from W.W. II who was involved in the invasion of Normandy. He brought out his German helmet and Dennis paraded around with it on his head. Orland was a machine gunner who carried 150 pounds of gear on his back as he hit the beach. He told us his training preparation was hiking around Ireland. He is currently touring the US in a 27 foot Itasca motorhome complete with satellite dish. Nice vehicle. Even nicer lifestyle!

TUESDAY    JUNE 10, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
33	TROUTVILLE	9		365

THE FIRST FLAT

One of the beauties of sleeping out of doors during this trip is the ability to get up in the middle of the night to take care of business and be guided to your favorite tree by the light from the stars. Last night was one of those nights. The stars were out in the millions like diamond studded jewels affixed to a black crown resting on the tops of shadowy trees.

Left early to get to the Country Café. It was 48 degrees, very foggy, and at 6 in the morning a bit too chilly to hang around. Hugh ate there last night and recommended it. Finally got on the road at 830 and climbed that damned 4 mile hill to get back up to Route 11 again. I felt like I was back at the Blue Ridge Parkway, tacking back and forth to get to the top.

Considering how many aspirins and ibuprofens I've been eating, I should have bought stock in the companies. Those things allow me to get through the day. Almost as if I am dependent on them.

One of the frustrating things about riding bikes in this area is the deception that occurs when roads trick you with the optical illusion of going downwards when, in fact, you are going up. Everyone in our group noticed it. And it sneaks up on you. First you climb a hill then crest it. Soon afterwards you think you are going down, let off on the pedals and slow down considerably. Perplexed, you begin to pedal again, let off, and almost come to a stop. Then you look backwards and see that you've been climbing---almost imperceptibly, but climbing.

Inevitably it had to happen to someone first: in Buchanan Merle got the first flat of the trip. We all hoped it was not a sign of things to come. Little did we know!

Buchanan is a cool little town nestled in a valley with a fishing bridge right alongside a roadway bridge. Many folks were trying their luck. It looks like a typical rural town with a drug store which came complete with a soda fountain counter. It also had lots of eateries I wish we had the time to investigate. Once out of Buchanan we got on Route 640 and away from Highway 81 and its noise. We paralleled a railroad track and a creek and had very little traffic. Just beautiful for riding. Thank God we are alive to enjoy this.

One thing I like about riding in this area is the smell of honeysuckle in the air, the birds chirping, crows cawing, and jays squawking. So pastoral. But the climb to Troutville was brutal and not even close to what I expected. All in all we climbed 2600 feet today.

In Troutville we camped in the city park. It has no showers but does have water and bath rooms. I need to rest up for the 60 mile ride to Christiansburg tomorrow complete with lots of hills. My left knee is particularly bothersome and I suspect it is more of a muscle/tendon than any problem with the knee itself.

Met the couple in charge of the park (Mr. and Mrs. Poulin.) He's retired from the Marines in 1968 after 20 years of service. They told us the only problem with the park, apart from the lack of showers, was the trains that blast past at all hours. With the tracks only 75 feet away I could understand why he said that.

I could grow to like a place like Troutville. It's 15 miles from Roanoke (which has a sucky newspaper) and 7/8 miles from shopping centers on the outskirts of Roanoke. The town is a mountain (and world) away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Kurt showed up a while after we did and snuck up on Hugh (who was asleep) and undid his therma-rest's air plug. Hugh gets up suddenly, somewhat confused and wondering what's going on. Kurt 'fessed up and said he'd blow it back up for Hugh who promptly told him to save his blow jobs for his girl friends. We were astounded-and promptly flew into fits of laughter. What made it particularly funny was that just last night Kurt commented how April had told him she thought the trip would be a good idea for Kurt and that he'd benefit from the collective maturity of our group. Boy, was she ever mistaken! Little does she know how much raunchiness our 255 collective years contain.

Robin and Ali arrived and we went out to eat at the Country Cookin' Buffet. For $3.69 soup and salad we damned near ate the place out of food. When I left I felt as if I had a bowling ball in my stomach.

As the evening progressed I planned on sleeping underneath the pavilion on a picnic table but there was a party going on so I put up my tent. I intended to get as much sleep as possible so found this little depression on top of which I put the tent while inside my sleeping bag went over the depression. Within a minute I was fast asleep and stayed that way sleeping like a baby until 6 AM.

WEDNESDAY    JUNE 11, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
50	CHRISTIANSBURG	9.8		415

A LOUSY NIGHT'S ACCOMMODATIONS

The long sleep was just what the doctor ordered. Coupled with the small depression I slept in (good thing it did not rain!) I was very comfortable all night. My knee feels much better. Left with Hugh about 730 and am getting concerned about Kurt. He's having knee problems and is not sure if it is his pedals or his shoes or whatever. Hopefully it'll sort itself out.

We rode for about 19 miserable miles and stopped at Catawba. It has a cool general store complete with wood burning stove inside with chairs along the side of it. I can just imagine the scene in winter. Picked up a candy bar and coffee.

The ride from Catawba to Ellet was much better. Quiet with nice scenery. Helped also that the weather brightened a bit. While in Ellet I picked up some veggie juice to go with my sandwich and a Moon Pie for desert.

From Ellet we had a not very pleasant ride to Christiansburg. All of us met at the old Depot (built in 1848) and plotted our next move. Fortunately, the stores we needed were along the way to the campground and I stopped at a pharmacy, also. Told the pharmacist I needed professional help (which elicited a chuckle from him) about what to do for my knees. He recommended eating Ibuprofen and if that didn't work to take Naproxen. Also got some sport cream to rub on the affected areas. I guess I can't complain too much because my butt no longer hurts as much and my knees did a good job of behaving themselves today. Everyone else seems to be fine but not happy about all these damned hills.

We camped at Interstate Park. It sucks. We had to pay $9 per tent for the privilege of being put in a tent area way out in the boonies of the park. The showers and laundry were far enough that we had to ride our bikes to get there. To top it off, the owners had no change for the machines and blamed it on the kids and the video games. Incompetent! They wouldn't take VISA, either. Amazing they are still in business. What frosted our jaws even more was that RV'ers got to stay for $5 more, get water, electric, sewer PLUS are closer to all facilities. ERRR! Does not help that two interstates bisect the area so there is lots of noise.

We found another Country Cookin' Restaurant and pigged out again. I can grow to like this! They made no money on us.

The 3200 feet of climbing today made me very tired so I turned in early.

THURSDAY    JUNE 12, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
60	WYTHEVILLE	9.5		475

A NASTY SURPRISE

HARUMPH! Did not sleep well. Maybe I was too well rested. Had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant and made off with some jelly packs for our bread.

Made it to Radford and had the USPS help me relieve myself of some weight. Sent back the first map! Now we are making progress!! Interesting little town Radford—home of an all female college. HMMM!?!?!

The weather played cat and mouse with us today. It started to rain so I donned my rain gear. Rode for a while and it quit. I sweated and took off the gear. Rode some more and it rained again. Put the gear back on. Sweated and it stopped raining so off it came again. This was getting silly. Then it began to rain again and I just said screw it and got wet.

Upon leaving Radford the route took us along the New River. It was really pretty and peaceful. Sure would be nice if the whole trip were like this.

It's Ying/Yang time: had a 4 mile long, tortuous climb to Draper along Route 611. I knew the New River was too good to be true!

Stopped at Bryson's Grocery and picked up a sandwich, candy bar and a drink called Dr. Enuf. Never heard of it before but it is very good. Also got an ice cream made with chocolate chips and small peanut butter chunks covered in chocolate. Man! Was it good! We figured we could stuff ourselves for lunch knowing we'd already done 1700 feet of climbing and only had 500 more to go when we run right smack dab into a series of hills! Did a 1.5 mile climb of what seemed to be an 8-10% grade.

I was mentioning to Hugh that we need to question the rational sensibility and sanity of 6 grown, well-educated men wanting to undertake a trip with all these hills. I also question the sense of routing this trip through side roads that are so steep because if the purpose is to enjoy the country side, then it is very difficult to do so with your nose pointed downwards at the road. You can't see anything that way. It's better to be on Interstates. Whoever designed this route should be summarily shot!

We ended up riding an upward headed crest between two ranges that had 10-20 MPH headwinds blowing through them. NASTY NASTY NASTY. I was hurling primal screams at anything and everything.

Ended the day with climbing almost 3500 feet. A far cry from 2000 we were expecting. Donna Ikenberry lied! Discouragement seemed to be the word for the day. It was so bad that Kurt stopped at a church along the way to pray for guidance. Now, that's bad! We just need to tough it out a few more days. This kind of attitude is normal on rides like this because for every bad day will be several good days.

In Wytheville (named after one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence) we stopped at the Elizabeth Brown Park. Quite nice with free showers and rest rooms. Met up with the Adventure Cyclists and also Coleen and Gary. Found out Gary packs a gun. Bully for him. I'm afraid I'd use it so it is better I not have one. Our experiences with dogs lately led me to make a suggestion that we get 100 riders to start in western Virginia, space themselves 1000 yards apart and with silenced .22 caliber automatic pistols shoot every fucking dog in Kentucky that showed its face out of its yard. May be a radical idea but I liked it.

Although very tired I still managed to make a stew of potatoes, onions, carrots, tomato soup and a can of ham. YUMMY!

FRIDAY    JUNE 13, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
59	DAMASCUS	9.3		534

WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT A FRIDAY THE 13TH?

Was awakened at 5 AM by the melodious sounds of thunder and lightning. No rain for a few minutes and then it began to pour. By 6 AM it slacked off and everyone was up so we packed our bikes and headed for a restaurant to see what else the day had in store for us. The tent leaked a bit but some of it was due to the improper way I set up my ground cloth.

Found a restaurant a bit out of our way and down a hill from where we needed to go but had a good breakfast there. The waitress told us a way to get to where we needed to go that would not entail climbing the hill we just descended. Coleen and Gary met up with us and we chowed down together. What the waitress failed to tell us was that even though we did not have to go back up the hill we descended, there other worse hills we had to climb. Add to that the fact that the roads were not well marked and we almost ended up in Mississippi. Slight exaggeration. I, too, need artistic license. We also did not properly learn the lesson which states never to trust non-bike riding folks!

But, boy, did I get a nice picture of what makes rural America a pretty place to ride through.

I did not feel comfortable with where we were headed so backed up a bit and knocked on a door to confirm the road we just passed was where we should have turned. BINGO! Poor Colleen and Gary. We never saw them the rest of the trip. For all I know they may be fishing in the Gulf of Mexico right now.

Fought headwinds all the way to Damascus. Hill after hill after hill. Several were miles long. One was 4 miles, one was 5 miles, the others were 2-3 miles. AARGH!

Working would be easier to contend with than this shit but the worst will be behind us soon. No one is talking of quitting yet. Whenever the thought slips into my head I tell it to go packing because I will be damned if I quit this trip after having wanted to go on it so long. I'll need a major catastrophe to make me stop.

FUCK FUCK FUCK these hills.

On the bright side, it's nice to have clouds for the sun to poke through while at the same time see fog and mist draped over the tops of the hills on either side of us as if it were a shroud.

Had to climb to 3100 feet elevation to get to Troutdale, only to drop 300 feet and then climb again, this time to 3500 feet in the next 5 miles. Got to 37 MPH downhill and it is very exciting even though I realize that the slightest twitch of the handlebars can cause serious stability problems. I did not even want to think about what would happen if I'd had a blowout at those speeds.

In some respects, the days would not be so bad if we had a chance to warm our leg muscles up before tackling hills. But it seems like all we do is get on the road and immediately begin to climb. What a son of a bitch. I hate it. To make matters worse, Merle had another flat.

Ran across what's called the Creeper Trail, part of the Rails to Trails Conservancy Program. Looked like a nice trail but there was lots of gravel on it and none of it was paved. Some of the guys were thinking of taking it and Kurt actually did so. He regretted it. It crossed over lots of railroad bridges and must have been very scenic but not good riding for how our bikes were configured.

Got to Damascus and what a thrill it was to descend the hill coming into town. Almost 10 miles of downhill. It's about time we ended the day by not having to climb a hill into the town!

The Place hostel is a big house that sleeps lots of people in bunk beds or on the floor or sofas. It has cooking, bathing, and kitchen facilities. Also sports a sitting room to read in along with a phone on the wall. A cool place.

Pulling into the hostel, Kurt and Hugh had some cross words. Kurt was really pissed. I guess Hugh was at the laundry when Kurt pulled in and Hugh said something to him that did not sit right. On top of that Kurt is suffering from butt sores. He needs medical treatment as those things can cause lots of problems later on. Told him he needs to start using triple anti-biotic cream and to put baby powder in his shorts several times a day. Since April is supposed to meet up with him tomorrow, maybe she can take him to straight to Breaks Interstate Park and he can rest there for three days and wait for us.

Spoke with a couple of AT'ers on their way to through hiking the Appalachian Trail. They've got quite a journey ahead of them.

Many of the Adventure Cyclists are in Damascus, too, and camped out in the yard. We had our tents set up there, also. Our group of six went to Quincy's to have dinner. I had a calzone that was fantastic. Snarfed it right up. Hugh, Merle, and I went back to the Hostel and the others stayed drinking beer. Then about 830 we got a warning that there might be a tornado in the area. I looked up the mountain and it was downright dark and ugly. We could see the weather front creeping down the hill side. I started to batten down my tent when I saw Merle go inside the Hostel. Not wanting to tempt fate, I quickly tore down my tent and so did Hugh. No sooner did we get inside then the skies literally opened up and the wind began to howl. Not pretty. Visions of Dorothy and Toto floated in my head.

Decided to make tomorrow a rest day so we could get rested up and our bikes serviced.

Hugh's wife, Betty, and their two friends Graham and Helen, will meet us tomorrow and fix us lunch. They may even ride with us the following day.

After the storm blew over, things settled down a bit. Dennis, Kurt, and Dick made it back and we helped them tear down their tents (with the exception of Dick who stayed outside.) We all had bunks to sleep in as most of the Adventure Cyclists stayed outdoors, too.

Met a "wired" At'er named David "The Fool" Covin. He walks in and I thought it was a robo-cop that strolled inside. This guy had a mini-cam rigged on his helmet, an eyepiece monitor that flipped down over his eyeball, a 486 processor, PMCIA card for his modem, a keyboard that strapped to his wrist, a power supply and the processor on a belt around his waist. What a setup.

Went to bed about midnight and woke up to a siren going off in the middle of the night. At first I thought I was another tornado warning but it must have been a fire. My body keeps throwing off a lot of heat well into the night. A natural furnace. Makes it uncomfortable to sleep sometimes.

Only after completing the trip and going back to look at the pictures and align the word picture with the actual picture picture did I realize that today, Friday the 13^th, a day normally associated with bad luck and other things supernatural, was also the day we came across Route 666. For those not familiar with it, 666 supposedly signifies the mark of the devil. (Play the Outer Limits tune here!)

SATURDAY    JUNE 14, 1997

REST

Sure rained a lot last night. It was nice to be indoors. Finally got my ass up at 630 and with it being cloudy all day, was a perfect layover day.

Dennis and I walked to Cowboy's for breakfast. Nothing to crow about but not bad, either.

Spent the day in conversation with thru-hikers and determined that although I still want to hike the trail, I will do so in smaller increments. Don't know if I can stand the lifestyle for 6 months all at once. Also did periodic bike maintenance and so far no problems. It's staying together well and nothing seems to be coming loose. Called Amtrak and may take the train back home instead of flying. It will be a longer trip (4 days vs. 10 hours) but I'll be able to wind down better and see some country side I've not seen before. Cheap, too. I was really surprised. Only $240 with military discount to go from Portland to Williamsburg.

Wandered around town and blew my budget on a spare gas bottle. Finding stove gas is not easy and even harder finding it in small quantities so this way I can share a gallon container with Merle or anyone else needing it.

It was Dick's birthday so we sang Happy Birthday to him. In the afternoon we bought him a card along with a gag gift (literally) of canned sardines. He loves those damned things and when he starts to eat them we have to stand upwind. Also got him a make-up kit with fake nails, glitter, etc. It was funny. Planned on drinking the Royal Crown given me by Sergio (a friend back in Florida) but he had a sore throat so we put it off for another day.

April finally showed up (Kurt was upset she was late) and they left to get a hotel in Abingdon. He thinks he can ride tomorrow and she'll sag him to our destination.

Seeing as how the hikers have trail names we’ve been working on nicknames for ourselves. So far, Dick’s name is "Dick- Dick- Dick- Dick- Dick" We changed it from "Tooter"; Hugh is "Pie Man"; Kurt is "Slacker" in honor of his generation or "Ma Bell" cuz he’s always on the phone. He prefers to be called "Cartographer" but I doubt it will stick. Merle is "Locomotive." Dennis and I still have no names. We believe the process needs to work naturally and that something needs to occur to generate the name. So we will wait.

Hugh's friends showed up and we had a nice lunch. They will ride with us tomorrow.

SUNDAY    JUNE 15, 1997

MILES	DESTINATION	AVG MPH	WEATHER	TOTAL MILES
52	COUNCIL	9.7		586

THE GAP WE LOVED TO HAYTE

Had a rough night last night. It was hot and humid and I could not sleep well in my bunk. Finally about 1130 I moved to the living room and slept on the sofa. Much better.

Kurt showed up about 1030 to get his stuff he'd left behind. We were all kinda curious to see if he'd be back since he had stuff scattered from here to hell and back. There was stuff on the fence, on the back porch, on the front porch, etc.

Partook of breakfast at Cowboys (again) and got a message from Kurt that he wouldn't make it yet it did not say where he'd meet us. So it looks like he's dropped out. Dammit! Very strange, indeed. Some of us headed out for our ride into the cool and foggy morning. Good riding weather. Maintained a good pace for the first 23 or so miles and then hit Hayter's Gap (pronounced High-ter's) Although when I was through climbing it, I did, in fact, "hayte" it immensely. For a good long way before the gap, the path took me along some very nice creeks and streams still swollen from all the recent rainfall and roaring/rushing to beat all hell.

As they said they would, Betty and Helen came along with Hugh and I. Before hitting the hill we rested a bit and when we got ready to go Hugh just keeled over. He fell off his bike! Scared all of us but he was OK. Since I could not power up the hill as well as he could, I stayed with the "girls" for a while and then I left them behind ¾ of a mile into the ride from hell. Did about 1.3 miles into the climb and had to stop for a breather. What a wicked sonovabitch. I hurt like the dickens, too.

The roadway is narrow and winding. On one side there are precipitous drops that go down hundreds of feet and on the other the ground goes virtually straight up hundreds of feet. Sure would ruin my day if I feel off the precipitous side! All in all the total climb was 5 miles long at about an 8% gradient.

Got to the top and zoomed down to meet up with Hugh at the Elk Garden Hostel run by the United Methodist Church. While waiting for the ladies we ate lunch (I'm getting damned tired of trail mix but had little choice) and also got to meet the pastor. She told us to make ourselves at home and that she leaves the church door open for bikers and hikers. We went in and read the log entries made by the Adventure Cycling gang that came through.

The ladies showed, ate a bit, and waited for Graham. We fully expected him much sooner but Hugh and I could wait no longer and left the women to wait for him. As it turns out, miles further down the road I saw him coming toward us, totally off the path. Hugh was waving at him to stop but he must not have seen him. He pulled over and I told him where he could find Betty and Helen. He'd taken one wrong turn after another. Thank God he's not MY navigator! It was not that difficult. Hugh called home and everyone arrived OK. A bit frazzled, but OK. Good.

Since we decided not to stay overnight at the hostel, our next stop was Council - - and two very nasty 1.5 mile long hills separated us from our destination. I keep going back to re-read this journal and find almost too many references to nasty hills and sore knees. This has got to end soon if for nothing else than my sanity. What the hell was I thinking when I decided to do this trip? Yes, misgivings are making their presence known.

So glad we stopped at Council, though. First, the ride down to the town was exhilarating. The county had just finished paving and re-routing the road which used to have 101 curves in it. Got told by a local that the way the road used to be, there was a point where this one mobile home could be passed three different times on the way down. Not sure how that is pulled off but I believe him. Also, if you did not pay attention you'd blow by the park and then have to turn and climb back to it. Second, we had our own serenading group. Third, Kurt made it!!

Set up our gear at the pavilion in the William P. Harris Park, showered, and ate lunch. Hugh commented on how a small town could have such a large, well laid out park and we found out it was a brainchild of Mr. Harris who wanted the town to have something respectable. He pulled together a group of investors and that was that. Guess they were tired at being located at the end of the county and getting no respect.

Noticed there was some sort of reunion going on but did not pay much attention to it. The excitement in town was for some of the kids to drive their cars up and down into the park, into town, and back again. Then a trio of folks came by to rest in the shade of the pavilion we were under. After a few minutes they took out their instruments and began to play and sing. We felt we were being serenaded! Too Cool!

Shortly after beginning they were joined by a fourth person so now we had a quartet playing banjo, mandolin, harmonica, and guitars. One couple was Mary and Harry Haas from Dayton OH. Kinner Turner was another. He's also from Dayton. Both Kinner and Mary were from Council and are here now for the all-class reunion. Before today they did not know one another. Imagine that! Raised in the same town, knew some of the same people, moved to the same place in Dayton, and did not know one another until today. Amazing! Mary was telling us she had a grand father who was sheriff during the Hatfield and McCoy feud. I bet that it made his life (and his family's) very interesting. From what I've heard and read, that feud was one nasty little affair.

Considering the weather today, I can not imagine how anyone would want to start this trip on the West coast and come this way in this heat and humidity. UGLY!

Back to Kurt, now. We were sitting there minding our business after the musicians left and who should pull up but April! She was looking for someone somewhere in order to go back up the road to tell Kurt where he should stop. I am amazed she saw us from up on the road. Lucky, I guess. Hugh and I were pleasantly surprised. As it turns out, the message we got early in the morning should have stated that he'd catch up and for us to go on. Asshole messengers!

April spent the night in her car and Wheezer, the dog, stayed chained up outside. She had to park the car outside the gates because they'd be locked up at 9PM and she had to leave early. As it turns out she left at 4AM because she could not sleep in the car. She is a task master. Made Kurt ride the whole way but she did take his bags. He was pissed because he lost his cyclometer with built-in altimeter, his light, and a tube of grease back at the hostel.

NOTE: when leaving, walk bikes up the steep hill instead of riding back to the less steep hill because if the park is closed you have to circumnavigate this fence and it takes much longer.

BACK PEDAL

PEDAL ON TO WEEK 3

© 1998-2004 VILMAR TAVARES.  ALL RIGHT RESERVED. PLEASE RESPECT MY WISH THAT NO PORTION OF ANY OF THESE JOURNALS BE USED ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN TO BE READ ON THESE PAGES. SHOULD YOU WISH TO INCLUDE ANY PORTION OF THESE JOURNALS IN ANY MEDIUM, PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR PERMISSION. CONVERSELY, IF YOU FEEL I HAVE VIOLATED YOUR COPYRIGHT, PLEASE CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY SO WE CAN RESOLVE IT.