Day 5
The day started early because I was kind of scared of being caught as I didn’t have permission to sleep behind the church. I didn’t think any one would care as I didn’t do anything damaging in any way, but still, I feel its just better for no one to know you are there when you are trespassing as that way you are sure to avoid all problems. I got up and ate my cold breakfast and then headed out. The day started with more climbing than I was used to and my maps showed that I was in for a long hard day. When I woke up I checked my GPS and it said I was at 722 ft elevation. I started climbing into the Blue Mountains and decided I would stop at the little town at the foot of the mountains in order to restock on food and water.
There was nothing in the town, just a post office with bad drinking water. It was not looking like a good day. I was about to leave and attempt the suicidal climb with a half bottle of water when one of the women behind the counter said, “try the cookie lady, she is biker friendly.” I was a bit concerned to say the least, but I gave it a go. So off I went in search for the cookie lady. I wasn’t ready for what I found. She was an old woman with no remaining family and a hear bigger than anyone I new. She lost her mother, her last remaining family member in 1976, the same year the bike trail was planed. It ran right past her house, so she began taking in bikers. She told me that because she has no family, bikers were her family now. She gave me the keys to the bike house and told me to look around and to put the photo she had taken of me (she had an old Polaroid camera) in the photo album on the table. I was shocked when I went in. she had 16 photo albums with photos of every biker who has stopped by her house sense 1976. On the walls of the house she had every post card, newspaper clipping and letter that every biker has ever sent her. There were wedding photos and photos of peoples children on there graduation day. She really had become part of these peoples family. The house ended up being fully furnished with all the food a biker could ask for as well as several bedrooms and couches. It was amazing. I took what I needed and then locked it up before heading back to the old woman’s house to say good by. We talked for a while and she told me some of the amazing stories of bikers that had come through the pass over the Blue Mountains. I was amazed to put it lightly.
Setting off over the Blue Mountains was the hardest thing I have done to date on a bike. It was no easy climb. By 1:00 that afternoon I had climbed to an elevation that exceeded 3250 ft. Now remember that I had started at 722 ft that morning.
I stopped at the ranger station on the mountain and asked how many more inclines I had until I reached Vesuvious, the town I was going to descend to on the other side of the mountain range and he said, “oh, about two more.” Six inclines later I finally reached SR 59 and began my descent. That was the low point in the trip. With each passing incline my heart sank a little more. I ran out of food and nearly out of water on that mountain. I was very lonely and wanted nothing more than to be with my friends. But I was very alone and had no idea how far it was until I would reach my destination for the night. I pushed on and finally made it. I got down the mountain to Vesuvious and there was nothing there ether, just a post office, but this time with drinkable water. I asked the man how far it was to Lexington VA and he said 33 miles. I was very skeptical, but I had no choice so I took off as fast as I could.
I made it to Lexington and found a place to eat and a store to get more food for the next day which was promising to be as hard as the day that I had just finished. I then began looking for a place to sleep. I found a little park and began looking to see if I could sleep there that night. There was a state police officer there so I asked him if I could sleep there. He called headquarters and asked them and they sent two more police officers to check it out. Then they said, “NO”. The state cop got eratated and said, “just put your bike in my car.” I was a bit confused until the other police officers asked me what he was going to do with me. He said he had a place for me to sleep and he was going to take me there. I couldn’t believe it. He took me to his in-laws farm and let me sleep in their pasture next to a river. It was simply splendid. I got to sleep right along a river that was nice and clean. He told me it was safe to swim in and that I could bath in it if I wanted to. I did. It was simply a wonderful way to end a hard and trying day. That night I slept very soundly.
Over all I rode 73.5 miles at 9.6 mph from Whitehall VA to Lexington VA. I rode for 7:38 with a max speed of 34.5 mph.
The day started early because I was kind of scared of being caught as I didn’t have permission to sleep behind the church. I didn’t think any one would care as I didn’t do anything damaging in any way, but still, I feel its just better for no one to know you are there when you are trespassing as that way you are sure to avoid all problems. I got up and ate my cold breakfast and then headed out. The day started with more climbing than I was used to and my maps showed that I was in for a long hard day. When I woke up I checked my GPS and it said I was at 722 ft elevation. I started climbing into the Blue Mountains and decided I would stop at the little town at the foot of the mountains in order to restock on food and water.
There was nothing in the town, just a post office with bad drinking water. It was not looking like a good day. I was about to leave and attempt the suicidal climb with a half bottle of water when one of the women behind the counter said, “try the cookie lady, she is biker friendly.” I was a bit concerned to say the least, but I gave it a go. So off I went in search for the cookie lady. I wasn’t ready for what I found. She was an old woman with no remaining family and a hear bigger than anyone I new. She lost her mother, her last remaining family member in 1976, the same year the bike trail was planed. It ran right past her house, so she began taking in bikers. She told me that because she has no family, bikers were her family now. She gave me the keys to the bike house and told me to look around and to put the photo she had taken of me (she had an old Polaroid camera) in the photo album on the table. I was shocked when I went in. she had 16 photo albums with photos of every biker who has stopped by her house sense 1976. On the walls of the house she had every post card, newspaper clipping and letter that every biker has ever sent her. There were wedding photos and photos of peoples children on there graduation day. She really had become part of these peoples family. The house ended up being fully furnished with all the food a biker could ask for as well as several bedrooms and couches. It was amazing. I took what I needed and then locked it up before heading back to the old woman’s house to say good by. We talked for a while and she told me some of the amazing stories of bikers that had come through the pass over the Blue Mountains. I was amazed to put it lightly.
Setting off over the Blue Mountains was the hardest thing I have done to date on a bike. It was no easy climb. By 1:00 that afternoon I had climbed to an elevation that exceeded 3250 ft. Now remember that I had started at 722 ft that morning.
I stopped at the ranger station on the mountain and asked how many more inclines I had until I reached Vesuvious, the town I was going to descend to on the other side of the mountain range and he said, “oh, about two more.” Six inclines later I finally reached SR 59 and began my descent. That was the low point in the trip. With each passing incline my heart sank a little more. I ran out of food and nearly out of water on that mountain. I was very lonely and wanted nothing more than to be with my friends. But I was very alone and had no idea how far it was until I would reach my destination for the night. I pushed on and finally made it. I got down the mountain to Vesuvious and there was nothing there ether, just a post office, but this time with drinkable water. I asked the man how far it was to Lexington VA and he said 33 miles. I was very skeptical, but I had no choice so I took off as fast as I could.
I made it to Lexington and found a place to eat and a store to get more food for the next day which was promising to be as hard as the day that I had just finished. I then began looking for a place to sleep. I found a little park and began looking to see if I could sleep there that night. There was a state police officer there so I asked him if I could sleep there. He called headquarters and asked them and they sent two more police officers to check it out. Then they said, “NO”. The state cop got eratated and said, “just put your bike in my car.” I was a bit confused until the other police officers asked me what he was going to do with me. He said he had a place for me to sleep and he was going to take me there. I couldn’t believe it. He took me to his in-laws farm and let me sleep in their pasture next to a river. It was simply splendid. I got to sleep right along a river that was nice and clean. He told me it was safe to swim in and that I could bath in it if I wanted to. I did. It was simply a wonderful way to end a hard and trying day. That night I slept very soundly.
Over all I rode 73.5 miles at 9.6 mph from Whitehall VA to Lexington VA. I rode for 7:38 with a max speed of 34.5 mph.
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