Phase 5, Day 7. Lexington-Appomattox, VA

Another 80 miles started by tackling the Blue Ridge Mtns, then left the big mountains behind...but not all the hills. 

A few random pics from the day..

Right out the gate this morning and started the last big climb up and over the Blue Ridge Mountains. Still trying to avoid the dreaded Route 60 and found very remote Robinson Gap Rd, a gravel road but not in bad shape, and made the long climb up and longer descent down. Climbed out of the morning fog and into the sun but due to constant thick forest there was no view of the valley below. Had a couple of dogs chase me again but I'm hip to that now after all my Kentucky dog races. 

While descending Robinson Gap passed the Appalachian Trail as it crossed the road. This iconic trail is said to be the longest hiking trail in the world at over 2000 miles from Georgia to Maine. Must be quite a cool life experience to hike the entire distance. I'll have to do that another day though.  I had planned to come across the trail today and had this notion that I would meet some folks on their own adventure and we could share stories, but no one to be found. I don't know how long I would have to wait until someone rambled by but I wasn't in the mood to wait so took a pic and headed down the gravelly hill for many more miles. 

John Denver's "Country Roads" was in my head all day. Blue Ridge Mtns and Shenandoah River..West Virginia and some mountain Mommas too. Yep. Saw all that. 

The big hills ended and I imagined the countryside would gently roll down to the sea. Boy was I wrong. No big hills but lots and lots of little hills. Bombing down a steep road for half a mile is fun but then the bridge crossing the creek comes in sight and you know the fun is soon over. Gotta now climb back out to do it again and again and again. Yesterday I mentioned how much I like climbing. Wish I hadn't said that. Climbing is fun when there is a goal to reach like a mountain top..not fun when going up and down endlessly. At least the scenery was as good as yesterday and managed to stay on very quiet roads all day. I made some last minute routing changes today which I usually avoid but it was all worth it and struck cycling gold again. 

Tonight in Appomattox, VA. (Say Appoh-maddux). I expected Appomattox to be a lovely and quant town much like last night's Lexington. After all, Appomattox has even more rich Civil War history and is the site of Appomattox Court House where Robert E Lee surrendered the war. There's an interesting National Park celebrating that event here but the town is shabby with not much to offer. The interstate passes through town, railroad too, so Walmart, McDonald's and all the rest are just up the road and therefore there is no charm here.  Reminds me of some of the towns I stayed in Kentucky. 

Found some local entertainment at the high school football game, the biggest thing in Appomattox. Appomattox Raiders handily beating Rusburg Red Devils at half time when I split. Red Devils need serious help on special teams among other things. 

Not to worry, still a fun day. Tomorrow is a long day at 110 miles to Petersburg and hopefully without those pesky rolling hills. Forecast is for rain most of the day..bummer.


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Phase 5, Day 6. White Sulphur, WV- Lexington, VA.

80 fabulous miles. Another epic day...good thing I like traveling solo 'cause I hardly saw anyone all day.

Humpback Bridge on Dunlap Creek. 

Today saw a lot of this..

...and this...

..this too. Hey look! Sun!

Enfield Rd and the top of today's last climb. Nearly 80 epic miles of this today.

Robert E Lee still buried here...

....Stonewall Jackson too. 

Sounding like a broken record but it was another great day. The route planning was good and spent nearly all day on the most random and scenic back roads. 

Route 60 is the most direct route today. Route 60 is full of logging trucks and everyone else stuck behind the logging trucks. I avoided Route 60. 

Left my sweet digs at The Greenbrier and soon started the first of 3 big climbs today. Actually, the climbing isn't really so tough..the passes through the Appalachians here top out at 2500' or less but then you go down to start again in 10 miles. I really like the climbing and go out of the way to find more climbing so avoiding Route 60 was well worth the effort. The mountain roads are paved but narrow, so narrow there's no room left to paint the lines it seems. The rare driver, a car passed every 20 minutes or so, always careful and cooperative. Got the wave too. I like the wave. 

The perfect riding conditions went on and on and I expected it to end around the next bend..but it didn't end. 

Spent most of the day in thick green forest speckled with fall colors here  and there. Navigation was much easier today...Virginia DOT was nice enough to install accurate road signs so I didn't miss a single turn today. Much better. 

Tonight in Lexington, VA...the 6th "Lexington" I've passed through on this ride across the country. Lexington is a small town but full of rich history, most of it Civil War history. Robert E Lee is buried here. Stonewall Jackson too. Despite the recent nearby unrest they haven't dug up Lee's grave yet but, interestingly, the Confederate Flag is not allowed to fly within Lexington city limits any longer. 

I must have slept through 8th grade US history and totally missed the Civil War chapter but now, decades later, I am fascinated by it because it's all around me. Fitting as this journey began following Pony Express which evolved from the same era save a couple of years. 

Tomorrow 80 miles, one last big climb over the Blue Ridge Mountains, to Appomattox where Lee surrendered the war. 

Phase 5, Day 5. Beaver-White Sulphur Springs, WV.

90 miles. Should have been 75 miles but I got lost a few times.

John Henry and his Great Bend Tunnel he dug by hand. 

I made a new friend along the road.  

Greenbrier River passing through Alderson. 

Lewisburg, West Virginia. 

The Greenbrier. 

I've stayed in some real dumps during this adventure but not tonight!

This is very important. When in the Appalachians one should know how to pronounce it properly. What do you say? They call it "Apple-at-chuns" here. The "Apple-ay-shuns" are also here but it all depends from where you come. It's a regional thing. 

Spent all day riding up and down and up and down mostly very quiet back roads and through the most beautiful scenery, river valleys, and woods a cyclist can imagine. West Virginia is, so far, my favorite riding experience crossing the country. 

The forecast for morning rain and wind never happened and it was a perfect day..dry, no wind and not hot. Weather is always a major issue. My Nebraska/Tornado Alley crossing was in May/June..the worst time of year for severe weather and tornado. I missed them all.  Now approaching the Atlantic and it's hurricane season here. What's left of Hurricane Harvey is headed my way but I think I can outrun it and there's a tropical storm working it's way up my route ahead but should be clear by the weekend when I get there. So far so good. 

My route today mostly followed the scenic Greenbrier River. I didn't ride much along the busy (and flat) river road as I'm always on the hunt for those random and more interesting back roads. The extra effort was well worth it. 

Stopped to visit the John Henry historic site in Talcott. I remember hearing the legend of John Henry when I was a kid..goes like this: While working to dig the Great Bend Tunnel Mr. Henry challenged the new fangled steam shovel to a race to see who could dig the tunnel faster. John Henry dug faster than the steamer that day but then collapsed and died on the spot. The legend was born. 

As I said, the West Virginia riding has been wonderful. Mostly rural country roads with a town every couple of hours. The towns are all neat and tidy with flower pots hanging from the lamp posts on Main St and everyone super nice too. 

I had some trouble today with my navigation which is all pre-planned from home using maps. I don't nav with GPS. Perhaps I should. Turns out many rural roads here are not marked, or worse, have a different name from the map. I'm pretty good at maps but still got turned around today and went the wrong way 3 times which added many miles and lots more climbing. Good thing it's such a nice place to ride. I convinced myself that it was all a happy accident. I asked for directions from a few people and all so nice and helpful.  The old men at the tire shop helped too but hard for me to understand them. They waved arms a lot and pointed so I got most of it. 

It all worked out well and arrived at White Sulphur Springs, WV and The Greenbrier...the most palatial hotel I've ever stayed. It's an old and historic resort where all the local Southern richies come for golf, horse drawn carriage rides, fancy shopping and spa. Dudes all wearing dinner jackets and expensive shoes in the afternoon. I only have shorts, t-shirt and $5 ABC store flip flops. My money is still green though. Not my scene at all but very nice and they let me in the door..bike too, so I will stay. Its a fun change from the usual. 

Tomorrow another 80ish miles and 6000'+ climbing up and down the Appalachians (no matter how you say it it's still gnarly) to Lexington, VA. At mile 5 we leave West Virginia. WV has been good to us, I hope to come back and ride again.