Just Another Old White Guy, Staving Off Irrelevance with Solo Cross Country Rides
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Saw his grave a few days ago in Lexington, VA
Blue Ridge Tunnel - at the time the longest in the U.S. Across the street from the parking lot to the tunnel is the home of the dear departed "Cookie Lady" - a trail angel.
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Gertie's - Such a fun, historic place in Vesuvius run by a wonderful, caring couple. I arrived late afternoon after a grueling day on the bicycle, looking forward to a nice meal. Unfortunately, sick children forced an early closure. I had plenty of food and started making my meal when the owners drove by and apologized profusely for the emergency closure. I noted I had plenty of food and thanked them. They went above and beyond, providing me with a Gatorade, water and a tasty coffee cake. They also let me use the restroom. I was happy to hear they opened at 6:30 AM, so I enjoyed a great espresso drink and a nice breakfast sandwich. I was able to camp in the pavilion behind the restaurant and access the strong restaurant WiFi.
3 family members perished in a gas station explosion in May of 2019
Stonewall Jackson's grave in Lexington, VA (Home of the monochromatic Virginia Military Institute).
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"The VTech university's trademark look is difficult to mimic because the school has exclusive rights over Hokie Stone, the predominant material in the façade of new buildings. Hokie Stone is a unique and rare natural stone, found only near Blacksburg, Virginia, and is solely quarried for Virginia Tech projects."
Smooth, fresh asphalt, rolling pastoral hills, little traffic - bicycle touring heaven.
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I took the road not to be taken and enjoyed traffic free sections with a few hike-a-bikes.
The road was completely wiped out by Hurricane Helene's floods last October.
No one will be taking the Virginia Creeper trail for some time.
Another log church.
Storm blow down
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Lots of climbing.
The view from my restaurant balcony sleeping spot in Haysi, VA. Floods in 57 and 77 would have had water lapping at my feet. Haysi's motto is "The town that would not die."
The owner of the restaurant building lived on the 2nd floor and really has kept the town alive. He owns a dozen buildings and recently added two apartments on the 2nd floor of one of the. FEMA wants to buy his buildings to tear down. He recently had his 80th birthday and said all he go were kidney stones and a flood. He had part of a lung removed (an electrician in the coal mines) and is being treated for prostate cancer. Many people would take FEMA's offer, but he doesn't want to be the one to kill Haysi.
Born "up on the mountain", his family moved to Chicago, where he couldn't afford a car and found that he could get through traffic faster on a bicycle. He always wanted to bicycle tour across America.
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Day 19 Just a series of climbs.
Actually, one word.
Invasive creepers make a creepy scene.
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Day 18 More climbing. I had to make detours around flood damage on the route. This rise was too steep to ride. Should have known - named Devil's Skull road.
Log church in Buckhorn, KY.
Didn't see the inside.
Made me think of the amazing wooden churches of Chiloé, Chile.
River, road, tracks, steep hill. Not squeezing much else in.
That garbage in the tree was put there by flood water.
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Day 17. Lots of climbing with some ridiculously steep sections.
Pallet lumber operation has lots of unusable scraps.
"Since 1950, it has been PRTC's mission to build, maintain and grow a local network that works for the communities of Jackson and Owsley Counties in Kentucky." Gets better ratings than any national service provider. Also, provides free WiFi to the library.
Berea (rhymes with Maria) College is a little gem. First coed, integrated college in the south. It is a work college. Students work 10 hours a week and don't pay tuition.
Includes running an historic hotel and restaurant.
Berea also has lots of great artisanry
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Harrodsburg, VA sure has lots of old mansions for a small town. All antebellum, built from tobacco and enslaved people.
Another short day in prep for a few tough days.
Pattern was downhill to a hollow (holler), follow a stream for 4-5 miles, climb out of the hollow, turn into the wind for a mile until the next descent into another hollow, repeat.
Harrington Lake
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Short day, but my legs were feeling it.
When you cross over a time zone, it sure does get early late!
Mansion named for the song, My Old Kentucky Home. The song was inspired by Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Replica of the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln in KENTUCKY! (not Illinois)
Countryside today. Drizzling.
Older homes along the route are closer to the road (and smaller).
It's as if people used to look forward to travelers and now want to be as distant as possible from them.
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Got to Cave City too late to see Dinosaur World. Classic roadside attraction.
Not a big fan of KOA. They treat tent campers horribly (I was on a section that looked as if it had just been turned over by tractor tilling). At $55 night, was more than my cheapest hotels. But it did have a nice bathroom with a bathtub, which I soaked in to warm up.
Old Greyhound station in Horse Cave.
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Day 13 Beautiful weather, sunny and cool with a slight tailwind. Winding back roads with rolling hills and little traffic.
Had to reroute due to a flooded road.
Smith's Grove has the 3rd Stonehenge replica I've seen in my travels (the other two are in Texas and Washington State - scroll WAY down to see :-).
Went through Mammoth Cave National Park, but did not visit the caves (did so a few years ago).
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Wonderful start to a miserable day - rain, wind, hail, cold ...
At least there was a bike lane!
Was soo lucky that my WarmShower host was a member and leader in the historic Downtown Presbyterian Church.
While closed to the public, I got an early morning tour. It was used as a Union hospital during the Civil War.
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Day 11 a day of getting the bike tuned seeing a little of Nashville meeting up with friends for lunch and getting out of the saddle.
Nicest art deco bathroom in the country.
Classic "meat +3" restaurant. I had 2 sides, fried okra and mashed sweet potatoes to go with my pork chop and seemingly endless peanut butter chocolate shake.
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Day 10. Got up early to have time to replace my derailleur cable. Nice weather. More climbing, but no pulls too long.
Hills meant water falls, here Fall Hallow Falls.
Late lunch at the loveless Cafe formerly owned by the loveless family now unfortunately owned by the daughter of Thomas Frist Jr., co-founder of HCA healthcare.
Never seen cushions as speed bumps!
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