Ride in the Sky

Here They Come

We knew what the day held, at least a couple thousand feet of elevation to climb. I made sure to load up on 3 packets of oatmeal and peanut butter. Rain was on the radar, but we set out voyage for 50 miles to Lexington. The climbing started immediately, but luckily we had overcast to keep us somewhat cool. If it were hot and humid today, I would have been struggling much more. For those of you who know this road in the sky, we biked over 30ish miles on the beautiful Blue Ridge parkway. It’s easily one of the coolest bike rides I’ve ever accomplished. Rain started about an hour in, and luckily we found a visitor center to dress up and sit out some rain. The crazy part about climbing is how slow you go, and how long it takes. We averaged 4 to 5 mph, for around 3 hours. It’s slow, but doable with low enough gears. The rain really put a damper on the ride, but with the views I didn’t even care.

Lunch Break

Our first real break finally came in Love, VA. This was a cabin area with a small convenience store. The gentleman running the show was a friendly guy, and we chatted about his stories over warm cups of coffee and sandwiches. Brian has shown me there’s nothing like a cup of coffee after a couple hours of riding. All I was trying to do was stay hydrated and nourished. You’ll see soon what I consumed this day, it’s actually mind blowing.

What goes up

Eventually the rain let up, and we were left with cool air and overcast. I found I prefer this weather compared to humidity and sun. When we reached our highest elevation, all of the climbing was worth it. Some of the fondest memories I’ll remember took place on the flat roads on top of these hills. I can picture them perfectly in my head, it almost makes me cry. Eventually after all the hills, we finally approached the decline. For 4 miles we went down switchbacks averaging 30 mph. It was absolutely insane, and yes I cried. Getting over the mountains was tough, so being able to fly down them was powerful too. I couldn’t feel my nose at the bottom, but luckily we stopped in a local store for a break and a bite to congratulate ourselves for one of the first real tests of the trip. We signed the ceiling of the store. A lot of AT hikers come off route to hang here, maybe I’ll be here again some day 😉

Another kind, generous warmshowers host

Expectations are so important during this trip. When you expect the mountains are going to suck, they’re not actually that bad. When I expected to be done with long hills after the mountains, I was wrong. The hills leading into Lexington really didn’t treat us well. By the time we got into town I could tell I was dwindling, but we still needed to food shop. Kroger was our store, and we resupplied our staples. Warmshowers came through again, but in a unique way. A host who had company referred another friend of hers, and she, Cathryn, was able to host us. We arrived at this stunning home with a lively garden and lovely interior. We showered up, settled in, and I immediately made some food I had. Eventually Cathryn came home and we talked away for a couple hours about many capturing topics. Cathryn generously offered dinner in the shape of one of the best frittatas of my life, homemade seed crackers, blueberries, dark green leafy vegetable salad, marinated radishes, and whitefish dip. Can’t forget the IPA and glass of wine. I can’t even describe how delicious this meal was after today’s ride, and knowing my body was eating vegetables and quality protein again was rejuvenating. Cathryn is the reason why I love the warmshowers/couchsurfing community, and why Liz and I love offering other travelers into our home. A great conversation with a new friend, bed to sleep in, laundry, homemade food, and all else certainly put us in a great place for tomorrow. Off to bed, I likely won’t wake up once.

Food consumption recap

I’ve been waiting for a day like today to share what a somewhat normal day of eating is for me. I consumed 3 oatmeal packets with peanut butter, 2 clif bars, a turkey and cheese sandwich, more peanut butter, even more peanut butter, a whole avocado, an instant package of rice, a package of tuna, appetizers like blueberries, whitefish dip, nut variety, carrots, a beer, glass of wine, half a plate of leafy vegetables, and a hefty piece of frittata. I probably went through half a jar of peanut butter in 8 hours. There is likely more, but it’s incredibly difficult to keep track of. The crazy thing was going to bed I was definitely full, but not uncomfortable.

Stats

Start: Alton, VA Finish: Lexington, VA

Day 5’s mileage: 56ish Total Mileage: 291ish

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