June 5, 2006
Day 4: Charlottesville, VA to Afton, VA
32.25 miles, 3:07:50 Ride Time, 10.71 Average Speed, 33.9 Maximum Speed
I got a late start this morning, tearing myself with great difficulty from the amenities of the Hampton Inn. I had planned for a short riding day today, so I wasn't in a big hurry anyway. The Adventure Cycling maps I'm using had puzzling directions for getting out of Charlottesville, so after trying (and failing) to follow them for about 20 minutes, I finally gave up and just took US 250 out of town.
I was feeling kind of sluggish (reflected in my pathetic average speed for the day) for some reason. The scenery wasn't too exceptional, and it was overcast most of the day - kind of a blah day for the most part. I stopped for lunch at Wyant's country store in White Hall. Left my helmet there, and had to go back and get it. I met a couple of college-age guys who were riding unloaded road bikes across the country. Apparently they have someone driving a support van ahead of them.
I finally got to the foot of Afton Mountain in the early afternoon. I had been looking forward to this - the start of the first real climbing of the trip. It was a good climb - probably longer and steeper than anything I've done back in Kentucky. About half way up, I had almost ridden past June "The Cookie Lady" Curry's house(s) before I realized it. At this point, I was about halfway up Afton Mountain, and was done for the day.
There were several bikes outside the Bike House. Kyle French, one of the younger guys riding unloaded that I had met earlier, was there, but he wasn't going to stay for the night. I met the other people, who were staying overnight: Johnny Engels and Henny Vereyken from Holland, Doug Wiley from Colorado, and Adam Phillips from Virginia. Johnny and Henny are doing the same route as me; they are with Doug, who is driving a van ahead to each day's destination, then riding back to meet Johnny and Henny, and riding back to the day's destination with them. Adam Phillips was doing a shorter tour in the opposite direction. All the couches had been reserved by the time I got there, so I staked a place on the floor in the back room of the house.
I checked out the bike house and talked to the other cyclists for a while, then worked up the nerve to take an ice-cold shower.
Later I walked next door to June Curry's house to have the traditional Polaroid picture taken. As others have noted, she is quite talkative, and I was there for about an hour. She is a very nice lady.
Another cyclist, Tim Bramfitt from England arrived. He is following the TransAm route until Colorado, where he will continue on to San Francisco. Tim, Johnny, Adam Phillips and I had an amusing conversation about Tim's and Johnny's unfamiliarity with American food - They are no fans of grits and biscuits and gravy, respectively.
I spent some more time looking at all the memorabilia, had some dinner from food stocked in the kitchen, then tried out my Thermarest mattress and sleeping bag for the first time on the trip. I slept fairly well, although I was awakened a couple of times by a nearby train that seemed to shake the house.
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Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 267 miles (430 km)
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