June 6, 2006
Day 5: Afton, VA to Lexington, VA
53.53 miles, 4:56:55 Ride Time, 11.15 Average Speed, 43.2 Maximum Speed
I got up between 5:30 and 6:00 this morning, decided to skip the frigid shower, got all my stuff packed, and started riding up Afton Mountain by 8:00.
I had only climbed about halfway up the mountain yesterday, and the second half seemed just as steep. I felt no shame in using the granny gear. (I had felt pretty good about my accomplishment yesterday, until I talked to Tim from England, who casually mentioned that he had stayed in the middle ring the entire way up the hill to the Cookie Lady's house...)
After the steep climb to the top of the mountain, I entered the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was the best riding of the trip so far - the scenery was gorgeous, and there was hardly any traffic. Of course, there was lots of climbing, descending, and more climbing, but I really didn't mind it today. I stopped to take lots of pictures, and talked to some people along the way (all tourists from various parts of the world), and at some point Johnny and Henny from Holland caught up and passed me.
Eventually I followed the route off of the Parkway, and made the famous descent into the small town of Vesuvius. Up until this point, I felt like some things I had heard about the TransAm route had been slightly exaggerated - for example, I didn't think the climbing on the Blue Ridge Parkway as all that bad. However, the ride down to Vesuvius was, if anything, more extreme than I had anticipated. It is extremely steep, three (or more) miles long, and very curvy. I had to ride the brakes the whole way, and needed to stop twice twice to let my rims cool off - they were very hot to the touch. For those back home, it is like "Old 68 Hill" in Maysville, only three miles long.
When I got to the bottom, I went off-route about a half mile to get lunch at Gertie's. They don't keep a log book there; instead, you write your name on the wall. Lunch of cheesburger and fries was good.
As I rode back to Vesuvius, I ran into Tim Bramfitt from England. He had left the Cookie Lady a couple of hours after I had. I recommended that he try Gertie's, and rode on toward Lexington.
The ride from Vesuvius was pleasant, mostly long flat sections along creeks, until a couple of fairly steep climbs to get into Lexington. I decided to reward myself with a night at the Best Western. I had dinner at Applebee's, strictly because it was next to the motel, but as with all the other Applebee's I've eaten at, the food and service were mediocre. I resolved to eat at local places from now on.
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Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 321 miles (517 km)
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