July 12, 2021
Second day on the road, Thorn Hill was even harder than I expected
I knew Thorn Hill would be rough for me today even with my e-bike assist matching my power output as I climbed it. But I'd climbed it three or four times in the past, starting from Bean Junction and riding on for 15 miles after Tazewell through the Cumberland Gap and stopping for the night, in Middleboro KY. Today I was riding from 15 miles before Bean Station and planning to stop in Tazewell. I was also starting in a much more fatigued, less fit, and much older body. Still, I was doing OK till I climbed Thorn Hill.
Thorn Hill is a long - 4 or 5 miles - and steep - near 10% sustained grade - climb. I now regularly, with e-assist, climb grades twice as steep, but never for any distance near that long. I was able to do the climb, but not, as I had experienced before, recover from the climb on the long downhills before I had to start climbing again. Roughly when I reached the county border about 10 miles before the Tazewell city limit - which itself is a few miles before the actual city - I knew I was in for a major struggle even with more intensive use of e-assist!
During that last hour or more of struggle, I was constantly looking for a place to take a nap. I left 25 E briefly several times in that search, including turning onto TN 33 which runs along the river in the last valley before the big climb to Tazewell. All the places I saw were too rocky and/or too steep.
When I finally got to Tazewell. the shoulder went away but the remaining four lanes had light traffic. Then 25E merged with another highway and the traffic got really heavy. I was constantly being passed in my lane by other vehicles including big trucks. I saw the first motel ahead but it was on the other side of four lanes of heavy traffic, so I rode on, up hill but only another block or so, to the next motel.
I pulled in and contacted the woman running it who showed up in a few minutes. She explained that she had just had to call the police to come get a particularly aggressive young man and was now waiting on that man's mother to move out of the room so she could clean it. She expected the woman to be gone soon and, after she cleaned it, I could have the room.
The woman's brother was carrying stuff out of the room. When he finished, he asked if he could keep it for another two days and she said, since he had the key and was part of the family, he could.
I rode on up the hill, in the heavy traffic to the final motel, which I had also stayed at years ago. Getting across the four lanes of traffic was easier there because there was a continuous turn lane in the middle of the highway.
That motel now has a sign on its office saying reservations required and another sign saying that you had to be from at least 50 miles away to stay there. When I talked to the owner, he agreed that room reservations were problematic for bicycle tourists and tried to find me a room, but all of his rooms were booked. I asked him to call the motel at the bottom of the hill to see if they had a room before bothered to ride down in the heavy traffic. He did and they said they had one room that would be available later in the day. He also apologized and told me that most of his rooms were taken by construction crews.
I rode down to the motel at the bottom of the hill. the manager told me that the room wouldn't be available for several hours. I explained that i was exhausted and had had a really hard time making it to Tazewell after riding Thorn Hill. She then gave me a room that I think was held in reserve for handicapped people. She also rented it to me for two nights at $55 a night since I needed a rest/recovery day. These two nights will probably be the cheapest nights on this trip. My first night was $81 for a much nicer room.
I walked, 1.2 miles, down to McDs for supper. The woman at the first motel I tried is from this area and told me hold to avoid having to walk along the very busy highway with no sidewalks by diverting up through the original town of Tazewell. After coming back I worked on this text and the images but lost all of that work of work when my wi-fi connection died!
I managed to stay up till 9 PM and then, because I was so tired, had a hard time getting to sleep. I woke up, thinking it was morning and feeling well rested. Then I looked at my watch and saw that it was 3:30 AM! The curtains here let in a lot of light and the outside light at this motel are very bright! I got back to sleep and woke up again at 7:15. I fixed first breakfast using my snack supplies and the coffeemaker in my room.
At 8:30 I walked back to McDs and had the most expensive big breakfast I've ever had before redoing all of the work I'd lost last night. Then after the wi-fi at McDs decided that my connection to cycleblaze wasn't secure and cut me off causing me to have to redo it all again when I got back to my room!
I've been saving my text locally after eee every paragraph this time.!
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 3 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |