May 16, 2006
Day 6: Afton to Mallard Campground: Whereby Joy is passed by a lawn mower ... and then by a butterfly
I was up early and out on my way really quickly to meet Loopy in Waynesboro at 7:30 on the other side of the mountain from Afton. I still think it's crazy that we ended up just a few miles away from each other on our trips--I haven't seen him forever. I just crossed over the parkway and headed down the other side of the mountain.
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We met at Weasies, "Where Friends Meet to Eat," and had a huge breakfast while catching up on each others lives. Thanks for breakfast Loopy!
We also met hiker Mavrick there, who said his buddy had done a modified TransAm a few years ago, so we all headed over to the laundromat to meet him. Hot Rod said he was jealous of me and wanted to get off the trail and grab his bike instead. Thru-hiking is tough--no coasting downhill!
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A quick stop at the bike shop for a brake adjustment before heading back into the mountains, and Loopy and I said our farewells. I rode the 4-5 miles back UP (did I mention UP?) to the parkway and got back on the trail.
The parkway was gorgeous, and it was nice to have some time alone to enjoy it. Climbs were long, but not nearly as steep as I'd imagined (I know, I know...the steep ones are coming). Not to say that the climbs weren't sometimes challenging, after all, I was passed by a lawn mower...and then by a butterfly...that's pretty slow.
The butterfly was too shutter shy to get its picture taken
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At one scenic overlook (what part wasn't scenic?) a couple of ladies were really interested in my trip, so I gave them my card and one gave me a hug. It was kind of weird considering she hadn't even given me her name, but it was sweet. They'd been travelling the parkway South to North and were reluctant to leave it.
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Later, a white truck that had passed me going the other way pulled up next to me as its occupant asked if I was doing the TransAm. Since he'd stopped me in the middle of my groove on a long uphill grind, I had to refrain from saying, "No, I just carry lots of junk up mountains at 3 mph for fun" and just said "yeah" as I caught my breath. Turns out Ed did this trip 5 years ago for his 60th birthday and wanted to pass along some trail information on places he'd stayed. He turned around and found me again about 10 minutes later to give me more info he'd forgotten to tell me the first time around. And after all that, I still forgot to give him my card.
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I came off the parkway tired from the long day (time-wise, not mileage) and headed for Mallard Campground where I though I'd find Cristey and maybe Geoff. I'd heard that Megan had been just ahead of me on the Parkway, but I think she headed for Tye River campground and I never did catch her.
Nobody else was at Mallard, but the proprieter said another girl had stopped earlier and decided to go into Lexington. I don't know where Cristey is tonight (somewhere in Lexington I assume), and I don't have a cell signal (or "single" as the proprieter called it--as in "You may be able to get a single over there yonder").
So it's just me at the hostel tonight, which is nice. The hostel is old and well used, but it works. The adventure cycling group was here two days before me. I wasn't going to use the pillows there (gross) but almost anything is as good as my makeshift camelback pillow, so I put a rain cover over one and called it a night. Hey, if they're waterproof, they must be mostly cootie proof, too, right? And the guy didn't charge me anything to stay since I'd given money and stamps to the Cookie Lady, but I did leave him some $ for the use of the hot shower anyway, though.
6:50:22, 7.5 avg (I thought I told you not to laugh...!)
Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 261 miles (420 km)
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