Virginia!

Friday August 4th
Destination: Buckhorn, Kentucky
It poured last night. When we got up it had stopped raining and there was only a low overcast remaining. Just out of town we started into the Appalachians. I haven’t seen clouds or hills in a long time. It looks like we won’t get into higher elevations until the day after tomorrow. Today the route continually climbed from about 700’ to 1200’ and the hills weren’t that much higher. It was very scenic and with the high humidity the forest seems like I imagine the Amazon to look. The feeling of being in a different country is helped by the trouble we have understanding the local’s.
The route was very roundabout today even using one lane roads that reminded me of Scotland. I kept a sharp lookout for dogs but didn’t have too much problem. I saw the first of another reported nuisance today: coal trucks. They are giant semi trucks and were so heavy they could barely crawl up the hills, but they scream along when empty. A couple of west bounders told me that the truck traffic is heavy for about a half day’s travel.
While riding today I thought about the stereotypes of Appalachian people. We’ve definitely seen some characters but this area seems to carry a disproportionate Hollywood burden. It’s hard to ride along desolate roads and not think about the fact that the movie script would have people lurking behind trees and jumping out at every opportunity.
I saw a number of turtles on the road today including one that was spotted with yellow. It was stopped on the centerline and blended in better than the other turtles. It must be natural selection working to camouflage it from predators. I’m sure it’s a new species and have decided to name it Mimicus centerlinecus.
Since the temperature was only about 90 degrees we’re camped in the van. We’ll find out in a few hours if that was a smart idea. If it’s too unpleasant then I may have to do a long day tomorrow to reach the nearest hotel.
Mileage: 77/3626 Transam Riders: 2 today/58 total for the trip


Entering the Appalachians


New Species?

Saturday August 5th
Destination: Elkhorn City, Kentucky
Somewhere in the hills of Eastern Kentucky two cheeks are lying on a road. I know this because I worked my butt off today. The route started out climbing from Buckhorn and kept going all day. My vertical gain was almost 7000’. I climbed over ridges, climbed up valleys, and climbed over passes, then did it all over again, and over again. The terrain was pretty but everything looked the same. For all I know I could’ve been riding in circles.
The people in Kentucky are laid back, some to the point of being almost comatose. That changes the second they get behind the steering wheel. Everyone’s seen teenagers recklessly speeding on country roads. All the drivers here seem to go at least that fast. It hasn’t just been the country drivers either, they drive the same way in the bigger towns. Fortunately the cars have all been courteous to me but Jani is tired of being tailgated. She pulls over as soon as she can but many of these roads don’t have pullouts. One benefit of riding on Saturday is that there were dozens and dozens of coal trucks parked for the weekend. The roads are exciting enough without having to share them with those behemoths.
We’re several miles from Virginia which is our final state.
Mileage: 109/3735 Transam Riders: 0 today/58 total for the trip


Breaks Interstate Park on the Kentucky-Virginia Border

Sunday August 6th
Destination: Damascus, Virginia
It was raining when I started this morning and the temperature was 67 degrees. I can’t remember the last time it was below 70 degrees. It wasn’t much more uncomfortable than the sunny weather since I’m always sopped from the humidity anyway. The rain did make me nervous on the twisty descents; I’m really conscious about not screwing up this close to the end. It was dry after a few miles so the showers must have been just localized thunderstorms.
The road continued to climb today. The hills were not as steep as yesterday but they were longer. We were just in the foothills yesterday since we climbed much higher (up to 2800’) today and the surrounding mountains were up to 5000’ high. The valleys were wider and I enjoyed being able to see the forest for the trees. One other improvement was that there were fewer cars on the road this morning. I know some of them were at church and there might have been a Nascar race on TV for everyone else. The other thing I enjoyed not having to deal with today was problem dogs. I saw dogs today but not one of them chased me. They weren’t horrible in Kentucky but it’s nice not having to stay on my guard.
I’m not really sure how far we will travel through the Appalachian’s but it looks like there are more on the menu for tomorrow. The Appalachian Trail crosses through Damascus so that’s a good sign that we’ll be in the mountains a little longer.
Mileage: 79/3814 Transam Riders: 0 today/58 total for the trip


Mountain Road West of Rosedale, Virginia

Monday August 7th
Destination: Wytheville, Virginia
I decided to do a short day in the hope that my legs will recover a little from all the climbing. In the 300 miles from Berea to where we came out of the mountains today in Virginia the route gained 21,000’. This is phenomenal hill riding country.
It was overcast today and fairly comfortable. The route started climbing right out of Damascus and went over two distinct passes. The second one was over 3500’ high. As I reached the top thunder was booming across the hills. I decided that the trees which have blocked my views were now welcome shelter from any lightning. Once again I was treated to superb descents. I’d love to ride them many times and be able to really open things up. Of course I’d probably push it too far and put in some “air time”. All year long I’ve been afraid of doing something stupid and that feeling increases the closer we get to Yorktown.
The mountain vegetation seems thicker here than it was in Kentucky where it seemed the Oaks kept other plants from growing. The under growth here includes wild rhododendrons reminding me of the Olympic Peninsula. I don’t know how settlers navigated through these jungles. I wouldn’t stand a chance. Even if you climbed to the top of a hill all you’d see would be more trees. Once we came down out of the mountains the country changed to rolling hills. There aren’t as many crops here but there is pasture everywhere. There also are more dairy farms than we’ve seen elsewhere and still a few tobacco fields.
I talked to a rider headed our direction. It seemed a little odd that all of the east bound riders I’ve met have been heavily laden until I realized that I only catch the slower riders. This guy is from Oregon and told me he’s carrying 65 pounds of gear. That’s about twice what I think is necessary and has to make the riding painfully slow on the hills. I have to hand it to him though since he’s ridden every mile that I have.
Mileage: 59/3873 Transam Riders: 2 today/60 total for the trip



Countryside near Wytheville, Virginia

Tuesday August 8th
Destination: Daleville, Virginia
Today was tough. My legs didn’t recover yesterday in spite of the shorter mileage. I might be dehydrated since it’s almost impossible to drink enough fluids. Gatorade really helps while riding but I must have exceeded my lifetime quota this summer.
It was great rolling terrain today through beautiful farm land and I had to force myself to relax and enjoy the scenery. Luckily it was overcast and not too hot. The tailwinds were also in my favor.
I saw more wildlife today. There were woodchucks alongside the road. They’re smaller and darker than marmots but similar in shape. For excitement a doe jumped across the road just feet in front of me while her fawn crossed behind. The adrenaline rush was good for a few miles. There were more turtles in the road and a large black rat snake. The snake didn’t scare me since I saw it from a distance, it didn’t look venomous, and it was moving away from me.
Some of the route crisscrossed Highway 81 west of Roanoke. The increased traffic only accentuated how remote 99% of this route has been. It’s been amazing to ride this far in sparsely populated country. It looks like we’ll be near more large cities for the rest of the trip; hopefully the route will stay on lightly used roads.
I’m not sure how far I’ll ride tomorrow. There is no rush but I do feel the finish line calling. It’s about 320 miles to Yorktown which should be about four more days. That would have us finish on Saturday.
Mileage: 101/3974 Transam Riders: 0 today/60 total for the trip


Black Rat Snake?