After our first pit stop, our next stop was going to be in the town of Damascus. Damascus was the main reason why I was looking forward to today. I have spent years following people’s journals (it is kind of fun….pick someone out and follow them at: www.trailjournals.com) while they hike the Appalachian Trail, a 2179 mile footpath from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. This trail crossed our bike route three times today, and goes right through Damascus. Someday, it is my goal to walk this trail with Kim from Georgia to Maine. It is quite a feat, one that Covington resident Steve Root accomplished a few years ago. One day, I will cross this road three times on a foot path…kind of weird, huh?
So, why did I say today had the POTENTIAL to be the best day of the entire trip? The roads were quiet. The scenery was amazing. The whole Damascus thing was going on. What went wrong? Well…….out of Damascus was a series of two climbs that were to take us to our next pit stop. They did not look terribly tough, much like many climbs we have done the last few days. And, during the first climb, the rains started again, but this time they were a little harder. By the time we reached the top of the first climb, we had been in a torrential downpour for about 45 minutes. Because I did not see any long down hill stretch between the two climbs, I did not put on my jacket (climbs are too hot for rain jackets…down hills are good for jackets). The two climbs did turn out to have a down hill…which I did without my jacket. This would probably be a good time to mention that my two riding buddies were riding without jackets….they were not even smart enough to pack a jacket, let alone put one on. This small, but noticeable down hill was long enough to put a little chill through me and my riding buddies. But, the next hill was beginning, so we were able to warm up again. At the top of this hill, I was smart enough to put on the jacket….but, I was still getting colder by the minute. I kept looking at Kyle and Bobby (without jackets) thinking…”they have to be getting cold”.
At the end of the down hill, Kim was in her usual strategic position, ready to give us any help if we needed it. She noticed that we were a little chilly and miserable, with temps now in the low 60’s. We talked a little about the 17 miles that we had left on today’s ride. Everyone was a little quiet as we tried to warm up. We were in the midst of talking about the day’s distance, how chilly we were, etc……then, out of the blue, I stated, “I quit”, and started to put my bike away. I think the guys were kind of relieved. We have a deadline of Friday to make our destination, so we feel the pressure of putting in the miles. But, I think it just took one person to say that quitting early today would be ok before we all accepted it. So, in the van we went and off to Wytheville for the evening. It is brutal to sit in the van and drive over the roads that we had planned to ride on today. We ended up in the same place as we would have (Wytheville)…..the difference is, tomorrow we have to drive back 38 miles to start riding again. Oh well.
Tomorrow we will have to catch up on our mileage a little. If we get some good weather, we hope to put in 90 miles. That should get us back on track, plus a little. Wish us luck!!!
"The Place", A Hostel For Hikers and Cyclists in Damascus....Bring Back Any Memories, Jericho?
After Appalachian Trail Crosses The Road, It Heads Up These Stairs....Someday Kim and I Will Be Heading Up These!!!!!
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