Saturday, July 31 – Day 48 – 56.6 Miles – 3628.4 Total Miles

Today had the potential to be the best day of the entire trip. We woke to sprinkles, left our church, and started to climb right away. We knew from the profile on our map that the day would involve a lot of climbing….not always steep, but uphill nonetheless. I packed a rain jacket in by bag, not sure if I would use it, but nice to have in case. The rain was not too heavy on the first climb, just enough to keep you from getting too hot. When we crested the climb, I decided to throw on my rain jacket to keep from getting too cool on the descent. That was a pretty good idea, since I felt myself getting chilled on the down hill. But, with temps in the 70’s, I still felt pretty good.

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!!!!!

Friday, July 30 – Day 47 – 75.4 Miles – 3571.8 Total Miles

Today was a toughie. It seemed like all we did was climb today. A few of the climbs were not too bad, but overall I believe it was the hardest day we have had in terms of road grade (steepness). As I looked at the map after our ride, I was not real thrilled to see the climb that I am looking forward to….up on the Blue Ridge Parkway….and it looked about twice as long as the hardest one today. I would not be so worried, except for the fact that I feel like I am about one gear short on the real steep stuff. For you biking novices, that means I could easily fall over up that climb because my bike stops moving. If I had one more gear to shift into, I would be ok. Oh well….the difficulty will only last for a short while.

Weather-wise, it was a nice day to ride. We had very little wind, there was some lingering fog that kept the sun off of us, and even after that burnt off, we had some cloud cover. When the skies cleared up, we were under tree cover for a lot of the day. I actually got chilly on some of the down hills. You work up such a sweat on the up hill sections, that when you start your descent, the wind on your wet shirt is chilly. It was quite a change from what seems like the last 2 or 3 weeks.

I forgot to mention the most exciting part about today…..WE ARE IN VIRGINIA!!!!! I am glad to be out of Kentucky. Don’t get me wrong, it might have been the friendliest state as far as courteous drivers go, but the conditions that I have spoken about in past entries won’t be missed. We also traveled in some areas that really make you thankful for what you have. When I was in the planning phase of this trip, Oregon and Virginia looked so far away from each other. By the way, I was correct. They are, in fact, quite a ways apart.

Today, we made it to Rosedale, Virginia and are staying in the Elk Garden United Methodist Church. They run a hostel for cyclists with places to sleep, a full kitchen, some extra food, and bathrooms. It is another example of a church on this route that truly practices what it preaches….opening their door to strangers and showing them how we should treat each other. The log book is full of complimentary travelers that were so thankful for the help that they received here. The churches that we have stayed in have probably been my favorite nights of the trip. There is something about the peace and quiet that we get here that we don’t get anywhere else.

We did some calculations today of exactly the mileage that we have left to the shore. It looks as if we are at 516 miles (give or take) to go. That means we could (I emphasize could because of the jinx possibilities) be dipping our tire in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, one week from today. Ok, I guess we have to arrive at that time….Kyle has already booked his flight for Friday evening. Does that add stress, you ask? Not for me…it isn’t my money.

We (the Dunns) are excited about reaching the coast because of the proximity of our stopping point to Kim’s brother, Ryan, and his wife Tanya. They live in Virginia Beach and we will swing by there to visit them for a day or so before we head home. It is so close, in fact, that Ryan is talking about running up to Yorktown to see us finish.

Well….time to hit the sack. We will all be sleeping in the sanctuary tonight…maybe Kyle will sing us a couple hymns to put us asleep. Take care!

Home For the Night Outside of Rosedale, Virginia

Cyclists Have Been Welcome Here For Years

Inside the Church When Buccs On Bikes Take Over

Yes, The Boys Can Do Bike Maintenance....Kyle is Doing a Little Personal Maintenance of His Own