Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Day 10 Damascus, VA Rest Day








Day 10, Damascus, VA…Rest Day, 6.5 Miles: A rest day, so not too much to report…laundry, organize, bike maintenance, post cards. However, I did see some interesting things when I rode back into town to look around and go to the PO. The church sign is self-explanatory, but the photo of the man needs explaining. His name is Larry, he lives in Damascus and he runs a “buy, swap and sell” shop in front of his house. (note the Wi-Fi sign as well) Old bikes, old tools, old stuff…but he was nominated for a June Curry "Trail Angel" Award a couple of years ago. The award is given to the person who does nice things for the trans-am bicyclists. Larry spent three years on the Appalachia Trail, hiking, thinking, but mostly running from the law. While on the trail, he had a "come to Jesus" experience and now has devoted his life to helping others on the trail. He rescued a cyclist that had crashed, took him in and cared for him. Larry also provides free land-line telephone service for anyone in need. (the cell service here is spotty at best) Folks leave him money for the phone but it is never enough to cover costs…so he buys Little Debbie sweets with the money and gives them out to cyclists and folks like me who come by and talk to him. (Larry is a diabetic so he doesn't eat them) Yes, I’ll share my Little Debbie snacks with the other cyclists in our group for dinner tonight. Wow, cool, Larry joined our group for our dinner session tonight and told everyone his story. Riding again tomorrow.

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