Day 5, Blue Ridge Pasrkway

Day 5, Charlottesville to The Blue Ridge Parkway, Thur. May 21, 55 Miles. Twenty years ago I taped a Adventure Cycling map of the United States to the wall of my office. I took a yellow felt pen and marked a path across the map that would be my “Dream Route” across the states. Every day I would sit at my deck and look at the map and wonder when it would happen. Well it is finally sinking in that I am actually riding across the USA. So here goes with Day 5. This is one of those days that is “Way beyond Photograph” 5900 Feet of climbing, beautiful rolling hills, the “Cookie Lady”, and, to top it off, the Blue Ridge Parkway. Only 55 miles, but tons of climbing, and spectacular scenery. Started out with rural rolling hills with beautiful houses outside of Charlottesville….along the way we came upon a fruit stand where we ate lunch. There was a group of pre-schoolers there doing the “pick your own strawberries” thing. One of the little kids saw one of us in our riding gear, then looked up at his teacher and said; “teacher is that a stranger?” In other words, “should I be afraid of them?“ Sheesh, we’re raising a generation of kids that are afraid of their shadow. Then on to Afton, VA, the home of the “Cookie Lady”. For 30 years June Curry has been serving the cyclists that pass her door. She offers them (and us) food and lodging. An old “livery” building serves as her SHRINE to the cycling world. The building is over-loaded with post cards, jerseys, photos, and news articles about her. Every inch of every wall. Even Charles Kuralt was there and did a “On the Road” segment about her. An incredible place. Then up to the Blue Ridge Parkway…and I do mean up. However, the Parkway was spectacular! View Points to look over Shenandoah Valley and the Roanoke Valley. So here we are in Love at a Royal Oaks House Camp. Hot tub and all. This is really a rough camping trip. A lottery for the beds tonight.

Day 4 Charlottesville

Day 4, Mineral to Charlottesville: Wed. May 20, 55 Miles. Although it was hard to leave our host at Hales, Farm, we are looking forward to visiting Monticello. Beautiful, rolling hills all through rural Virginia. Spectacular! Short steep hills all day and heavy truck and car traffic, with no shoulders. Saw Plantation Ashland, the home of President James Madison…I guess you need to have a gorgeous Plantation to be a president. After 20 miles, I was starved…my oatmeal and banana were gone…so we stopped and I ate my dry salami-cheese sandwich. We turned in at Monticello and did a tour of the grounds and garden. Thomas Jefferson was quite man, and quite an architect. Monticello is special. We left there on a 2.5 mile hiker-biker trail out to Hwy 20...a horrible road with fast traffic and no shoulder…then 10 miles on the to the KOA. Whew, what a relief to arrive in one piece. Dinner was corn and burger chili over crushed tortilla chips. Shower, map meeting, diary and bed. No cell phone here. A very nice campground, in the trees and quiet. Gotta go bed, a 55 miler tomorrow but tons of climbing.

Mineral, VA

Day 3, Ashland to Mineral: Tues. May 19, 65 Miles. Yikes, what a night…last night…Trucks, Jake brakes, airplanes, freeway 100 yards away…I think I slept, I think. Coffee at 6:00 am, breakfast of cookies, wet oatmeal and cantaloupe. On the road at 8:30 m for a 65 mile ride to 8 miles outside the town of mineral. On the way we went through the town of Bumpass, so named for the fact that the hobos (bums) were able to jump onto the trains at this point. I went into a antique furniture building and restoration shop. It was fun talking to the craftsman who was there. Really neat! Today I actually fixed and ate a PBJ sandwich, my first since I was a kid. Four of us took the long route around Lake Anna, a beautiful wooded lake with really nice homes, each with their own boat houses and docks. You would hate to be an opossum in this state….road kill galore! Also, like I’ve said before, this is the deep south, where “four letter words” have two syllables…like “day-am”, and "hay-el"…well, you get the picture! Dinner was chicken over veggies cooked in wine sauce, green salad, and bread. Terrific! Tonight’s lodging is camping on the lawn of William Hale’s Farm. He is an retired contractor who does organic gardening and composting. Super nice guy who caters to cyclists. We set our tent city in his front yard.

Ashland, VA

Mon, May 18, 35 miles. Day 2: Glendale, VA to Ashland, VA. Judy and I were the breakfast cooks today. I fixed frittatas’ with the left-over broccoli, carrots, onions, and tomatoes. Then on the road for the ride to Ashland, 35 miles away. Yea, no rain, but a headwind all day, no matter which direction we rode. Cycling through some beautiful country and loaded with Civil War History. Along the road, we saw the Garthwright Home. It was used as a field hospital used first by the Union and then by the Confederate Armies. The family was forced the live in the basement. As the doctors operated, the blood from the amputations dripped down through the cracks in the floor onto the family…and somehow the family endured. Incredible! Cold Harbor Battlefield has the best preserved earthen works of the Civil War. Very sobering to realize that the soldiers were ordered to charge to their deaths for some insignificant piece of real estate. Dig a ditch, hide in it and shoot those Yanks as they come charging up the hill at you. Believe me, today we are indeed bicycling in the land of Dixie, where Confederate Flags abound, and “Duke’s of Hazard” cars are proudly displayed on the lawn. Camping tonight in an organized campground the has wi-fi, hot showers and a store. Some went to town to buy bike parts, and beer…the essentials, and not necessarily in that order. More Later

Yorktown(e) Starting the ride

. Yorktown(e),VA to Glendale, VA. We dipped our rear tires in the Atlantic Ocean at Yorktown(e), VA This is a rite of passage for these trips. And did it rain? The whole day was ridden in a driving rain, but it’s just part of the trip, all 64 miles of it. “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best”. I have all the right gear, but was totally soaked (along with all my bags) when I got the nights “lodging”. We crossed the Chickahominy river, which is not significant, but I like to say the word. Along the way we saw the Sherwood Forest Plantation, the home of President John Tyler. Also, we were cycling along the Civil War History Trail. Saw battlefields that I had never heard of, including Malvern Hill Battle, which was Part of the “Seven days of Battle”, which was part of the battle for Richmond (10 miles away). Finally it quit raining just as pulled into the church, which was our first nights lodging. This was the Willis Church, built in the 1840’s and was used by both the North and the South as a field hospital during the Civil War. Dry sleeping indoors….Yahoo! Super friendly folks at the church who offered us all the Potluck food that they had left over. This is great news, since I am the cook tonight. Diner a total success, with lasagna, salad, lemon drink, and three different cakes, and two pies! Map meeting and to bed. More Later, Ollie PS The date the you see on these blogs are not necessarily the date that I rode the area.

Williamsburg, VA

Since I will not know when I can do the next Blog, I am doing it tonight. We start the ride tomorrow from Yorktown, Part of the Historic Triangle. (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown) I've been soaking up the history while I'm in the area by riding to Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg. The Fife and Drum Corps show was super! But as you can see, I got into a little trouble. So, after waiting 20 years to do this ride, I'm off tomorrow. Hot Diggity!

Chico, CA

One week to go...Stay tuned!