Days mileage: 72 miles
Another 5Am start. Another morning with my gear soaked with dew. The last morning, I might add. Surprisingly it was really chilly (mid 60's, hands down). I knew such favorable riding conditions would soon vanish with each degree above the horizon the sun rose...I made haste.
I was breaking down my last day into segments to, hopefully, make things a little easier to think about...first stop Vesuvius. I just rode on Route 11 for 18 miles and got their when the things were still cool. I stopped in a local convenience store, talked with the lady that's been running the place since the beginning of time, and rolled on towards the greatly anticipated climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway...I had been warned by millions of people throughout the trip that this climb was a "tough one." The twin brothers that lent me their backyard last night looked at me like I was nuts when I told them I had to climb up that...."Our car can barely make it up that climb man...I think it's like 12 or 13% grade...something like that..." I wasn't too concerned seeing I had nearly covered the entire U.S. and my legs should be able to handle one last major climb...also, I knew that those two climbs in eastern Kentucky were about as steep as steep could be without being classified as a cliff. I knew I'd be fine.
...well, the climb was tough, but it def wasn't as tough as it was talked up to be...I just took it slow and steady and avoided making eye contact with the cars that passed in opposite direction as to avoid seein their odd facial expressions at the sight of me...
It was just great gettin up on the Parkway. I knew it'd be no traffic, or little if any, cooler temperatures, more shade, amazing views of the surrounding valley and Blue Ridge Mountains, and familiar biking roads....I had riden this same stretch of the parkway dozens and dozens of times and knew it better than the back of my hand. If I were a bit more crazy, I would even go as far as saying I could have biked it while blindfolded....
I was cruising down a hill towards Reeds Gap and thought about the time Jordan Vitt and myself rode up the Wintergreen hill to the Parkway the summer prior and how grand of a time that mountain climb was...good times. There was then a lady who was riding the same direction as myself and I decided to ride with her for a while seein some company up the climbs would be fine by me. We chatted about bike touring, the Tour de France, the Parkway, organic food, etc, etc. Talking with someone def helped pass the time, which in turn, turned into mile markers going by unnoticed. Hurrah!
We parted ways before the long descent towards Humpback Rocks and I knew I was almost near Rockfish Gap. I started hammering away at the last climb and took a 10 minutes break at the Afton Mtn. Overlook. It's the first overlook one comes to when going south on the Parkway and a place I would often sit and watch the mountains in evenings when passing thru the area, or park the car when I wanted to go running on the Appalachian Trail, or just take a nap. It was a good place for me....I looked at my map and realized I only had 23 miles left of my trek across the country. Just like that...all of a sudden...23 miles left and I'd be finished.
I stood up to stretch my legs and gulp down half a waterbottle of water. Took one deep breath, exhaled, and started the long and winding descent towards Crozet.
I stopped at the infamous Cookies Lady house right when start going down Afton Mtn but there was a sign sayin she was wheelchair bound for the time being d/t some illness.
It was odd the ride over such familiar roads...roads I used to train on when I was a more race/training-minded individual. I used to really force myself to suffer while riding up some of these climbs..trying to get faster and faster with each attempt. Now was different. Now I was nearing the end of what proved to be a long, yet very rewarding, trail. No need to increase the pace of a 6 minute interval with a 1 minute rest inbetween for recovery. No need to feel my leg muscles burn themselves to shreds with lactic acid buildup.
No need for any of that.
Just the need to soak in my surroundings, at least to the best of my abilities. I cruised past Chiles Peach orchard, Mint Springs park, the Crozet library...ah, the feelings of being home again. It felt like I had never left. It was the same old traffic patterns, construction workers, dust settling on the horizon....and just like that I was back in the middle of it all.
I called Loretta to inform her of my arrival and eventually started my way towards Sugar Hollow. It was gettin near evening time and I was ready to get the last part of the trip over with....
As I made a left at Wyants Store and rolled down the hill that would drop me down into the Hollow I didn't have any special thoguhts in particular. I know that most people at the end of a trek/voyage/etc have thoughts racing thru their heads about all they've been through. People they've met. Highs and lows of the trip.
I def didn't have any of those thoughts.
My thought process was more like..."Hmm...the Moormans River appears to be flowing with less water than when I last saw it back in may..." or "...I wonder if there's going to be a caddis fly hatch tonight.." and then "...even if there was a hatch the trout are prob too cooped up in shallow pools to really exert efforts towards swallowing them..." and then "...ah...I remember when I did a long run out here while training for the C'ville 10 miler...man..that was a tough run, but good." Thoughts like that were rolling around in no particular order...I was gettin closer and closer...
When I rounded the last bend of the road and then saw the dam sitting where it has always sat (thank goodness no one moved it further upstream on me) and then the Blue Ridge Mtns, and then that big ol' cracked "dinosaur egg" (there's a big boulder that really does look like a "dinosaur egg" right near the dam)....I clicked into the easiest gear my bike would permit and started the last short climb up to wehre family and friends waited for my last push of the pedal....
And just like that it was over...like I suddenly snapped out of a trance and it was over. There I was, standing right where I wanted to be standing. Even then my mind was wandering through past memories I had of Sugar Hollow...thinking about a time I went fly fishing up the North Fork the summer prior and almost got caught in a huge thunderstorm and had the pleasure of having a front row seat in the car while the storm rolled on over....As I got some pictures taken it was all odd to think I had started my trip on the other side of the country....41 days had passed between the two particualr points in time...I was now on the other side of things...I had seen the entire country in a manner that not many people will ever be able to see the country. It was a priceless experience that I would not trade for anything....something that will stick wtih me forever and another memory I can always let my mind drift back to when I need my spirit to be stirred by soemthing adventurous again...when things get too routine again I can always pull out some memories....
I slowly unloaded the gear from my bike...piece by piece...into the back of the truck...and then the bike, which now felt light as a feather without having the burden of having to transport me across the country strapped onto it....and as I got Loretta to snap picture of me next to teh giant "dinosaur egg" it was rather comforting to know that even though the entire country was now behind my back there was still a world of endless possibilities waiting for me to pass over...
Ahhh...nothin like the Blue Ridge Mtns to greet you upon arrival
I'll def have to make a trip back up to her house once she's better....Lookin thru window could see good bit of biker memorbilia and the sort...
A view of Rockfish Gap (where I was biking just a few minutes earlier)...on my way to Crozet
Finish at Sugar Hollow
The infamous "dinosaur egg" as climb up the last hill towards the dam
