By: Bethany Cates
Today was a tough one for me. It was the first of our 60(ish) mile rides, over some substantial (~3000ft) elevation. I'd biked 60 mile days before Spokes, but those routes were very flat. As pretty much anyone who's ever biked with me can tell you, hills are not my forte. I can do long, gradual climbs, but my lungs give out quickly with a more severe gradient and I have to stop for several minutes to catch my breath after a steep hill. Unfortunately, the foothills of the Appalachians are peppered with lots of steep ups and downs, leaving little time for recovery in between the uphill jaunts.
The day started off from Francine's house in Waynesboro, and we had plenty of short, steep climbs before our planned lunch spot, a small gas station about 35 miles into the ride. When Annie, Alex, An and I arrived, the first group had already been hanging around with Delia's family for almost an hour. Delia's grandparents bought everyone lunch (thanks Delia's grandparents!), and we all lazed around for a while, unenthusiastic about finishing up the day.
We finally rode out, and were instantly slowed by a pair of quick, steep climbs. At some point, I asked Annie if it was possible to pass out from exhaustion. I had never been so tired before; I had been wiping back snot all day - the wooded roads and farmlands of Virginia do not mesh well with my allergies - but by midway up the second hill I was too tired to even lift my forearm to my face. So I pedaled on, snot-faced and mildly dehydrated and aching in pretty much every relevant and non-relevant muscle group. I reached the top of the hill, frustrated and convinced there was no way I'd be able to handle another 20 miles to finish the day.
But this is a bike tour and the sphere of alternatives to biking is approximately empty, so, defeated, I trudged forward. Things got a bit better (read: flatter), and we had just reached a small, cute town (Lexington) when we passed a pretty serious-looking biker headed in the other direction, who promptly turned around to ride beside us.
"Where you going?"
"Today, Natural Bridge," we panted as we pulled to the side after a steep hill.
"Huh. This road is a mess. Why aren't you on 76? Just stay on 76!"
(The serious-looking biker would go on to repeat the last piece of advice several more times over the next few hours. An effective strategy, honestly, because now I'm always looking to see where we intersect US Bicycle Route 76, the Trans-American Trail, and whether we can take it.)
Our cautious new friend turned out to be Rick, a former racer and bike mechanic who fixed all of our bikes and decided to ride the remainder of our route (~20 miles) with us. This was an incredibly thoughtful gesture, and definitely gave us all a much-needed boost of energy for the final third of our ride. (I regained the strength to wipe the snot from my nose.)
We finally arrived at Marilyn's house in Natural Bridge, and Rick hung around and fixed some more of our bikes. Eventually Rick set off back towards wherever he was headed before deciding to ride 20 miles with us, and we set off to do our chores.
Caption: Annie plus SO MANY vegetables
In exchange for generously opening up her home, Marilyn requests that all bikers complete 25 minutes of housework per night spent with her. Matt and Kate removed some rocks from the garden, An and Lisa sorted a CD collection, and Annie and I went out to pick our dinner. Marilyn has a lovely farm full of delicious vegetables and herbs, including some of the freshest basil I've ever smelled. We harvested said basil, along with a lot of lamb's quarter, swiss chard, garlic, and some leeks, and then set back to the kitchen, where eggs (taken from their coop that morning) and home-grown potatoes were waiting for us to throw together into a dinner. We made a couple of frittatas and homefries, and a lot of wilted greens to go with them . My body was grateful for fresh vegetables - no matter how many times I tell myself it's a good idea to eat three meal's worth of McDonald's at the end of the day, I do feel a lot better when I actually eat whole, real food. Maybe I'll remember that going forward. (I probably won't).
Caption: Showing the kiddos how to efficiently chop potatoes
In any case, by 8pm, biking, gardening, and cooking had really worn me out, so I took a solitary walk back to our tent, set up a couple hundred yards from the house, stomping unreasonably loudly (I'm terrified of snakes, though I have yet to encounter a live one on this trip) and careful to avoid the poison ivy lining the sides of the trail. It was a long day, but there are a lot of long days on this trip. I'm learning to roll with the punches and sleep as early as I need, and so far my body hasn't given out on me yet (but stay tuned).
Signing off.
--Bethany