Thursday, August 2, 2007
THANKS
So in total I road 3773 miles of the country in about 55 days! Not too shabby, but I'm glad to be back in New Hampshire right now. It's wonderful to sleep in my own bed and after being away for so long, I truly appreciate what I have here. I want to thank everyone for all their support throughout my adventure. I'm not sure I'll have many more adventures like this for a little bit but you NEVER know!
Day 58, Elko, VA to Yorktown, VA, 68 miles....FINISHED
LAST DAY-I FINISHED!!!! I'm so excited to be done. I'm glad I did it, don't get me wrong, but there is nothing as satisfying as finishing something this long and hard, except maybe seeing your mother at the end!!! My mom flew to Norfolk, VA and took a shuttle up to Yorktown and met me at the end! It's so nice to see some of MY family and having someone to share the conclusion of my trip with! 
The ride in was very flat. We road on the Colonial Parkway from Jamestown, through Williamsburg-which had horrible directions and we got caught up in the town there for a bit.
Day 57, 7/25/07, Mineral, VA to Elko, VA, 73.9 miles
Started out raining this morning but the sun came out around 1pm although it stayed very humid. No big climbs or anything too exciting to report. 
It felt like mileage, just to get one day closer to Yorktown and finishing. I'm physically exhausted and ready to be done. I'm very excited to see my family and friends back home and especially my mother who is meeting me tomorrow at the end!! 
Last night and tonight more of Cydna's family came to the campgrounds we're staying at.
It felt like mileage, just to get one day closer to Yorktown and finishing. I'm physically exhausted and ready to be done. I'm very excited to see my family and friends back home and especially my mother who is meeting me tomorrow at the end!! 
Last night and tonight more of Cydna's family came to the campgrounds we're staying at.
Day 56, 7/24/07, Greenwood, VA to Mineral, VA, 77.6 miles
LESS CLIMBING-YAY! There were still some rollers, but much less climbing than the past week. The views right out of Greenwood were really pretty with some vineyards and orchards set against the Blue Ridge, unfortunately I didn't get any pictures. We went through Charlottesville today and UVA. We road by Monticello and Ashland Heights. 
We came through Gouchland County in the afternoon and saw a small, scraggly looking baby fox sleeping in the road (it actually looked like road kill) get up and watch us go by. We made it to Mineral, VA and as we pulled into town, it started raining. We have been VERY lucky with weather on this trip!
We came through Gouchland County in the afternoon and saw a small, scraggly looking baby fox sleeping in the road (it actually looked like road kill) get up and watch us go by. We made it to Mineral, VA and as we pulled into town, it started raining. We have been VERY lucky with weather on this trip!
Day 55, 7/23/07, Natural Bridge, VA to Greenwood, VA, 76.3 miles
Over 5740 feet of climbing, we climbed up about 4 miles of one of the steepest stretches so far to top the Blue Ridge parkway. 
The climb started in Vesuvius, VA and ended on the Blue Ridge Parkway. 
We were on the parkway for the northern 27 miles, when it turned to skyline drive is where we changed course. Skip's friend George road with us and navigated us through Lexington, VA and he started back once atop the Blue Ridge. The day was nice and we had some nice views form the parkway.
Luckily, it as Monday and there wasn't too much traffic, mostly RV and motorcycles and some cars here and there. 
This seemed to be the last real day of climbing on the trip, hopefully it'll be relatively flat and low rolling hills until the coast. We went about 8 miles farther than we had planned, but the plan is to now shorten the last day so that the last day will be less than 80 miles.
The famous "Cookie Lady" was not home, she is now in a wheel chair and cannot move around much, hopefully she will recover soon!
The climb started in Vesuvius, VA and ended on the Blue Ridge Parkway. 
We were on the parkway for the northern 27 miles, when it turned to skyline drive is where we changed course. Skip's friend George road with us and navigated us through Lexington, VA and he started back once atop the Blue Ridge. The day was nice and we had some nice views form the parkway.
Luckily, it as Monday and there wasn't too much traffic, mostly RV and motorcycles and some cars here and there. 
This seemed to be the last real day of climbing on the trip, hopefully it'll be relatively flat and low rolling hills until the coast. We went about 8 miles farther than we had planned, but the plan is to now shorten the last day so that the last day will be less than 80 miles.
The famous "Cookie Lady" was not home, she is now in a wheel chair and cannot move around much, hopefully she will recover soon!
Day 54, 7/22/07, Christiansburg, VA to Natural Bridge, VA, 73.7 miles
Once again, a tough day. I'm very tired and the riding was very hilly, with the rolling hills feeling more like vertical up and down. 
It's a beautiful area and that helped at least distract me from how tired I am. 
We didn't make it all the way to Natural Bridge and we never got to see it, because we stopped to visit Cydna's second cousins and then Skip's mother and sister met us at our campsite, which was nice, but made me miss my family and friends even more! I'm ready for this trip to be over, I want to finish, but I'm ready to come home and relax a little bit and sleep in my own bed and see all my family and friends!
It's a beautiful area and that helped at least distract me from how tired I am. 
We didn't make it all the way to Natural Bridge and we never got to see it, because we stopped to visit Cydna's second cousins and then Skip's mother and sister met us at our campsite, which was nice, but made me miss my family and friends even more! I'm ready for this trip to be over, I want to finish, but I'm ready to come home and relax a little bit and sleep in my own bed and see all my family and friends!
Day 53, 7/21/07, Rural Retreat, VA to Christiansburg, VA, 66.8 miles
Today was a little easier than the past two days, the rolling hills were constant though. 
I was pretty sore and stiff from my little accident yesterday. 
I was a bit nervous on the bike as well, because I was afraid I would collide with Skip or just fall of my bike, but the longer I rode the more my confidence increased. 
As we road over the New River into Radford, VA we saw some people "floating" it or as we'd say in New England, tubing. You may be able to make out the little dots in the picture.
As we approached Christiansburg we were definitely in the VA Tech area, with hokie flags and lots of the ribbons everywhere. It is still sad to think that such a tragedy even occurred.
I was pretty sore and stiff from my little accident yesterday. 
I was a bit nervous on the bike as well, because I was afraid I would collide with Skip or just fall of my bike, but the longer I rode the more my confidence increased. 
As we road over the New River into Radford, VA we saw some people "floating" it or as we'd say in New England, tubing. You may be able to make out the little dots in the picture.As we approached Christiansburg we were definitely in the VA Tech area, with hokie flags and lots of the ribbons everywhere. It is still sad to think that such a tragedy even occurred.
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