A week cycling in VA/NC, fall '09

[This journal is also on crazyguyonabike.org]
Its cold up here in Michigan, and I've got a week free. What better excuse?!?
My brother lives in Virginia, so I'll drive that far, and cycle the area.

On this trip I hope to use warmshowers.org for lodging, with camping as a backup. I'm looking forward to meeting hosts! I hosted one cycletourist at my home this past summer.

For equipment, I have a rebuilt Schwinn LeTour, repainted metallic gold flake black and named Bagheera. Panniers are old Canondales, I cook on a MSR Simmer-lite stove.

Clothing is always difficult at this season, as mornings will be cold (possible snow) but days will be warm (I expect 50s and 60sF). I've got wool tights with zip-off quickdry pants, thermax top, long sleeve wool top, sweater, and windbreaker. A headband and gloves with overmits should keep me warm. There's rain in the forecast, and I've got a cyclist's cape and fenders for that, but truly I hope to find shelter should the clouds open up.

Time to hit the road!

On the road!
Saturday November 28, 2009, 28 miles (45 km) - Total so far: 28 miles (45 km)
My brother escorted me down the huckleberry rail-trail as far as Christiansburg where he turned back toward home. It was good to ride together. He's on a 17lb carbon fiber bike, and I'm fully loaded. Guess who can climb hills and accelerate faster!

I turned south on 8 through Riner, and as the sun approached the horizon I began looking for a spot to pitch a tent for the night. There are houses and farms pretty much everywhere, the little valleys are choked with brambles, and where there is a patch of accessible woods, there's a house across the street. Sometimes there's a patch of woods but its at the top of a road cut and inaccessible. I finally find one off a side road, make a simple dinner and crawl into the tent for the night.

Fabulous day, but getting rather long
Sunday November 29, 2009, 62 miles (100 km) - Total so far: 90 miles (145 km)
The night was clear and cool, a nearly full moon and bright stars. A buck came snorting around nearby, pawing the ground. Was I invading his territory?

I was on the road shortly before dawn, and the first downhill was quite cold, as there was frost at lower elevations and the wind chill bit my fingers. As the sun climbs into the cloudless sky, the day warms. Awesome. Breakfast at a diner in Floyd, the county seat, and a rather alternative minded town, judging from the number of shops selling organic hemp clothing and the like.


Up and over the Blue Ridge Parkway on 860, and down. What a down! You can have your roller coasters, your Six Flags, Cedar point, your Disney... That is one wild ride. Twisty, narrow, good pavement, and it just keeps getting steeper! I sure wouldn't want to climb it. Sorry but no pictures of it, as my hands were on the handlebars the whole way!

Hope springs eternal. I was running low on water, and the map didn't indicate any towns coming up. But there, beside the road is a developed spring! Just a trickle, but adequate for my needs.

The weather forecast called for winds out of the northwest 15-20mph, gusts to 30. So I had planned a southeast run. No. They're from the southeast. Not only am I climbing (and descending) all these hills, but I have a headwind. I had hoped to reach a warmshowers host in Chapel Hill tonight, but that just ain't gonna happen. So I called and will arrive tomorrow instead.



I crossed the line into North Carolina, and the next town is Eden. Not as in 'garden of' but more like 'strip mall of'. I had hoped for wifi, but no.

Another stealth campsite in a patch of woods by the road.

More weather woes, headed north
Tuesday December 1, 2009, 42 miles (68 km) - Total so far: 132 miles (212 km)
The forecast is for possible rain tonight and tomorrow and snow in the morning. I found a patch of woods off a side road for my tent. There was no rain and the morning is warm. What's with these forecasts??? Detoured to Yanceyville due to a limited access highway going my way, and no obvious alternative. On and off light drizzle until Yanceyville, where it gets heavier and I find a haven in the library and connect to the internet.

With more information the decision is made, we're not going all the way to Chapel Hill. I had selected that destination because I thought I was going to have this great tailwind, and there are a bunch of warmshowers hosts there. It feels like a bit of a failure, cutting short the trip, but that is part of the purpose of this trip. To explore limits, to dabble in flexibility, to check out equipment successes, failures, things forgotten, and things brought but not needed, and to meet random people out there.

So I turned north to Danville. More on and off drizzle, mostly off and very light. I found a library again and got connected. As I was about to leave, the rains intensified. No problem, back into the library!

The rain let up to a drizzle, so I headed out. But then it got heavy again. So I took shelter under the overhanging roof of an abandoned car dealership. And when it finally stopped, it was almost dark. What to do? I had hoped to be warm and dry at a warmshowers host tonight, and I know the likelyhood of finding a place to pitch a tent here in the city or for an hours' ride out of here is slim. And I'm surrounded by strip mall and... hotels.

There are benefits though. I'm warm and dry and have internet. And I washed all the sweat and road grime off me. But dang, these hotel rooms are sterile.
Nice day again.
Wednesday December 2, 2009, 45 miles (72 km) - Total so far: 177 miles (285 km)
Nice day again, made it through the rest of Danville and on to route 58, which had lots of high speed traffic, and just a few feet of shoulder. Yuck. And on into Martinsville, which seems to be a prosperous town. Had lunch at a place with wifi, and stopped at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. There was an interesting display there of the history of a local park. It seems there was once a very popular swimming lake there (whites only) and when they were forced to integrate, they instead closed the park. Perhaps this is why I find so few parks or public spaces in the towns I pass.

As dusk was falling I found a two track which lead to a small dammed pond. There's a small cinder block building here, and with rain in tomorrow's forecast, I put all my gear in there, and pitched my tent nearby.

Rain and an abandoned cabin
Thursday December 3, 2009, 20 miles (32 km) - Total so far: 197 miles (317 km)
I hit the road an hour before daybreak, as I knew the rain would be coming. Alas it began just as I started out. I donned raingear and continued and it let up after an hour. Soon I am starting the climb back up the hill that I had enjoyed so much coming down last Sunday. But now I'm on Rte 8 and it is much less steep.

The rains have begun again, and I take shelter under the overhang of a closed restaurant. When it stops I grind out a few more miles until more rains come. This time I find shelter in an abandoned cabin just off the road. Its about 11am. I worry that someone might come and tell me to get the %@#! off his property, but nobody pays any attention. The rain has reduced visibility, and drivers are all focused on the road.

The cabin is about 16x26 feet, with a stone fireplace and chimney at one end, a front and back door, and two windows, but no glass and no doors. The roof is intact and I slowly dry out while I read and collect and boil water. I'm so glad I brought a book! The rains never let up. Many hours later darkness comes, and I spend the night.

There's an odd thing about this cabin. The floor (which is now uneven and wavy as the whole building prepares to descend the hill) was originally built at an angle. At one end the ceiling (open rafters) is 7ft, at the other it is 8ft. I wonder why.

Last day out
Friday December 4, 2009, 43 miles (69 km) - Total so far: 240 miles (386 km)
My mileage was so short yesterday I knew I had to make up for it today. So I was on the road before dawn and was rewarded with sunrise from the top of the ridge.

Here I got on the Blue Ridge Parkway, headed North. Its a beautiful road, maintained by the National Park Service. And the weather clears nicely so the sun can warm the day. A strong and gusty wind picks up out of the west too. Headwind.

I ride back through Floyd and Riner, then the massive strip malls and shopping centers sprawled over the entire north end of Christiansburg, and onto the quiet and peaceful Huckleberry rail-trail to Blacksburg. As I start down the trail the temperature drops. But I'm almost there.

I pulled into the driveway about 2pm.
Conclusion
Friday December 4, 2009, 43 miles (69 km) - Total so far: 240 miles (386 km)
I had planned this trip based on weather. Bah. Weather is far too fickle a thing for planing cycletours. 'Twould be better to plan based on geography, topography, areas of interest, local events and the like. There are some excellent cycling routes in this area, including the Blue Ridge parkway which I cycled a short section of.

I had hoped to use the Warmshowers.com network to break up the camping. But the distances I needed to cover proved to be too great to get there, especially when combined with headwinds that I had expected to be tailwinds, and trying to ride across the natural lay of the land (hills here are long ridges that run to the northeast, I was going southeast)

Equipment worked out quite well in general. Outdoor activities at this time of year are always a challenge with how to dress. Cold mornings, warm in the middle of the day, generating heat while climbing, and needing wind protection and insulation for the downhills. I was frequently stopping to put on or take off a layer.

The computer I am writing this on has been a source of frustration. This is the all solid-state notebook from HP. The idea being that with no hard drive and no CD drive, there are no moving parts that be vulnerable to damage. There's only one moving part. The hinge. And it failed! It still works, but I'll be taking it in for service once I'm home. Its also an incredibly slow machine. I would not recommend this computer for at least a few years until they can work the bugs out.

I kept notes of things I should've brought along. Here it is:

Ziploc bags for re-packaging stuff from the stores along the way. For example, I bought a container of dried fruit. But when I had eaten half of it, there was a lot of wasted space inside the container. Transfer to a ziploc and problem solved. Also good for keeping the computer and my book dry.
Oil for chain. Duh. Especially after riding in rain.
I bought maps along the way. Relying on mapquest or googlemaps is not much of an option. Especially if it means that you have to get the computer out when its raining. Paper maps don't like rain either, but they can be replaced for five bucks at the next convenience store.
I should get some booties for sleeping, as my toes were often cold. If they could double as house slippers that'd be great.
Its good to have a grease rag. I had a couple of bandannas, but was reluctant to get them all black with chain grease.
Nail clipper.
I need to re-locate head lights and tail lights so they are not blocked by panniers and gear tied to the rack. I hadn't anticipating riding in the dark, but I often arose before sunrise and started out while it was still dark.
Hand lotion. For wind burn, dry air in hotels, chapping.

So, that's my little trip. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and perhaps I'll see some of you out there on the road next time.

Special thanks to my brother for hosting me and allowing me to leave my car at his place. Also to the warmshowers hosts who responded and offered hospitality, even though I didn't take advantage of it. Maybe next time.

Gary