Jeff Bikes: Christiansburg to Marion

Day 15 - 5/30
Christiansburg to Pulaski
31 Miles

Day 16 - 5/31
Pulaski to Wytheville
27 Miles

Day 17 - 6/1
Wytheville to Marion
32 Miles

Pretty consistent 3 days ride from Christiansburg to Marion, eh?

I didn't keep up with the blog over the last 3 days because I kept getting hotels where the internet didn't exist or didn't work. Memories of those three days are kind of jumbled together, so I figured I'd just jumble them together in the blog under a single entry.

No dramatic improvement in my conditioning except that after a very hard Day 16 it occurred to me that I was eating a light breakfast (toast), working four hours on the computer then racing out at noon and starting my ride. So Day 17 I tried a new strategy. Light breakfast, work until noon, race out of the hotel and into the Bob Evans next door, consume a large greasy cheeseburger then start my ride. Upset stomach most of the first half, but then it kind of went away and I was left feeling much better at the end of the day (no "world is coming to an end" exhaustion and felt like I could do another 10 miles if I had to).

I'm also thinking I've got to turn my schedule around and try to ride in the morning then work in the afternoon. This is going to be tough for me because I'm a slow starter in the morning generally; I like working in the morning better; and I like knowing that I've got my hours in before I set out for the ride. But does it make sense to sit and work through the cool of the morning then head out on the bike in the hottest part of the day? No.

So I was passed by a group of 3 riders twice (I passed them when they stopped for lunch) on Sunday and then another solo rider on Monday just before turning off the route for Marion. All of them were on the same route, headed for Oregon. Although I didn't spend much time with them, if felt like I was a part of a small community.

I was kind of excited to see what Marion was like. My kids maternal grandparents have just resettled here from the DC area and for years I've heard stories and seen pictures of the house they've been trying to have built. I've been invited down several times but just never had the time to get away.

Riding into Marion was nice. It's a nice, fairly large sized town with a welcoming home-town feel to it. I stopped by the store for carbonated water (I'm kind of addicted to it) and then set off to what I thought was going to be an easy leg to "Grandma's house". Ha! Turned into three more miles of some very steep little hills, partly on a very narrow road with at least one crazy driver whose squealing tires motivated me to get well out of the way. When I found the right mail box I turned into the gravel driveway that was more like a gravel ladder. I had to get off and push the bike up...there was no way I was going to ride that.

Grandma's house sits at the top of a hill and it's just beautiful. You can see for miles and it was quite with a nice breeze. And waiting for me at the top of the drive was a tall glass of ice water.

I'm giving my body two full days of rest here and my employer two full days of work. As I write this I'm nearly at the end of the first day and I know already it's going to be tough to leave here on Thursday!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of days.