Day 6 - Lingering in Charlottesville

Rode out of Ashland on Tuesday. On the way I stopped by the post office and mailed a remarkably-large box of gear home. It was all deemed essential when I packed it last week, but has become less essential the more I have to pedal it down the road.

I really like Ashland. One of my first big events after returning to cycling several years ago was the Heart of Virginia event where I enjoyed the beautiful countryside surrounding the town. And last year I passed through Ashland on my way to Richmond and back. The weather was beautiful, blue skies and a light breeze, and enjoyed pedaling up Center Street, which is split down the center by the railroad tracks, and then slipping out the north end of town.

US Bike Route 1 runs north and south from Florida to Maine. US Bike Route 76 runs east and west from Illinois to Virginia. They meet in Ashland, and become the same road as they exit Ashland to the north. Last August, riding home from Richmond I remember stopping at the point where they split again, looking west down 76 and wondering if I'd ever ride that way. Tuesday I did! It was beautiful with lots of farms and very little traffic. Traffic coming up from the south towards Ashland was very heavy and made the ride a lot less pleasant than it would have otherwise been. Traffing going north from Ashland was virtually non-existant and for most of the day I saw maybe 6-10 cars an hour. Very nice!

The ride was very pleasant until I hit 20 miles or so and then got hit with the same rapid onset of general fatigue that made me want to stop at every shady spot and study the map for a few minutes. Riding by Lake Anna was nice, but the traffic picked up considerably.

Have you ever noticed how traffic in rural areas is much more pleasant to drive in, not just because it's lighter, but people are much more considerate and don't drive as fast and (if you're on a bike) tend to give you plenty of room (or if they can't pass safely, wait patiently for you to pull over and let them by). But the closer you get to a city, the more "mean" it all gets. The cars pass me more closely at higher speed and there's an occasional honk or angry gesture. It was very much like that riding into Lake Anna...traffic just got thicker and meaner.

The last few miles to Mineral were exhausting and I was very glad to pull up in front of the Mineral Volunteer Fire Department. The Mineral VFD offers cyclists a patch of grass behind their building and a hot shower at no charge. I set up my tent, took a shower and relaxed for a couple hours before dozing off. I couldn't even muster the energy to walk down the hill and eat dinner (and those of you who know me will be hard pressed to ever think of a time I missed a meal). I couldn't even muster enough energy to pull the camera out and take a picture of my tent. Do you get where I'm going here?

It was my first night camping (something I need to do a LOT more of very soon) and it all went very well. Setting up and breaking down went smoothly and quickly. I did manage to wake up several times to pull the sleeping bag back over a freezing shoulder, and three or four times to listen to the extremely loud train whistle (flashbacks to "My Cousin Vinny"). I rolled out of bed late, 7:30 or so, packed, thanked my hosts and rolled down the hill in search of breakfast (I'm still not really cooking or anything yet...not much of a camper yet). I found a little restaurant that was a bit scruffy around the ears but full of the friendliest people, most of whom seemed to know most of the others. Very nice! I don't know what it would be like to live in a small town like this (I'm sure it's got its downsides), but it was a very homey feeling. Three pancakes and eggs and bacon later I was off down the road towards Charlottesville.

That was yesterday, and I can't think of a more difficult day I've had cycling. I was tired on the way out of Mineral and it just got worse all day long. I was trying to make Charlottesville by 1 pm so I could check into a motel and start working. A couple hours into the ride and I was beginning to have a lot of doubts about my ability to do this ride at all. A couple hours later (when I should have arrived but was still a dozen miles away) I had an exit strategy all worked out, and by the time I was pushing the bike up the short but steep driveway of the hotel I had all but made up my mind to "suspend" the BTAA until I could get myself into far better shape.

Fortunately I have a GREAT support group (Pattye) who pointed out the extremely obvious (you sit behind a computer 12 hours a day and have been on the bike maybe a dozen times over the past month...just slow down!) and generally talked me back off the ledge. I'm not saying that after a good night's sleep I would have "suspended" my trip, but I am saying that it's very good to have a great support group.

So today I woke up and decided it would be a good idea to give the body a day off and spend the day catching up on things at work. Tonight I'm feeling pretty good.

So the plan is to scale back my daily milage and take it easy and try to make it over the Skyline Drive and down into Lexington by Memorial Day where I've got to hunker down and work for a couple of days (another rest stop...this is going to turn into a vacation if I'm not careful).

Anyway, that's about it. Here are some pictures I took between Ashland and Mineral.