Back to the ride

Today's mileage 44.5

So today was a fake zero. I ended up riding 45 miles to get from Harrisonburg back to the trail. Along the way I visited my old friend Mings Chinese Buffett in Waynesboro(a popular AT destination), did some town chores, and some shopping before returning.

I'm not getting back on exactly where I left off and because of that I'm missing one of the iconic stops(the cookie ladies house) but riding up rockfish gap once is enough for me. I'll redo this at some point in the fall since its not far from Maryland.

The real Virginia shows up

Today's milage 57.6

If the last few days have been something out of a Virginia tourism welcome guide. Today was the welcome to the next month of your life preview. All day long nothing but uphill follow immediately by down. I would be surprised if I rode more than 5 miles on flat ground today. Don't get me wrong the scenery was great, traffic almost non existent, and the temps nice and cool in the morning. I even gave myself enough time to sit down and do nothing during the hot part of the day and skipped rush hour.

Prior to today I was wondering what if I would ever use my max granny gear. Everytime I tried it out it was such overkill that I thought there is no way I'm going to need this. That was before I started riding these backcountry Appalachian roads. Now I'm wondering if there is a way to get an even easier gear to use. In Charlottesville I was in max granny gear and still had to zig zag my way up a hill.

Surprise!

Today's mileage 17.98

The reason I've been pushing myself and doing these 55+ mile days is so I could meet up with some college buddies for a beer festival in Harrisonburg, VA. I was hoping to get up and over rockfish gap by 10am but I was worn out and couldn't seem to go any faster than 8mph. When I let my friend that I would be about 30 min late he said he'd just come grab me from the bottom of the hill instead of the top. Considering my legs are currently jello it wasn't a difficult job to persuade me.

Lazy winding roads

Pictures coming soon(trademark)

So today is what I pictured cycling through Virginia would be like. Nice slow winding roads with forests, creeks, and the occasional horse farm. No traffic worth mentioning just me cruising along a nice gentle pace. The temperature was a perfect sunny spring morning in the mid 60s with a slight breeze. Not enough to slow me down but enough to cool things off. With all the tree throwing intermittent shadows it really was something straight out of a tour Virginia commercial.

I'm trying to get another 50 miles in today but I'm sore from yesterday. There isn't much choice as there isn't anywhere listed to sleep after that for another 50 miles. So it's either 50 miles today or 60+ tomorrow. The soreness is the good kind, the kind where every time I flex my quads there is a gentle reminder from my body about the strain I put on them. After a half hour that pain goes away and its easy cruising on beautiful empty road.

Thankfully the anti chafing treatment I've been using has worked perfectly. That was a concern of mine coming into the trip. I'm using the same anti chafing that I use while hiking and I was unsure if it would be up to the task. I think as long as I'm diligent in the application there will be no issues. Chafing is similar to blisters while hiking, everyone gets them and can be a show stopper until it heals. Thankfully both can be prevented with proper preparation and paying attention to the warning signs.

The ride went smoothly until I reached the lake Anna nuclear plant. I thought there was a tour of the plant available so I took a detour down to the visitor center to sign up. Unfortunately there was no tour, just a nice air conditioned information center that seemed to be aimed at middle schoolers. After the tour there was a dilemma I either continue riding at what is now the hottest part of the day, or take a 3 mile detour downhill to the lake to wait out the heat on a beach. I think I made the wrong choice and kept going. Hindsight says waiting at the beach had to have been better than riding during the hottest part of the day. I went from cruising along at 12 mph in the morning to crawling around 8 mph. Now that mighta been the slight headwind or it coulda been the majority uphill but I'm blaming it on the heat.

Since I pushed on through I made it to my destination only to find out the nice quiet little firehouse I had planned on sleeping at was having a spring fair. There were carnival rides, games, and even a beauty contest. Unfortunately that meant there was nowhere for me to setup camp. Now the whole reason I pushed on through the hottest part of the day was to avoid rush hour traffic. Now I had to bike 5 more miles over to the next town in rush hour. I definitely want to avoid riding during rush hour. The heat was uncomfortable but the cars during rush hour is so stressful. All the enjoyment from this morning's ride disappeared in 30 minutes of traffic.

Great start to the day

Today's mileage 62.58ish. I think I'm getting short changed in my odometer. The capitol trail had mileage markers and I was .5 miles short. 

Started the day out in the low 60s with a fog and occasional light misting rain. 

It was just cold enough that I was able to pedal full speed without getting warm. That plus the nice easy flat Capitol bike trail(it was actually a very very very slight incline) allowed me to make great time. 

I finally saw a bike route 76 sign. 

I  don't know if I missed the previous ones but this was the first one I consciously saw. In case you were unaware the TransAmerica trail is U.S. bike route 76 since it started with the bikecentennial in 1976.

Thanks to the bike tail I covered 35 miles by lunch time. The scenery was still great but not nearly as nice as yesterday. If I hadn't stopped off at President Tyler's plantation for a tour I would have probably covered 40 miles. The plantation was nice but other than a few unique plants it was just another big house.

Unfortunately all things must come to an end. So too did my time along the capitol bike trail. At first riding along the road wasn't bad. The roads were basically empty so I could just cruise along. Eventually the heat started rising and I started dragging. I'm not sure if I was dehydrated, undernourished, or it really was just took hot at 76 degrees. If it was the heat I'm gonna be in trouble. Thankfully I found a cute little shop selling freshly made limeade. I grabbed a seat and updated my blog for an hour while drinking they limeade. When I got back on the bike Iwas refreshed and ready to ride. I made it all of one mile before stopping at another historical site. I don't think I'll make it if all these historical parks, signs, and locations keep popping up.

After another hour wandering around the park I headed out again. Unfortunately rush hour traffic had started. Riding along during rush hour traffic with no shoulder to speak of is extremely stressful. I'd really like to avoid it in the future but its one of those damned if you do damned if you don't situations. I either ride in the blazing hot midday sun or during rush hour.

I eventually made it to my targeted campsite. A nice little former KOA with all the amenities. There is even the possibility of waffles for breakfast. What my trail guides was missing, and it was a major oversite in my opinion, is right across the street from the campsite is a brewery. Not only that Wednesday's is live music in the patio with a good truck. If that was included in the guide I don't see anyone camping anywhere else.

Anyone know what this plant is it smelt amazing. 

What a beautiful turtle. 

Yay flowers. 

More flowers. 

Official start!

Today's miles 33.8 (+9).
What a day. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to start today. When I got up this morning there was a serious storm rolling through. The rain wasn't that bad and there was no lightning. However there was a strong wind. Too strong a wind honestly. Luckily I had screwed up my scheduled pickup time for uber so I was running an hour late. By the time I got my bike and everything sorted the storm had passed.

So just like that I began my bike ride of nine miles to get to the start of the TransAmerica Bike Trail.Other than the looming clouds and occasional 30mph gusts of wind the ride to Yorktown was uneventful.

Yorktown was a cool place. They still had stuff from the revolutionary war lying around.

 I did the obligatory dip the rear wheel in the Atlantic tradition before starting the ride along the colonial highway. At first I was a little worried since there were no lanes but the road was wide enough for 3 cars so not having lanes felt safer. Without having people mindlessly following the yellow lines I wasn't crowded once. The road itself was a bit odd. I'm not sure why but the whole thing was made out of cobblestone. Not the big cobblestone you see in European cities but small palm sized rocks cemented together. Thankfully the added enough cement that it was a smooth ride. The views from the road were fanatic as well. 

It just paralleled the York river the whole way to Williamsburg. It took me almost 3 hours to cover 11 miles due to stopping for scenery and historical markers.

Williamsburg was a nice little tourist trap. The whole time there I felt like I was in a tourist trap town except all the "locals" were dressed like they were living in the 1700s. I quickly rode through the town, grabbed a bite to eat before hitting the road. I had heard great things about Jamestown.

Another 2 hours to cover another 11 miles and I was at Jamestown. Other than stopping every mile or so for more pictures and signs it was an uneventful ride. Except for saving my first turtle! 

The cute little guy was determined to cross the road so I have him a lift across the road after watching him cross a parking lot and shoulder. I don't think it was happy about me picking it up but its not a turtle pancake so it'll survive the trauma i think.

So pro tip for those of you thinking of going to Jamestown. There is Jamestown island which is the archeological ruins of the original colony and there is Jamestown settlement which is a town filled with actors reenacting the lifestyles of the settlers.

 I didn't know that so I went to the island while it was interesting the whole park was basically nothing but excavated foundations and signs. I really wanted to goto the settlement and watch/ play with the actors. Ah well guess I'll just have to go back.

After leaving Jamestown I started riding on the capital connection trail. A 50 mile trail connecting Richmond to Jamestown dedicated to bicycles and pedestrians. That was exactly what I needed a nice, easy, flat, and stress free ride to end day. I got to my campsite around 7pm. Right after I get my tent setup and rainfly zipped closed it starts raining again. Perfect timing. I cooked dinner in the pavilion then had a nice hot shower before calling it a day. If the rest of the trip is like this I might be hooked.

 Moved out and in Virginia. As of yesterday April 23rd I've officially begun my bike trip. I turned in my apartment keys and rode my bicycle 6 miles to a coworker's house where I met up with his brother Terry. Terry lives in Newport News Virginia which is right where the bike trip starts. After an uneventful drive I left my bike at Terry' s house and meet up with a college buddy of mine where I'll hang out with for tomorrow before starting riding on the 25th.

Bike details

For my previous trips I've never done a gear list which contains the details of what I'm bringing with me. Partially because I don't want to advertise to the world what I have. But, mostly it's because I didn't feel lime it.

After much thought, debate, and advice the bicycle that I am going to be riding across the country is a Salsa Marrakesh. I wanted the orange one for the bonus visibility but the LBS had the black one in stock so I went with that since it was easier and I'm lazy. That's the same reason I have a black car, computer, bicycle bags and so many other things.

I went back and forth over buying a lighter aluminum/titanium bike vs the traditional CroMoly Steel. In the end I went with the steel for 2 reasons, 1. Experience, its the traditional material so there is lots of knowledge/experience with how it rides. 2. The lighter materials work better with lighter weight style of riding. While my gear itself is lightweight, compared to most cyclists I am not so when averaged together the load of my bike is the average for a CroMoly loaded touring bike.

The only major change I did to the stock bike was to swap out the main chain-ring. When I was in Arizona last year watching my older sister complete her first triathlon wnoe got to discussing bicycles. She had mentioned a new trend for main chain-rings which use an oval shape instead of the traditional round.  The idea behind it is there is a portion of your pedal stroke which has more or less power, parallel vs perpendicular to the ground. By changing the ratio of the gears by using an oval instead of a circle you can optimize the efficiency so you are pedalling harder when parallel and easier when perpendicular.

Most effort

 Traditionally cyclists get through the inefficient section by clipping specially designed shoes to the pedals and pulling with their hamstrings which allows them to pedal in the "perfect circle." However, casual touring cyclists typically use platform pedals since we want to be able to hop on and off the bike and wander around town without changing or protecting the shoes. By using the oval chainring I'm hoping to be more efficient when pedalling while having the convienece of normal shoes. The chainring I'm using is made by Rotor and I have the QX3 set which is their only triple ring set. I wanted the triple ring for the hills, smaller is better. Over all I'm happy with the chainrings so far. There was one issue I had where my chain got stuck between the little and middle chainring.

Least effort

 I took it to my LBS, the Bike Doctors, and they said the issue was with my chain not the rings and so far I've not had any other problems after they replaced the chain. They also had to replace my rear derailer since they couldn't get the original one to shift properly. 

Starting soon

So here we go again, I just finished my last day at work! This year I'm going to be trying something new(biking across the country), something old(hiking across the country), and something blue(no idea what but it's tradition). I leave on April, 23rd so I'll be starting soon. I'm going to be biking a well established route that started in 1976 called the Transamerica Trail, aka National Bike Route 76.

I'm working on getting everything finalized for this trip. My bike is finished. My Local Bike Shop(LBS), The Bike Doctor, took a buncha my money and gave me a nice bike(next post will have details and pictures of it). I threw some bags on it and everything fits, sorta. I was thinking I could fit more stuff since weight isn't a major factor but, I have even less space than my backpack. Since I don't need to carry much food or water I should be ok. I have always got my rear rack with a bungee net available if I need more room.

I also picked up a fancy camera(a Fujifilm X-T1 with a 35mm prime lens) for this trip since I'm not pleased with the quality of the pictures my phone takes. I'm trying to figure out how to carry it. Currently I have it stored in the handlebar bag in a dry bag. That will work but I'm a little worried since there is no padding. I've thrown a bunch of soft squishy clothes and stuff in the bag so the camera should be ok. Getting the pictures on blogspot from my phone is still annoying. So expect much of the same from this blog with a wall of text followed by pictures. My goal is to write a more interesting blog which is more story and less a report but that will depend on how much time and effort I'm able to give it each day.