Day 14: Elk Garden Methodist Church, VA to Breaks Interstate Park, VA (45 miles, 608 total)

I've never slept so well in a church. Well, before last night, I had never slept in a church, but I still killed it! We were in bed by 8 (partly because we were so tired and partly because we could't find any light switches for where we were sleeping) and I must have been fast asleep minutes later. I slept straight through the night and woke up ready to roll at 5:30. Anne Katherine wasn't so keen on the early wake up, but it helped us get pedaling by 7AM. Seriously, the carpeting in the Church was so comfy.

We made some oatmeal in the church kitchen, chowed it and rolled. We spent some time on some busy roads early on, but soon found ourselves on a less busy road with a market. We stopped for some snacks for the day. We've been killing the Snickers bars; I have at least 2 a day but usually more, AK manages to eat one but is already getting sick of them. I'm also into the Slim-Jims and Fig Newtons, and I've just started experimenting with Pop-Tarts. By the way, the most interesting ingredient in a Slim-Jim has to be the "mechanically seperated chicken". I think it is second on the list, and it gives me a mental image of a chicken through a wood thresher.

Anyway, on we went. We started climbing a big hill and the skies opened up and gave us a brief shower. The hill was rather steep and because of the trucks on the road, there was no safe place to stop and put on rain gear. Finally, I made it to the top just ahead of A.K. and I took the opportunity to pull over and put on my rain jacket and put my camera in my dry bag. By the time that was all done, the rain was pretty much done. That figures.
On we went and the skies cleared and it became quite warm. We rolled through Council (no obvious sign of a campground), Davenport and Bee. I like the name Bee for a town.

Just before the town of Birchleaf, we came across a man removing the transmission from a truck on the side of the road. The odd thing was that the truck was laying on its side! He had used another truck and a chain to pull the old truck over! I suppose that makes it much easier to get to the underside of a vehicle. I asked him if it took a lot of pulling from his truck to do it and he said, "Nah, she just rolled right ova'." I guess the biggest problem would be pulling the truck too far onto the roof. I snapped a photo of it; I'll post it later.

In Birchleaf, we found the best grocery store we've been across in days. They had a very nice selection of fruits and veggies, and roasted chicken. The people there invited us to sign their logbook for bikers and asked us to send them postcards from the road. We bought food for lunch and dinner, and had a pinic lunch in the parking lot. A little stray cat came to investigate us and we let her make off with a little chicken and some turkey.

Then we were off to Breaks Interstate Park (right on the border of VA and KY). Right after Haysi (pronounced Hey-sigh) we hit some steep hills congested with big coal trucks. The first part was super steep, but it leveled off a bit and we pedaled on up. Soon most of the trucks turned off, and we were gifted with light traffic and few trucks. Although at one point A.K. made the right decision to ride off the road and get clear from two large trucks passing in opposite directions on the narrow road. She was fortunate that there was enough of a "shoulder" to ride into. In that case the shoulder consisted of the white line, a shallow drainage ditch (about 8inches deep or so) and a lot of shrubery (is that a word?).

Finally, we saw a sign for the park, but it was up a big hill. It was a steep climb and it kept going up and up. After a while, I arrived at a beautiful overlook onto Chimney Rock. At the lookout, I chatted with an older couple from Richmond; they were quite fasinated when I told them that my girlfriend was on her way up behind me. They cheered when she came into view and then asked her for a ride when she reached the top.

From there we biked the rest of the way (uphill) to the campground in the park. The woman at the campsite registration office told us that there was another cyclist waiting for us. It turns out it was James! He had arrived this morning and secured the last campsite for this Memorial Day weekend. Knowing that we planned to be there today he generously told the woman to look out for us and that we could share his campsite with him. It turns out that he was able camp in the city park at Council, and then he took a short ride from there this moring to enjoy Breaks Park.

Since arriving, we took hot showers, cooked our Tuna Helper (that stuff is pretty bad) and corn. All in all it was a cheap, filling meal. The campsite is a bit of a zoo being Memorial Day Weekend. It is amazing how many tents there are and what mansions some people call tents! We are also situated next to what strikes me as small sorority party. A good night's sleep is looking (and sounding) unlikely.

We are looking forward to advancing out of Virginia. It has been a beautiful state, full of very friendly and generous people, but the hills have been brutal! Speaking of friendly people, one man told us today that we "have a long paddle" ahead of us.

Anyway, Susan at the FFB has told us that we are up to $15,005! That is very exciting, but we are gonna keep fundraising and aiming high! Keep spreading the word about our efforts for the FFB and our journal!

Jeff

From AK - For all who have been asking, my dad is doing much better everyday. He has started short days at work again and is sort of sleeping better, though still not in a normal bed. Thanks for your concern and well-wishes! It certainly hasn't been easy on him but he is making the best of it.

Also, my friend Alecia read off some of the latest days of comments to me tonight. Glad to hear that we have new followers from the trail - Hi David!