Day 6: Charlottesville to Waynesboro (37 miles, 262 total)

Yesturday we got our first view of the Appalachian Mountains and today we got our first taste of them. Climbing ahoy! When viewed from afar, the Appalachians look small compared to the Rockies. Make no mistake about it though, when it comes to cycling we've been told that the Appalachians are much worse than the Rockies. The difference lies in the total elevation gain (i.e. counting only the elevation gained and not the elevation lost in downhill sections). When one considers that, there is actually more elevation gained when crossing the "small" Appalachians. This is because of the brutally constant up-and-down in the Appalachains whereas the Rockies are more of one big long up and a big long down. All things considered, we did quite well for our first mountain day.

I have noticed myself getting a lot stronger on the bike. Most pains have subsided, and I find myself powering up hills more than I did in previous days. Although I don't think she believes me, Anne Katherine is growing a lot stronger on the hills too. Everyday I wait a little bit less time at the top of the hills for her. She is doing really well.

After getting to bed late due to all of the chaos of yesterday, we got a late start on the day. I blame part of that on the fact that Maggie has one of the most comfortable beds ever (it was certainly the best thing the two of us have slept on in what seems like a really long time). Anyway, we finally got on the road at about 9AM.

By the way, we won't be out of the Appalachians until we are out of Virginia, and typically most cyclists spend more time in VA than any other state on the route (about 14 days on average).

After getting about 15 miles out of Charlottesville, we stopped at a coutry store for some tasty grub. I killed a BBQ pork sandwich, a Slim-Jim, and some Gatorade. On the way out we ran into a group of French-Canadian cyclists, very cheery people. They were excited about our trailers and cycling maps. After a few photos, we were on our way again.

Next up, was June "The Cookie Lady" Curry in Afton, VA. For those who don't know, June is an amazing woman who owns a home at the top of a famous hill in Afton. She has been offering her generous hospitality to TransAm cyclists for 30 years now. Last year June suffered a stroke and she recently broke her wrist, so she can't get around much. Depsite that, she stills welcomes cyclists enthusiastically to stay the night in the famous "Bike House". June's Bike House is a shrine to the history of the TransAm route (once called the Bikecentenial route, set up in 1976 in celebration of our country's bicentenial) while still being a functional place for cylists to stay for the night, cook, and rest all for a small donation to keep the place clean and stocked with food.

...and when I say shrine, I mean shrine! The walls of the Bike House are covered with postcards, newspaper clippings, thank you notes, notes to other cyclists... It is really hard to even describe. I'll post some photos of the place when I have a chance.

We were about two miles from June's place (about to start the climb) when we stopped for some snacks and a "nature break" (and I don't mean looking at the view). As we got set to ride again, we heard the famous "pop" from A.K.'s rear wheel. She had blown another spoke. Son of a...

We decided that the best thing to do would be to get that wheel rebuilt. Once spokes start to break, a wheel is typically going to continue to break spokes, especially a machine-built wheel like hers. We decided that we'd be a lot more confident through the trip with a wheel that was completely respoked by hand. We called three bike shops from the road before we found one that could accomodate us. The shop is in Waynesboro, 4 miles off route. They closed at 6 and it was 3:30, so we had to get the move on.

A.K.'s wheel was working well enough to limp to the shop, so off we went... up the hill to June Curry's house. We've read so much about how tough that hill was that in the end it didn't seem that bad to me. (Um, it was to me -A.K.) June's house came up much faster than I expected. We were pressed for time, but we knew we had to at least stop in and say hi.

We rang the bell and June came to the door. We chatted with her for a few minutes about her health, and then she gave us the key to the bike house. She told us to look around, have something to eat, sign the guestbook, and stay the night if we like. Inside the bike house, we found the shrine I don't have the words to describe. There are binders of folders with photos of every cyclist that has stopped by. There was a tandem bike that allows both riders to steer and photos of some serious 70's cyclists.

We had a snack, signed the guestbook and left an FFB card and a donation.

June insisted that we come back for a photo before we left. We chatted with her some more about some of her most prized bike related memorabilia left by cyclists, and her recovery from the stroke and her broken wrist. She took a polaroid of us and had us sign the bottom for her photo albums. After some more chatting, we had to get going in order to make it to the bike shop before closing.

It was really a pleasure to meet June Curry. We've read so much about her and she is even more generous and sweet than we had heard. I think she really appreciates the visits of cyclists.

We climbed another 2 miles to the start of the famous Blue Ridge Parkway. The road was busy and shoulderless, and the climb really reminded me of Torrey Pines Hill in San Diego. It just kept going up and up; everytime I thought I was getting to the top, I'd turn the corner and it would keep going up.

The sad thing was that once getting to the top we had to go four miles down the mountain (on the other side) to get to the bike shop in Waynesboro. That means we get to climb out of here tomorrow. That is going to be really tough.

The guys at the bike shop said they can finish the wheel by lunch. That puts us in a tough spot for biking tomorrow. We still are not sure what we'll do yet. We still have to bike out of this "hole" and then the next place to stay is a haul away. There is a storm rolling through now, so hopefully it will blow over while we are waiting for the bikeshop to finish the wheel. Now we are off to bed.

We have really enjoyed your comments on the journal. Keep'em coming!

By the way, the best place for dinner in this town, Scotto's Italian.

Jeff