Today was a little shorter at 54 miles, but still 3600+ elevation gain. There was only one spot where I swiped my Garmin screen to the elevation, and it said 0%. That was when we were going along the New River into Radford.
Foggy sun.
Can’t even make out the hills.
The top of one of the climbs. Both Doug and I stopped for this view.
We stopped at a convenience store that was also a bus stop for Greyhound. The bus rolled in. It was tempting, but it was going to Charlottesville, NC.
We rolled through Radford, looking for some lunch. Since it’s Sunday (and a holiday weekend too), not much was open. We ended up at a grocery market/“restaurant “ just outside of town. They did a have pretty wide selection, but both Doug and I just had a hotdog (I could have eaten two).
I was glad I didn’t eat too much because shortly after, we had a very steep (where I’m thinking…am I going to have to walk this??? NO! Just…keep…pedaling!) hill. I was zig-zagging back and forth really hoping no car would come.
Doug passed me on another hill. He is much faster on the uphills (probably due to his bike weighing substantially less). The map panel we were on was the detail map for Radford. The route came to a “T”. I looked right, and could see Doug making his way up the road. I looked at the map. I read the narrative. It said, “At “T”, turn left onto 664”. I looked at the street sign. Yep, it was 664. Why did Doug go right? I read it again. Definitely supposed to go left. So, I did. There was no point in trying to chase him down, as I would never catch him. I figured he would eventually realize he was going the wrong way.
The weather was looking a bit ominous. It started to sprinkle, then quite. A little later, it rained a bit heavier, but then stopped.
Um…that looks like rain in the distance.
We had planned to stay in a motel in Christianburg. I made my way to the motel closest to the route, which is a Budget Inn. Just as I was wheeling over to the room, Doug showed up! He had gone about a half mile before he realized things weren’t matching. Just after we got into the room, the rain started really coming down. I’d say it was a fortuitous decision to stay in a motel tonight (also, there is no place to camp in. Christianburg). Unfortunately, the weather doesn’t look great for the next few days. Flap Flap the Duck might have to come out of the depths of my pannier.
Sorry there’s not many photos. It is pretty, but all stuff we’ve seen before.
T-minus one week!
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