Another gorgeous day

Wasted on pedaling uphill against the wind. Blurg. At least it wasn't raining.

Saturday, 8 November: I got a late start due to last night's festivities, and my own dilly-dallying. I am sort of following US Bicycle Route 76 diagonally across Virginia, with some modifications. On my way through Afton, I stopped by the cookie lady's house, hoping at least to meet her, and possibly to sleep there. Sadly, she did not seem to be home, and the cyclist house was closed for the winter. I'm bummed that I missed her, because she's practically an institution in the cycle touring world. I rode on, bypassing the part of the route that went along Skyline Drive. It was just a bunch of unnecessary hills. That road won't get me again! Instead, I went over to the other side of the mountain that I had spent much of the day riding up, and headed for an exorbitantly priced campground. It was my only option. But I guess I get enough free days that it all equals out. I rolled in after sunset again-- gotta stop doing that!-- and found it to be a pleasant enough place run by a very sweet man. Not sweet enough to give me a discount of any sort, although I didn't try for one, but sweet enough that I didn't hate handing over my money to him. That seems like a good persona to cultivate if you are in the service industry...

I tend to be an accent sponge anyway, but Southern accents seem to be the most infectious. Two seconds into a conversation with a heavily accented person, I find my vowels slipping a bit. Although it seems to facilitate their understanding of the words that are coming out of my mouth, so it's not all bad. I just worry that people will think I'm mocking them, when they know I'm not from around here.

I love a sunny day off

And warm, too!

Friday, 7 November: I took a day off and explored Charlottesville, VA. I walked to the UVa campus to check out the really cohesive architecture, then took the free trolley downtown to wander a bit. The free speech wall, which is basically a giant chalkboardy area, was a fun idea, and had some amusing stuff on it. And a lot of lame teenager garbage. I ate at the Tea Bazaar, which is a super mellow place to sit for a while, then took the free trolley to the campus, and walked back to the apartment. It turned out to be my host's birthday, so we went downtown for a beer and some food, then came home for more beer and Rock Band. I could get addicted to the drumming...

Charlottesville is a pretty cool city. It's in what I'm discovering is a sort of sweet spot for population size: around fifty thousand, although the student population swells this number some. This seems to be large enough to give a decent variety of restaurants and theaters, but small enough to be pretty friendly. They also have what appears to be good public transit.

I am now headed, once again and despite my better judgement, into the mountains of Virginia for some more pain. For various reasons, this seems to be the best route if I want to get to Alabama by Thanksgiving. That's right, as catchy as "Alabama by Christmas" sounds, I would really rather be there by Thanksgiving, as it is my favorite holiday, and I don't want to miss out on any mashed potatoes and gravy. I heard that there are areas of little reception in the mountains, so there may be some days when I don't post.

The applesauce *was* homemade

Made with Lodi and Rambo apples, sugar and lemon juice. Fantastic!

Thursday, 6 November: After a very VERY leisurely breakfast and chat with Margaret Dawson of Dawson's Country Place Bed and Breakfast, I struck out for parts south. Last night I kvetched about the price, because for someone who tries to camp for free as often as possible, it was a little over my budget, but if you are a couple looking for a quiet getaway, it is actually pretty reasonable. They are located just a short drive from Shenandoah National Park, Charlottesville and three presidential homes, including Monticello. The house is set on 28 acres, mostly wooded with walking trails, abutting two hundred some acres of farmland, so it is quite peaceful. The food is tasty, and the conversation delightful. 540-948-3119 or 866-538-0138, if you're going to be in the Madison, VT area.

I had time to laze around because I was only headed to Charlottesville, just a half day's ride to the south, to stay with friends of friends. The ride in was uneventful. I stopped about two blocks away from my destination to consult my GPS, and was overtaken by my host, who was biking home from work. Exquisite timing! After some good conversation and a shower, we went to the Saigon Cafe, a Vietnamese restaurant recommended by Margaret Dawson. My food wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but it was still pretty tasty, and the price was good. After more conversation, an intrusion from a random guy selling firewood door-to-door (?!) and an excellent new episode of "30 Rock," we were off to bed.

I couldn't hack it

It was just too brutal.

Wednesday, 5 November: Wooooobama!

I spent hours and hours today riding uphill through dense fog and drippy rain. It was brutal, with no compensatory views. I literally had to eat every three miles because I was expending so much energy. The cars and I couldn't see each other until they were right up on me, and there was no shoulder, so every time I heard a car coming I just pulled off onto the grass, thankful for the break and the fact that the pavement didn't have a big drop off at the edge.

I finally reached a high point and headed down into sunshine and beauty and fast fast rolling. My goal of reaching the only open campground in the park, 42 miles from my starting point, and having a shower was starting to look attainable. Then I reached the low point and started heading back up again. I consulted my maps, and it looked like I was in for some ridiculous climbing, so I took the opportunity provided by the crossroad at the low point to exit the park for good. At least I can say I've been to Shenandoah National Park.

I had a wonderful roll out of the mountains, into the sun and warmth and gently rolling farmland hills. I was on a fantastically smooth road with little traffic, headed for a campground that my AAA campbook said existed, and had tent sites. I considered calling ahead, but I couldn't get reception when I thought of calling, and my phone was dying and I wanted to hurry to get there before dark. The campbook had not yet led me astray.

I arrived at the campground about ten minutes before sunset, only to be told that they only accepted RVs, and had no place for tent campers. I pretty much pleaded with the woman to just let me camp on the lawn where no children were playing, but she would not budge, and had no compunctions about turning a lone cyclist away at sunset. She tried to direct me to a campground that was "eight" miles away (closer to ten. I saw the sign. But who's counting?) but I said I couldn't make it that far tonight. She sent me instead to a somewhat pricey bed and breakfast-- although it's not as bad as that hotel in Jersey!-- that was "three" miles away. Actually 4.75, and this time I'm counting.

I arrived just as it was getting dark enough to be scary, and man, did she do me a favor sending me here! The couple running the place just keep getting nicer. The woman said she would knock ten bucks of the price, then she gave me dinner (I think the applesauce was homemade!), then she knocked another fifteen off. It's basically just a big house (I guess that's what B&Bs usually are) with two guestrooms. Mine is a whole little suite over the garage with a kitchenette and a tv and everything. I was excited about watching "Pushing Daisies," but it doesn't seem to be on. Man, that month off sure brought back the tv addict right quick.

The ups and downs today were steep like the mountains.

Did I pick the wrong route?

So far, Shenandoah is beautiful, but brutal. I'm not convinced yet that the beauty outweighs the brutality.

Tuesday, 4 November (election day!): I made it to Shenandoah National Park with almost no rain, which was great, since it had been predicted with a fairly high probability. I saw evidence of brief sprinkling, but I missed most of it. When I got into the park, I climbed 1300 feet in five miles. Blurg. Not so fun toward the end of the day. I was planning to stealth camp, but I chickened out, and there weren't a lot of good places anyhow. I stopped at the visitor center and got a backcountry permit and directions to the nearest place where that sort of thing is allowed. I got there shortly before dark, scarfed a bunch of food, tied the rest of my food up, and pitched my tent in the dark just as the rain was starting in for serious. Now I am safely ensconced within my tent, too exhausted to even bother with the handi-wipe bath...

Virginia is for lovers

I can't actually vouch for that, but I can say that it's pretty nice where I am.

Monday, 3 November: With some difficulty, I left my friend's house and headed west, toward Shenandoah. I'm not in quite the best riding shape after my lazy month off, but am certainly better off than when I started the trip back in May.

I stopped in a national park for lunch, and a kindly ranger who also happens to be into cycling stopped by to chat. I picked his brains about my upcoming camping options, since it had become clear to me that I had grossly underestimated the distance to my intended camping spot. My options were poor, and I steered the subject around to stealth camping possibilities, not specifically for tonight, but for when I'm riding through Shenandoah, since most of the official campgrounds have just closed for the winter. Once we had discussed this a bit, and I said the magic words ("leave no trace"), he offered to let me stay in the picnic area of the park. Given the choice between riding a half day and camping for free or riding really hard until dark and paying money to camp, I went with the former. Now that I am headed south, and am really not that far from Alabama, I'm not feeling the need to push myself too hard. Besides, I don't want to end up in the sorry state I was in when I arrived in Virginia a month ago. I took him up on his offer, and am now lounging in a beautiful meadow surrounded by trees. I have a covered picnic area and pit toilets, and the ranger will lock the gate at sundown. There is no water here, but the kind ranger offered to fill up my bottles for me. He returned with an extra gallon on top of that, so now I don't even have to think about conserving water! Wooo!

Also, it was a little bit sunny.

Don't go to beauty school

Well, not for a haircut. Not if you care how it looks...

Friday, 31 October: I spent two hours getting a haircut at the local beauty school. That route is definitely one for those with more time than money. I enjoyed watching the cute beauty school kids, but was a bit unhappy with the haircut.

I dressed up as the bottom of the closet (odds and ends from costumes past, with a few socks, random scarves and a hanger hanging from my clothing) and attended a Halloween party with my gracious hosts. Fun stuff!

Saturday, 1 November: Brunch, lounging, "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."

Sunday, 2 November: Brunch, lounging, shopping, laundry, packing... Yup, I'm getting ready to scoot tomorrow.

I am increasingly unhappy with this haircut. At least it grows quickly, so I should be able to get it fixed up before too long.