What a difference a day makes! When morning comes, Berea has survived the storm relatively unscathed and the skies have cleared. It means, as ever, we have to move on. It’s a strange feeling since it’s likely we may not see any of our new found cycling friends for a while, or perhaps ever again….
Adventure Cycling Association
Pie Bombs, Grizzlies and Goose Burrito – Hindman KY to Booneville KY
In the Appalachians Old King Coal still rules, although his reign is under threat. You only need to look in the valleys to see the impact a decline in mining brings. But huge trains still rumble through local towns with trucks full of the black gold, while coal lorries thunder up the roads to more…
Into the Valleys of the Dogs. Lookout KY to Hindman KY
Today we left Lookout and headed into the valleys of the dogs. Kentucky has a reputation for mean ones with a taste for passing cyclists and we were all a little apprehensive, particularly after John took a call from a fellow TransAmerican further up the trail who had problems with them around Hindman, our destination….
One down, nine to go! Council VA to Lookout KY
We were awoken at an ungodly hour to the sound of laughter and chatting … the keenos of the Adventure Cycling group were up and at it early. Too early for us… for logistical reasons we were only doing about 45 miles today, so we were having a lazy day after yesterday’s miserable cold slog….
Lord of the (chain) Rings. Damascus VA to Council VA
Let’s get this out in the open right from the start. We’ve clearly underestimated the physical challenge of cycling the TransAmerican. The Appalachians are a major hurdle, the largest chain of mountains east of the Mississippi extending from Canada, all the way to Alabama. We’ve been cycling through them for well over a week now…
Bleak Expectations…. Catawba VA to Fort Chiswell VA
By Terry Last night’s life saver turned up trumps again this morning … fresh coffee and egg ‘biscuits’ (‘rolls’ to us Brits) made to order. Fab. And they had those rare and elusive items: a butane canister and some non-meat noodles. Now we are cooking with the proverbial! Well, we at least have the option…
Go Yell it on the Mountain! Afton VA to Lexington VA
It’s Terry’s better half, Liz’s birthday today and he was determined to yell it from the mountain. So it was a good job our task today was to climb the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and search for the lonesome pine in the pale moonshine etc. It wasn’t quite night-time when we left the Cookie…
Joining the Boys on Blue watch….. Glendale VA to Mineral VA
Last night we stayed in a church, tonight it’s a fire station, courtesy of Mineral Fire Dept, Louisa County. We ended up cycling 80 miles today, due mainly to a map-reading malfunction. To explain, the Adventure Cycling Association provides excellent maps of the entire TransAmerica route. Yesterday we did two and a half maps to…