True Colours

Day 71

Christiansburg, VA to Lexington, VA

Distance: 91 miles

Climbing: 5, 738 ft

Railroad tracks crossed: lost count, but at least 10…

Steed and I rode out of Christiansburg into a damp and misty morning, slicing through the Virginia colours like a pizza wheel cutting through a topping of slow cooked red, orange and yellow peppers, the oil oozing and glistening on their surface.

There’s something about a grey blue sky, and a coating of rain on the leaves that seems to make the contrast between the shades all the more vivid and unbelievably beautiful. And with views like that, I couldn’t be upset about a few raindrops, and the need for the wet-weather gear to come into action.

I’d been thinking over the last few days that, even if it rains on me every day between now and the coast, I would still count myself incredibly lucky with the weather on this trip. Not that I’m willing it to put that theory to the test of course, but it has been great.

Today, though, was another long day’s riding, with a few short, sharp hills, and this prayed on my mind as I made my way through the first few miles. I still don’t take these things for granted. A 91-mile day is a long day and a significant challenge in anyone’s book.

For the last few days, my concern has not been so much about failing to get there, or having to ride in the dark. It’s how much my legs and lower back are going to hurt.

I guess it’s a cumulative thing but, at the start of a day, even after my usual morning stretching routine, my legs are sore and tight, and the thought of them riding 90 miles seems, quite frankly, laughable. They, and my back, will twinge every now and again with a particularly steep section. But somehow, in the course of the day, they loosen up, and I plod my way through the daunting sections of map slowly but surely, until I’m onto the last panel for the day, and the mileage is down to single figures.

It was around 35 miles into my ride today that I came across Ken. I’d been through a small town already where I’d been hoping to get a coffee and a snack, but had found the gas station had closed down. I was therefore hot-footing it to the next town, which was a fair schlep further on, and so I was pretty much flying down a hill, when I swung round a bend and came face to face with Ken pushing his bike up the hill on the other side of the road.

Shouting a greeting and getting barely a nod in response, I screeched to a halt and U-turned to get back up to Ken. I recognised the expression on that face and I knew what it meant.

“How’s your day going?” I asked, and I could see Ken hesitating to answer.

“Good… bad… absolutely shit?” I continued. “Shit, right?”

It made us both smile and we broke the ice.

Ken is from New York and took the train down the coast. He only started a few days ago in Richmond. He’s camping and carrying a lot of stuff. He doesn’t have shoes that clip into his pedals, and he already has technical problems with his brakes and gears. I could see why he would be a tad miserable. And this morning, he had been properly rained on...

I had already been thinking that, had I cycled this route East to West, I have no idea how I would have coped with these ridiculous hills without the base of fitness and routine. But with these additional challenges, well, I’d be a little disheartened too.

We stopped and had a nice long chat, which lifted my spirits, and Ken’s I think.  I gave Ken a couple of the energy gels and bit and pieces that Mark had given me (Mark, I’m sure you won’t mind me sharing the love) as I only have a few days and hardly any climbs left now, so I felt Ken’s need was greater than mine. And in return, Ken gave me a sachet of an all-in-one nutritional shake made by the company that he works for - it looks pretty good and I'm looking forward to trying it out. 

I also found out that he’s doing his ride for an autism charity, so when he’s got his website up and running, I’ll add a link to it on here.

Pressing on with my day, I had a nice surprise coming up, in the guise of a new gas station/restaurant which wasn’t marked on my map, but which made me a fantastic grilled ham and cheese sandwich, and was a few miles before the town that I'd been speeding towards with images of lunch in my head. 

That, together with the sun coming out, was enough to give me the positive vibes I needed to coast through the rest of the day.

Lexington is a cute little town, and I arrived at my hotel at a decent hour. I ate in the hotel restaurant, which was great, and I also was able to sit outside on their patio. Taking in the view from my table, I saw that I was overlooking the parking lot of…. a laundromat.

I know, it’s sad. I had to resist the urge to run round there with my dirty clothes. But at least I was probably the one person in the restaurant who truly was happy with the view.

Only a few cycling days left now. I’m conscious of the need to focus focus focus, so I don’t fall off or do something stupid at the last minute. I’m feeling happy and sad all at the same time. And supremely lucky to be enjoying this amazing journey.  Still more to come…

Me x