Climb every mountain!

Our trip to Sal's pizza place resulted in a surprisingly good pasta meal - pasta, bread and salad (Scotty, think St Louis with knobs on). It was pretty quiet and we got chatting with the waitress, who sent us off with half a French stick and butter for breakfast.  We decided not to stay for breakfast at the B&B as they didn't serve until late and we wanted to get some of the climbing out of the way before it got too hot. It was pretty sweaty up the first hill, straight out of town as we climbed about 2,000 ft up to Swift Run Gap and the entrance to Shenandoah National Park. Sadly it just kept on climbing, although it was now a more gentle gradient with plenty of shade offered by the trees.

There are 75 scenic overlooks on the Skyline Drive and we religiously stopped at all of those we passed, but it was rather hazy and the views weren't great - however it managed to make the riding harder as once the bikes are loaded the hardest thing to do is get started, especially on a hill. We arrived here (Big Meadows) at lunchtime. We had only cycled 25 miles but had climbed 4,000 ft in total, so felt more tired than 25 miles would lead you to suppose. Our accommodation here is not what we expected - when we were here in 2007 we had a lovely room in a wooden building, a bit more basic than a hotel in the valley but generally fine. This time we are in a 'rustic' (read ramshackled) cabin with the smallest double bed I have seen in a very long time. A couple of 'average' USA sized adults would never fit in - or certainly not at the same time. The lighting is reminiscent of Victorian England and the shower is likely standing under a blocked watering can. 

We took a walk along the Appalachian Trail, trying to visit Lewis Falls. It was supposedly a mile from Big Meadows but after walking for well over 30 minutes we abandoned and turned round, only to realise that we must have descended nearly 1,000 ft. We had a few drops of rain, but it didn't come to anything - however they are forecasting another heat wave next week ( we just missed the last one where temperatures were over 100 degrees Fahrenheit).  We are staying at over 3,500ft tonight and for the first time this holiday it has cooled off enough that we feel we need our fleeces on. The wifi is also pretty dodgy so I'll leave you with a few photos and tell you some of the oddities tomorrow.