Big is beautiful (at least some of the time)

Another day without moving on, this time in the rather strange town of Roanoke. I mentioned yesterday about the peculiar street games we were watching, today we had a re-enactment of our French 'village of the damned'. Everything shuts here on Sunday downtown and finding food this evening was tricky. Last night we enjoyed monstrous Cappuchino Crunch ice creams late at night, today we struggled to buy bread.  After breakfast we headed off on the bikes to ride some of the traffic free bike paths - Tinker Creek and Roanoke River to name a couple. In our search for some bread rolls we came across 'Piggly Wiggly' only to find it shut all day - in fact it appeared as if it might be closing down. Obviously 'Dig the Pig' isn't working as a marketing tool. It was round here (in the Food Lion car park) that we saw a humongous fire engine parked across 7 parking spaces. It had drivers front and rear that steer in unison - a concept that the Humes find particularly scary!  

We went to the transport museum later and you can get some idea of the size of the steam trains from the picture below!  Wouldn't want to mend a flat on one of these. In the local paper they had an article on the 'Blue Ridge Destination Vision Plan 2030 progress'. To cut to the chase, they have concluded that they need to use 'Destination Visioning' and have employed Zeitgeist Consulting to advise them. The name of the CEO of this consulting firm is (wait for it), Mr Geist.........

As promised, a report on The Mechanic's pancake making prowess.  At the Holiday Inn Express, for the month of August, there are free pancakes from 8.00pm - midnight. Himself fancied trying this and can now make perfect pancakes!!  Press the button on the machine, wait one minute and a 'fluffy fresh pancake' pops out the side of said machine. He is very pleased with his success - Gordon Ramsey eat your heart out!

We are enjoying meeting the locals everywhere, can't believe how many cyclists come up and talk to us - many of them having been in Europe for the TDF or World Championships. People have shown us how to operate the gas pumps at filling stations, given us quiet back road routes out of towns, discussed Team Sky and the similarities with US Postal etc etc. The only serious oddball who has snared us to date was discussing how unlucky he was to have had four heart attacks, while trying to rest his beer gut on my saddle!  Himself is enjoying sampling the local craft beers and cider, while I have decided that Virginian wine is not about to win any major awards. Back on the road tomorrow so early night required now, after sorting the now clean laundry........

Sorry all the pictures are of me - Chris says I make all the big stuff look even bigger!!

Another fine mess........

Sorry about last night, we hit the riotous (????) town centre last night and while indulging in some local brew got absorbed in the athletics competition going on before us - very drunk Americans throwing footballs (UK style) into dustbins!!  Strangely addictive.......

Anyway yesterday dawned misty and distinctly chilly, to the point that we actually wore jackets for the first half hour or so, although it is fair to say that we also made the earliest start of the trip. We started off through a deserted Lexington and were soon on the equally deserted Plank Road, a delightful wooded road alongside a stream. Sun was up and we had welcome shade eventually popping out on Route 11 after about 20 miles. Route 11 at this point runs parallel to the Interstate, going to the same place, so again it was virtually traffic free and we rolled down to Arcadia (which consists of a filling station and nothing else) in time for a drink and something to eat before heading up towards the Blue Ridge Parkway. Again we had chosen a quiet route so off we went on Jennings Creek Road, initially dropping to cross the Shenandoah River, then gradually ascending alongside the creek. Hardly a car to be seen (we soon found out why!), the sun was shining, the creek was gurgling along and all was right with the world.

After 6 miles we came to our turn, off the 614 and on to the 618, McFalls Creek Road - the word 'road' to be used advisedly. This road was not surfaced and the smooth Tarmac we turned off ended in the middle of nowhere two miles further on. We now had over 4 miles of climb on a deteriorating road, twisting round hairpins on loose gravel (washed off in places), ruts and ridges and deep holes where streams had poured across in winter. On a mountain bike it would have been tough - on a drop handle bar, fully laden road bike it was a nightmare. The only thing that would have been worse was going down!  We did actually make it without having to get off and push, but we didn't dare stop as I doubt we could have got going again.  Hilly as the Blue Ridge Parkway was it was a dream compared to this. 

Lovely ride along the Parkway with lunch near the high point of the day, in the company of a group looking for migrating hawks, which use the thermals round the ridge to pick up favourable winds. Fast descent to Roanoke, then a hideously busy 8 miles into town, where for once we are staying near the centre. 66 miles and 4,000 + feet of ascent. Not moving on tomorrow so decided to sample the local beer and wine in this 'party' town - everything is relative. The policeman on his bike supervising the 'crowds' was seen in the bar and later eating ice cream, so I suspect it never got too out of hand - he certainly wouldn't have been running to catch anyone.

Tonight I will tell you about the Mechanic's new found skill in pancake making and some of the wonderful characters we have met - it was worth having our tour cancelled for the fun of being able to chat to these people. Meanwhile start practising with the balls and dustbins (old fashioned ones, not wheelie bins) it will be an Olympic sport before you know it.

We are now going out to 'Carpe the heck out of this 

Watch this space!

Today's blog will appear tomorrow - after a chance to sober up and get a good night's sleep.

Thought for the day - sign seen on a caravan on the Blue Ridge Parkway

'Carpe the Heck out of this Diem' - Amen to that!

On the tourist trail

Another day 'off' today (I know, we are going soft). We cycled into town to find a bike shop so that I could get the back tyre pumped up - again!  Next stop the tourist information centre to pick up a map of a walking tour round Lexington and some information about good routes from here to Roanoke, our next stop. The walking tour was more interesting than we expected including, as it did, 2 fascinating museums - the George C Marshall museum which covered his life and in particular the Marshall Plan which, for younger readers, followed WW2. The other museum was the Virginia Military Institute museum, which showed life over the last 150 years at the place, which is now a University where all undergrads are cadets, wear uniforms etc. apparently if found in a 'Not alright place' when there is a random check done they have to 'bone' themselves - I decided I'd rather not know. Also went round an extraordinary collection of antique guns and met the VMI American football team mascot - see photo!

The museum of military memorabilia had a rather strange entrance (see below) and the sign indicating where it was stood right beside. A sign proclaiming 'Baby's first gifts' - which conjured up an interesting combination.   We also passed the 'Stitchin Shop' where 'fibre artists go to play', a furniture shop holding a grand tent sale without a tent in sight and a jewellery shop saying 'It is impossible for the diamond in her ring to be too big, just like it is impossible for your car to be too fast!'  I loved the sign for the coffee shop shown below.   Finally, on our way back from dinner tonight we diverted to watch part of a game of American football - just two school teams and I don't think they were allowed to call time-outs, but it still went on interminably and incomprehensibly with nothing appearing to happen apart from people randomly running into other people. There were numerous officials on the pitch - I counted at least 7 - but this may have been because they all looked too large to move far from where they were positioned, although the game moved so slowly this was unlikely to be a problem

Luck be an (Irish) lady

Lady Luck was on our side today ( which after yesterday made a pleasant change). The forecast was for  thunderstorms in the afternoon so we made an early start from Staunton. Rather bizarrely the first landmark we passed was Anne Hathaway's cottage (not a cottage as we would know it), the next was Buffalo Gap (see photos). It was a bit of a climb up to the gap, but overall the inclines today were much kinder than yesterday. We stopped for a break and something to eat at that soon to be discovered hot spot of the Dollar General store in Craigsville. Hot on the heels of Zingers and Ho-Hos we were reintroduced to Ding-Dongs - all three plus several others are just variations on a theme of chocolate, vanilla cream, fat and sugar, so what's not to like. Various in-bred characters struck up conversations with us, including the bloke (weighing more than our car back home) who was polishing the video rental machine outside the store with a feather duster!  Passing through 'Nowhere USA' 'Nowhere Much USA' and Nowhere at all USA' we eventually turned on to Maury River Road, a twisty wooded road which followed the river and was virtually traffic free as well as scenic. The day was 54 miles but had less than 3,000ft of ascent so we made great time and had been in our motel room about 5 mins before the torrential rain started - about 5 minutes after that we noticed that my back tyre was completely flat. 

The puncture is now fixed, the laundry is done and the weather has cleared 0% chance of rain tomorrow (allegedly). Taking our lives in our hands we crossed the dual carriageway in front of the hotel to get to Applebee's, for what proved to be one of the best meals of the trip so far - although frankly the competition is negligible. Currently debating what to do with our day off tomorrow. Should we visit the Banjo museum? Perhaps Natural Bridge Zoo, where the giraffe, deer, goat, llama and other animals 'are waiting for a feeding interaction with you' - so that would make you lunch I presume.  Visit the Pink Cadillac Diner (home of the famous 'Elvis Burger').  I suspect the Mechanic will insist on a visit to the local brewery to sample a growler (???). There is loads more to avoid, but time for bed - I'll let you know how we get on

Not waving but drowning.

Today started with what the weather forecasters here call 'considerable cloudiness', moved on to what we would call 'very considerable raininess' and ended with astronomical humidity.  It was a shortish day from Harrisonburg to Staunton, so we decided to try two new things - a quiet route given to us by a bike shop in Harrisonburg, using roads not on any map we have see, and a detour to Natural Chimneys state park.  We had a few false starts and u turns on the new bike route, but made it to Natural Chimneys mid morning. All the literature had 'bigged' this up to be a close contender for one of the seven wonders of the world, so we were expecting loads of people and rock stacks like the Old Man of Hoy. Instead we were faced with a deserted car park, a closed visitor centre and 2 or 3 fairly modest rock towers.  It was very peaceful!!!  We had however missed the largest jousting tournament in the USA, which apparently had taken place last Sat. The grandstand would have held about 20 people and there was no obvious sign of a horse having crossed the rather small grassy area, from which I concluded that jousting is not about to overtake baseball in the nation's affections.

We got back on our new route, which was indeed virtually traffic free - it was also free of any flat sections, as you will see from the profile shown below. We were about 6 miles outside Staunton when it started to rain, heavily enough to require jackets and lights. We both needed food badly and stopped  at the first garage we came to on the edge of town. It was a bad choice for anything edible - the egg sandwich we shared had a sell by date sometime next year and bore no resemblance to egg(or in fact any other edible substance known to man). We topped up with Mrs Freshley's carrot cake, which had travelled well surprisingly, and then sheltered in the car wash booth waiting for the torrential rain to ease.  When it did we made a break for it and managed about a mile before it just became too dangerous to ride. We ended up hanging out under the canopy outside Valley Denture Care for about an hour and a half as the drains struggled to cope and the thunder roared around us. 

At a brief easing we made it a few hundred yards to a bike shop, called Black Dog Cycles. I got a bit of a shock on opening the door to find a large black dog bounding towards me. Luckily I didn't have to negotiate the use of a track pump with him.  Tyres fully inflated again we found it had stopped raining and the sun had come out, with the humidity rising by the second. It was still nearly 5 miles (including some doubling back) until we finally made it to the hotel, by this time almost expiring from heat exhaustion. Not many pictures today except of rain bouncing off puddles. We are expecting more of the same tomorrow.  48 miles and 3,000 ft of climb.

2 signs that caught my eye on the road. Clinic for cosmetic dentistry 'We go the extra smile' and on some Autocentre billboard 'Watch your 'Spendometer'

Extra photo!!

I forgot to post this one