Day 4, The Cookie Lady

Charlottesville, VA – Afton, VA (The Cookie Lady) 32 Miles (225 Total)

Time on bike: 3:22:20

Avg: 9.9 mph

Daily Ascent: 2565 (80 ft/mile)

A tough day today for many reasons, but a nice finish to it all. I had to buy a cell phone in Charlottesville, VA because Chancy was the one with a phone. Charlottesville is a nice college town. Some people stopped on their way into Panera Bread there to ask me about my bike and where I was going. People seem so interested in my bicycle. They ended up giving me $10 and buying me coffee and a pastry. I finally left Charlottesville at 11pm headed up into the mountains. I climbed and I climbed and I climbed in the heat of the day, refusing to let the mountains get the better of me. I went for my first swig of water from my Camelpack only to find it empty. I had forgotten to check before I left. Now, I’ve run 20 miles before without drinking water in Africa before, so I wasn’t too worried. I bargained with myself that I’d ask the first person I saw outside their house. I pulled into a nice brick home with a beautifully landscaped lawn and asked the man for some water. He went inside and produced 2 bottles of ice cold water. “Is that enough,” he asked. I told him that I could use more so he went in and produced a pitcher of ice water. How refreshing!

The weatherman had said there would be storms in the afternoon, but I was headed for Afton, VA which is notorious for being the home of “The Cookie Lady”, June Curry. June has been helping bicyclists along the TransAmerica Trail for over 30 years. She provides a “Bike House” for cyclists to stay in and the walls are COVERED with post cards of appreciative riders who have sent her letters expressing their gratitude. I had read extensively of June and was expecting a nice old lady with a fresh batch of cookies. What I found was more of a combination of a museum and a shrine dedicated to those who have braved the TransAmerica Trail. Over 14,000 by June’s count.

June is 87 years old and doesn’t get around like she used to, she tells me. She talks up a storm, partially due to her inability to hear, but partially from years of stories from other cyclists. When I first arrived she pulled out her Polaroid camera and took my picture and had me sign my name, date and hometown. It then went into one of several photo albums labeled by year. I flipped back to 2004 and found my friend Chad who had biked The Trail and had given me the idea to do it. We were wearing the same shirt in the picture as I was wearing the one I borrowed from him. Stranger than that, I found that a month and 3 days ago a man named Brian Dunn from Chicago, IL had also passed through here. How random is that??

So here I am, at the Cookie Lady’s Bike House for the night. The storms did arrive so I crashed here. One could spend a month going through this place. It’s separate from her own house and it’s filled with memorabilia that cyclists have donated and sent to June. Each card has a story, cyclists from all 50 states and many countries. Her hospitality over the years has certainly been a lighthouse and an oasis for fellow trail riders.

A short day on the bike, I’ll make up for it tomorrow.

Day 3, Let the Hills Begin

Mineral, VA – Charlottesville, VA 54 miles (193 total)

Time on bike: 4:55:57

Avg: 11.6

Total Ascent: 3,084 ft (57ft/mi)

We left the town of Mineral, VA at 8am. A mile down the road Chancy forgot his gloves and had to turn back. We rode through the beautiful Virginia countryside . We passed several historic sites along the way: Ash Lawn Highland which was the home of James Monroe, the nation’s fifth president, Monticello, home of our 3^rd president, Thomas Jefferson, and Michie Tavern, an 18^th century tavern, originally located on a well traveled stagecoach route.

The cycling today was tough with us climbing over 3,000 feet in 50 miles. We stopped at a coffee shop that had free Wi-Fi internet. It was there that Chancy told me that his mother had called his cell phone to tell him that his father, who has had a history of health problems, was ill and that he should get home to be with him, so tomorrow Chancy will take the Greyhound back home and I’ll continue alone.

I was a little freaked out by this news at first. I want Chancy to do what’s right for him and his family and if his father is sick then there’s no doubt that he needs to go home, but I don’t know if I’m ready to do this alone. Chancy has been my bike mechanic and I’ve been the navigator thus far with my books, maps and GPS device. He’s been the kind of guy who is willing to go however far and eat wherever and whatever. Though we just met as we boarded the Greyhound in Indy for the first time, we’ve become fast friends on the road these past 3 days. He says that if he finds that his father stabilizes then he might re-join me on the road.

In the midst of all of this we got Chancy’s bike to a bike shop to dis-assemble it to take it on the bus. As chance would have it, a curious onlooker at the bike shop loitered and started asking us a number of questions about our bikes and where we were going. He then told us that he had traveled the TransAmerica Trail a couple of times with a number of side trips besides that. At that point I started asking him questions about his bike and his trekking. He was really, really helpful with information and tips and he also helped us take apart Chancy’s bike and even took us to the hotel where we were staying. His name was Nick and, seriously, without him I think I would really be feeling anxious and nervous about continuing alone but he kept going on about how he LOVED the trip he took across America and how incredible it was to do it alone. If you believe in angels, then Nick was my angel today. No doubt. Providing the right help and encouragement at JUST the right moment. So if you read this Nick… Thank You!

Day 2, the first century (100 miles) ride

Day 2

Charles City, VA to Mineral, VA - 98 Miles (139 total)

So much for taking it easy. We left Charles City and headed West past a number of beautiful plantations and rolling wheat covered hills. At times the fields of corn and the red barns and silos reminded me a great deal of Indiana. There were no restaurants in Charles City so we couldn’t get breakfast so we stopped at a convenience store a few miles up the road. We grabbed about $10 worth of trail mix and Gatorade. I then explained that we were riding for a cause (Bike for Compassion) and inquired as to whether he could give us a discount. “Just take it,” he told us, so we thanked him profusely and made off with our stash.

We stopped 35 miles down the road in Mechanicsville which is just north of Richmond at Panera Bread for an extended lunch which included free interneting. After 2 hours we were back on the road. We passed civil war battlefields with Union canons pointed towards the oncoming Confederate lines.

We biked and biked and biked. The hills started coming at around mile 60 and they kept coming for most of the rest of our trip today. I stopped along our route when I saw a sign that just said “honey”. I know from my running that honey is wonderful fuel for extended workouts, so I went for a squeeze bottle. A frail little old woman answered the door and took me to her garage which had wood working supplies and bottles for filling honey. “It’s not real formal around here,” she told me as she went to fetch the honey from what looked like a humongous coffee pot with a nozzle near the bottom. She filled up a bear-like squeeze bottle for me and then wouldn’t take any money from me for it. I thanked her and then noticed the her address on the label of the bottle. I’ll have to send her a post card.

We then began looking for a place to stop to refresh ourselves with a Gatorade and some snacks. The map showed a convenience store just up the raod, but when whe reached it it appeared to have been abandoned yaears ago. We continued on. A few houses lined the street, but no towns, no villages, no sign of organized civilization. The map again showed a convenience store, but again no. A third time and still nothing. We had water but in the muggy heat of the Virginia sun we were in need of more than water. Finally, over the crest of a hill, in the middle of nowhereseville, VA was a small store that said “Route 76 Mart”, meaning that it was along our bike trail. Parched, we parked our bike only to have a hefty man walking out with two sticks of pop-ice for us! How amazing! He invited us in and told us we could camp there for the night if we wished. We thanked him and ate our free snacks and guzzled some sports drinks while sitting in some cushy chairs provided with our feet on the throw rug. It was some oasis, I have to tell you.

Lastly, we circled up near Lake Anna as we closed in on our cycling day. The water looked so tempting that we had to take a short swim. The water was so warm that it felt more like bath water than a nice, refreshing lake.

Finally we arrived in Mineral to find a Firehouse that hosts cyclists with a kitchenette, TV, DVD player, laundry facilities, Air Conditioning, etc free to cyclists. It was a really nice place to stumble upon.

We’ll see how our bodies feel tomorrow after cycling 100 miles today!

And so it begins

Wednesday, June 11

Day 1

Yorktown, VA – Charles City, VA 41 miles

I woke up the morning of June 11^th in the heat of the Virginia summer. I slept outside instead of in the tent which was serving more as a sauna than anything. Chancy and I had camped out just a stones throw from the Yorktown Victory Monument. On October 19, 1781 General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington. Afterwards we ceremoniously dipped our rear tires into the mouth of the James River and started our trip.

We stopped briefly in Williamsburg to walk around and see the colonial settlement. For lunch we visited 3 restaurants before we found one willing to offer us a deal on a lunch. It was a nice restaurant with no customers. The waiter promptly told us he could give us a discount by just not ringing up one of our meals. Great! So we ordered and only paid for 1 meal. We spent most of the lunch talking to him about his career with the Air Force and about his upcoming schooling at The College of William and Mary studying English Literature. He was a nice guy and I think he was just needing some customers to mingle with.

Minor disaster struck on the way to Jamestown. I had my first flat after only 25.8 miles on the road… After a quick 10 minute tire change we were off again to visit the first settlement in the US which was settled in 1607. We had some confusion as to where to go after Jamestown and headed down the wrong road for a short spell before finally getting on the right track. It was a small, almost country road that we spent the rest of our time on. We stopped off in Charles City which is a bit of a misnomer. Despite having a courthouse and church, it has only 2 residential buildings, only 1 of which is in use. We found some people outside the church so we stopped to ask if we could stay the night there. They made some phone calls and before we knew it we had our tent up in the back. At the church that night was an AA meeting. “We’re not doing anything else,” I figured so we might as well go. I asked if it was an open meeting and they told us we were more than welcome to sit in. I’d wanted to attend an AA meeting to see what it’s like since college but have never had the courage to do so. What better time than now.

It was amazing. If you’ve never been or don’t know anything about it, it’s about letting go. About realizing that you’re powerless to control your own drinking and that God and others have to help you. It’s about wanting to make the change and putting sobriety at the highest level of importance and fighting it with every ounce of your being. It’s about confessing, very openly, your struggles and successes and failures with it. It’s about helping each other but not in a way that is pointing fingers and telling people what to do but about sharing your own life stories and struggles. It was so powerful and fresh and open. I felt like I was a part of a powerful underground society that wanted solely to shoulder one another’s burdens and realized, like only an alcoholic can, what struggles they were enduring. It was a great ending to a great first day.

Pre-Day 1

After a 22 hour, shady bus trip we made it to Williamsburg. It wasn’t so bad after those crowded Uganda bus trips. We arrived at the bus station and began assembling our bikes. Chancy got his up and ready after about 15 minutes. Mine took 2 hours. It’s a recumbent bike and I had to totally disassemble it to get it to fit in the box. Unfortunately my bike mechanic skills are moderate at best so I put the de-railer on wrong. That’s the thing that changes gears. So we headed for a bike shop first thing. Then a guy asked me right away if I was going to be traveling with THOSE tires on my bike!!?? What’s wrong with them?? I was in Africa trying to throw this thing together!! It was the best I could do! I was agonizing in the bike shop whether I had even made the right decision to do this thing. Finally we got the bikes on the road and headed to Yorktown. It was only 13 miles but it seemed like 20 for some reason. It was a beautiful, tree lined road all the way. Hot but in the shade the whole way. We arrived in Yorktown, population 200, and stopped at the first house we found to ask if we could pitch a tent in the back yard. He said that his mother was ill but he’d help us out. He walked with us down the block to the neighbor who was apparently a prominent figure in the town and friendly to boot. His name was Dan and he let us put up the tent in his back yard and explained to us a little bit of the History of Yorktown. Harvey, the first guy, gave us $20 for supper, which was super nice and we headed to a pub down the street for appetizers after a quick dip in the James river at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

“We’ve made it.” I felt like screaming. We’ve made it to the start point. Now the adventure can begin. Tomorrow we’ll dip our back tires in the Atlantic Ocean and take our picture at the famous monument her in Yorktown and head West, as the early settlers did, on our quest to bicycle across America! How cool does that sound???

Towns Along the Way

Here are a list of towns along the way of the Trans America Trail that I’ll be traveling through or near along the bike route. If you’re on the route or nearby, send me an email. I’d love to meet up with you!

Virginia
Yorktown
Williamsburg
Richmond
Charlottesville
Roanoke
Christiansburg
Wytheville
Damascus

Kentucky
Elkhorn City
Hindman
Booneville
Berea
Harrodsburg
Springfield
Bardstown
Sebree
Marion
Elizabethtown

Illinois
Goreville
Carbondale
Murphysboro
Chester

Missouri
Farmington
Centerville
West Eminence
Houston
Bendavis
Hartville
Marshfield
Fair Grove
Ash Grove
Golden City

Kansas
Pittsburg
Girard
Chanute
Benedict
Eureka
Newton
Hutchinson
Rush Center
Alexander
Scott City

Colorado
Eads
Sugar City
Pueblo
Williamsburg
Canon City
Fairplay
Silverthorne
Dillon
Heeney
Parshall
Hot Sulpher Springs
Rand
Walden

Wyoming
Riverside
Saratoga
Sinclair
Rawlins
Jeffrey City
Lander
Dubois
Moran Junction
Colter Bay Village
(Yellowstone National Park)
Madison

Montana
West Yellowstone
Ennis
Sheridan
Wisdom
Darby
Hamilton
Stevensville
Missoula
Lolo

Idaho
Lowell
Kooskia
Grangeville
Council

Oregon
Oxbow
Halfway (Half.com, OR …no, seriously. It’s true)
Baker City
John Day
Prineville
Redmond
Sisters
Nimrod
Eugene (Largest city along the route. Population 140,000)
Harrisburg
Corvallis
Monmouth
Salem
Tillamook
Astoria

Plus there will probably be an additional trip up the coast of Washington to Vancouver.

Ladies & Gentlemen, Start your Bikes

Well, it’s been some time since I’ve posted, but it’s soon to happen. My bags are packed and on Monday I’ll get on a Greyhound bus headed for Williamsburg, VA to begin the bicycle trip across the country. I’ll begin cycling on Wednesday, June 11^th from Yorktown. I expect it’ll be slow going in the beginning as I get used to the cycling plus there are a number of historic sites in the first few miles: Williamsburg, Jamestown, Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson).

I will be traveling with another cyclist. Chancy is a student at Indiana State and he contacted me several months ago telling me that he was interested in making the trip. “Sounds good to me,” I told him, not wanting to cycle alone. We’ll meet for the first time when we board the Greyhound bus in Indy.

The route I’ll be taking is the Transamerica Trail which is a series of highways marked out specifically for cyclists wishing to travel across the country. It begins in Virginia and ends in Oregon. The entire trip should take 6-7 weeks and is over 4,000 miles. We’ll be sleeping in tents and asking for restaurants and grocery stores to donate food which will reduce the costs of the trip which will enable more money to be sent to the Compassion International building project. For more information about the building project see the first post to the blog.

I will be taking my laptop along the trip and will be blogging the trip whenever the opportunity presents itself. Please feel free to check in and check it out. There will also be a lot of downtime I suspect so also feel free to send me an email. Below I’ve listed the equipment I’ll be traveling with.

Cycling Gear Shimano SH-M035 Cycling Shoes shoe covers Shimano Cleats Bike Pedals w/ clips 1 can Halt! 2.5 L hydration system bicycle helmet (w/ plastic visor) sunglasses w/ Rx insert Planet Bike Dual Spot LED/halogen headlight Lightweight lock Adventure Cycling Association Maps Light colored Backpack Reflective Tape Handlebar Rearview Mirror Red LED tail light on bicycle and trailer Camping Tent - Eureka! Zeus EXO 3 Ground cloth for under tent (tarp) Sleeping Bag Sleeping Pad 50' length of parachute cord LED Headlight Pillow Shovel Cooking/Food Lightweight nylon bag for food Stove - MSR SuperFly stove w/ AutoStart ignitor - 5.1 oz 2 canisters isobutane for stove at a time MSR Blacklite cookset lexan bowl, cup, utensils Salt/pepepr shaker Scotch Brite scrub pad 5 Gallon water container egg holder cutting board Clothing 3 pair Coolmax Alta shorts with liners 1 pair lightweight nylon shorts/pants (zip off shorts) 1 pair long cycling tights 3 short sleeve Coolmax Alta shirts long sleeve Coolmax heavy weight cycling jersey Gloves Flip Flops microfiber fleece vest rain jacket and pants 4 pair Coolmax socks (3 short, 1 long) (Wal-Mart) 3 pair synthetic underwear (Campmor) arm warmers baseball hat Bandana First Aid/Personal Care First aid kid (Liquid Skin, Neosporin, Band-Aids, ACE Bandage, non-stick gauze pads, kling gauze, safety pins, matches, Tylenol, Benadryl, Sudafed, etc) Aquis pack towel (hand towel size) Lip Balm Sun Screen Toilet Paper Foot powder Moisturizer Camp Soap Bug Spray Deodrant Maintenance 3 - 20" spokes Kevlar emergency spoke 4 - 20" tubes (bike) 16" tube (trailer) 2 tube repair kits 4 - Continental Top Touring 20" tire (for bike) 16" Primo Comet tire (for trailer) pump w/ built in pressure gauge 2 spare chain links Crank Brothers 19 Multitool 2 tire levers chain lubricant Duct tape (15' wrapped around a pen barrel) zip ties bicycle bell Misc Leatherman Micra (small pocket knife) Credit card/debit card/checks/drivers license/passport Technology Laptop Computer GPS Garmin Vista Digital camera Cateye Enduro 8 (Bicycle Computer) 8 Energizer Rechargable AA batteries & charger Books Long Distance Cycling by Edmund R Burke and Ed Pavelka Bicycling Coast to Coast by Donna Lynn Ikenberry Bike Rans Rocket Recumbent Bicycle BOB Trailer