Friday, March 22, 2024

Winter In the Desert



Hello again, my friends!


Arizona Sunset

I have not done an update for a few months while I've been parked in my RV trailer in the desert of So. California. This has been a busy and unusual time for me.

My last post was the end of my 'Sufferfest' Moto-Myrtle USA Trike Tour. The tour ended in June but getting the blog and YouTube videos finished took many months more. I really enjoy documenting my travels. I find the process rewarding and going back over the trip is a good exercise. My biggest takeaway is I'm not sure how I got as far as I did on that tour. The tour was, for sure, the most difficult I have ever done. Without the support of friends and followers, I probably would have given up somewhere along Route 66. Y'all helped me keep my sense of humor! 

After the tour, I got in my RV and drove around the west coast. I went to the Recumbent Retreat in September which is my favorite event of the year. This was the 25th Annual and my 20th year attending. From there, I drove to Ohio for Cycle Con. Many bike dealers called to ask me to attend. I didn't want to go because Cycle Con was scheduled for the weekend after the retreat - in Ohio. Then, one dealer had me on the phone for an hour asking me to go. He wore me down. I ended up leaving the retreat 2 days early to drive 2500 miles in 5 days. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was capable of driving so far for so many days in a row. I was exhausted when I arrived but I made it.

The very 1st morning, I slipped down the stairs of my RV trailer and landed hard on my butt. My right butt muscles were in spasm for almost a week. Luckily, I didn't break anything but the muscles were so painful that I couldn't get into my truck and I ended up staying at the fairgrounds camped for many days after the show.  This was an ominous start to my experience at Cycle Con.

Test Track




Fat trikes

I really enjoy meeting cycling/triking people. Regular people who ride are much more interesting than industry folk. I had lots of enthusiastic interactions with followers of my Facebook page and YouTube channel. The recumbent community has always been very warm, welcoming, and supportive. This is a very special and generous group of people. I have learned there is a big difference between the community and the industry. The industry people don't show interest in the people who ride and actually use the products. 

The Cycle Con show only had 28 booths and, over the years, I have met most of the dealers, vendors, and manufacturers that presented products. It's not a lot of people. The space for the show was much too small and trying to talk to anyone was awkward. No matter where I went, I felt like I was in the way. 

The manufacturers of trikes and bikes all had products to test. Getting everyone set up and then through the overly crowded aisles to the test track outside was difficult.  Personally, I don't have anything to sell or an agenda to promote and just floated around taking pictures. I'm invited as a value-added person and only because I have a following. No one from the industry included me in anything or invited me to have drinks or go to dinner or do anything social.  And then, an industry person told me about the Cycle Con film festival. This person was excited that Geoff Adams had submitted his very clever YouTube video. (It's well worth watching and here is a link if you haven't seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJZ0VrfDKqo.) The thing is, I didn't know anything about the 'film festival' and learned people primarily entered their YouTube videos. How could I not know about this? How could I not be included? For heaven's sake, I have a YouTube channel dedicated to trike riding. My videos are only about trikes, touring with occasional tutorials and gear reviews. I don't talk about my personal life, or current events or give my opinion about politics. Why didn't anyone think of me? Even though I'm one of the most recognizable people in the world of recumbents, recumbent industry people simply don't think of me.

I learned that the only interest the industry has in me is for my followers. No one in the industry follows my tours or watches my videos. I made a nice video with fun music of the Cycle Con event (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdBbRb8vv34) and no one from the industry commented or even acknowledged it. Undoubtedly, because no one from the industry watched it. Are there so many people making videos for recumbent events? This dismissiveness is something that I have felt before but it was never made so clear as it was at this Cycle Con. What surprises me is I know my videos are bringing customers into the shops. I know because the customers tell me. People write to me to say thanks for the videos. They write with excitement that they went to a shop and bought a trike. Often, they are turning to trikes because they can't ride an upright bike anymore.  Maybe it's a bad back or a balance issue but buying a trike gave them back something they thought they had lost forever. These stories are heartfelt and I love reading them. 

Speaking of stories, why wasn't the industry interested in the tour I did across the US? A 64-year-old woman riding a trike with e-assist solo over 3,000 miles across the US. How could this not be interesting to them? And, I wasn't the only person who rode a trike across the US or on a big tour. One woman, Marianne Phillips, did her 7th tour across the US last summer. She is in her 70's and doesn't use e-assist on her trike. What about Brenda and Michael Castle? They rode Catrikes with e-assist from North Carolina to Montana raising money for veterans. (They documented their tour on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/333756505365791) Is this so many people to keep track of? Why aren't these stories interesting? The only person who got very minimal recumbent industry attention was Englishman John Hodkin. His posts were hilarious. Jon rode an unassisted ICE trike up the Mississippi River trail pulling a trailer carrying his tuba. He did concerts all along the way. The music community was a big help to Jon and very active throughout his journey. Gary Solomon, of the LaidBack Bike Report did a short segment on his show. Pat Franz, who retired from T-Cycle, also designed and built the trailer Jon used delivering it to him in Louisiana.  (Here is a link to his website: https://innertuba.org.uk/) As far as I know, these were the only people who did long-distance, multi-month tours. Why isn't the industry excited about these achievements? Why doesn't the industry promote these rides? Why don't they want to highlight what trikes and people in an older demographic are capable of? Does the industry have any interest in the people who actually use their products? I don't think so and that is truly a shame and a missed opportunity to connect with a wider audience.

At Cycle Con, I also had a couple of bike dealers who wanted to talk to me about sponsorship. I blew them off. At the time, I didn't understand why these guys annoyed me. At the very least, they would offer me a bit of money, parts, and probably repairs to my trike. We can all use extra money, right? The thing is, none of them are interested in me and they are not interested in what I do. Not even a little bit. They are only interested in getting their manufacturer/dealer/vendor name in front of my followers. It's understandable but, I put a lot of work into keeping my blog and YouTube videos updated. I've been documenting my trike life since 2007. I know these videos and blog posts are helping to sell trikes and accessories and I love that they are impactful. My idea when I started was to offer a place for people to come for reliable information and show what is possible as an older woman. I just wish the industry people would acknowledge it and promote those riders who are showing how the products are used. 

I did have a sponsor for my ride across the US. HP Velotechnik generously gave me a new frame and Bent Up Cycles, especially Raina, did a great job transferring everything from the 12-year-old frame to the new one. It was a big job. I put their name on 80 YouTube videos. They, just like everyone else, showed no interest in the tour or my channel. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future but, as of now, I've decided I won't do sponsorship anymore. The payoff just isn't worth it. 

You may have noticed that I haven't been doing YouTube videos recently. My experience at Cycle Con was so deeply humiliating that I've needed a long break to assess what it all means and think about what I want going forward. It's been painful to learn how little my work is worth to the people who are benefitting the most.


New Mexico Trikers

Jo and BJ in Colorado


After Cycle Con, I did a few very fun rides with the Impromptu Riders of Ohio. I also did some lovely rides with local riders in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. There was also a trike festival near Palm Springs put on by Tri-A-Bike which was a much bigger event than expected. I'll be doing videos of those rides soon enough. 1st, I really wanted to vent and get this all off my chest before I start traveling again. 



Charlie in Colorado



Iowa Trestle


I ate well in Dayton



Impromptu Trikers


Over the winter, I have been parked in the desert of SoCal behind the church of my friend, Joni. I've been taking care of all kinds of surprisingly time-consuming projects. I switched my residency to South Dakota. As you know, I live full-time in my RV. South Dakota only requires one night every 5 years to be in the state for valid residency. There also isn't any income tax. I set up a mailbox and worked with a very nice woman who, unfortunately, was completely incompetent. This process took months. The very last thing I needed was the tags and plates for my truck and trailer. Finally, they arrived to where I'm staying - with my name misspelled on the titles. Ugh!

I also turned 65 and got onto Medicare. I went through a broker who helped me pick out a supplemental plan I can use while traveling in my RV. This all went smoothly. What hasn't been so easy is to find a primary care physician who takes Medicare and has appointment openings while I'm in the area. I mostly got all the appointments done. This is the 1st time in 15 years that I have health insurance. Now I have the scans, tests, and labwork to give me peace of mind that I am, indeed, very healthy. 

My time in Southern California is coming to an end. From here, I'll be heading to Tucson to meet up with my friends Dave and Edna. We are going to caravan together to Texas to watch the eclipse on April 8th. I've got a ton of video to go through. I'll be getting to those sooner than later with lots more updates to come.

Thanks for following along and letting me vent! I'd love to know what you think. Please, if you can, leave a comment. 








Monday, January 01, 2024

Last 5 rides of the Moto-Myrtle USA Trike Tour

 



Garmin Stats and Maps




Getting packed at Love Ridge campground

Last bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway


There were several reasons I was excited to be on the Trans America Bike Route. I had actually been looking forward to being on this route from the time I decided to do the Moto-Myrtle USA trike tour. Doing the Trans Am was a big bucket list item for me. Since this would be the turnaround point, getting on this route meant I would be heading west, heading home. The Trans America is probably the oldest and most popular cycling route across the US. I expected to see many more cyclists than I had seen up to this point, especially since I was getting to the trail at the start of the summer riding season. Using the Adventure Cycling maps meant that anything I needed would be available and listed in an easy-to-find format. Since this route is so well-used, I expected the Trans Am to be safe offering plenty of room for cars and bikes/trikes to pass without worry.

After 6 rides on the Trans Am, my 2 biggest worries were the narrow, unsafe roads and the smoky air from the fires burning in Alberta, Canada. It is hard to imagine how so much smoke could travel so far. The smoke has gotten thicker the last few days even after windy days. I was hoping the wind would blow the air clear. Instead, I think more smoke was blown in. I can feel the smoke in my throat and my eyes are burning. At the end of every ride, I feel like I've been crying all day from my eyes tearing up. The scenery is stunningly beautiful in Virginia but the roads are very narrow with no shoulder - at all. The roads twist and turn up and down with lots of climbing. Many of the turns are on blind corners that drivers don't slow down for. The stress of being extra vigilant watching the traffic is very tiring. I've done a lot of touring and have never been on an actual bike route that feels so dangerous. The roads were probably much quieter when the Trans Am was designed in 1976. What were quiet country roads in 1976 have become too busy for biking. I have read many journals for this route and this is an aspect that no one really talks about.  Perhaps, like me, everyone is trusting the Adventure Cycling Association to offer the safest routes. Every day, I keep thinking the roads I've been on are anomalies and today will be safer, and then, every day, I am seeing the route only become busier with auto traffic. I am losing my sense of humor and running out of excuses for continuing this ride.


Lovely scenery

Bucolic setting

The ride from the Love Ridge campground continued to follow the Blue Ridge Parkway. Coming off the Parkway is one of the steepest hills on the Trans Am Bike Route. Everyone remembers riding the Vesuvius hill. Going east to west, this is a crazy scary descent of 4,000 ft with lots of hairpin turns. I could smell the brakes of passing cars which gave me the idea to pull over to let my brake disc rotors cool. This is something that takes some thought. You need to pull over in a flat area. The brake rotors are so hot they need to cool without the brake pads engaged. The rotors will bend if the brakes are engaged. I actually pulled over twice on this descent. 

Once at the bottom, in the town of Vesuvius, a man stopped me to tell a story about a guy driving a Ford Explorer who let his brakes overheat. The car caught fire igniting the hillside. The fire burned so hot that his car melted. Impressive!

From here I traveled roads along a creek into the town of Lexington. I found a hotel where I checked in for 3 nights to wait out a big rainstorm passing through. Hopefully, the rains will help improve the air quality.


Day 62 Ride Video

Myrtle resting at a hotel

On the 4th day, the weather forecast wasn't great but there also wasn't supposed to be any more rain. Leaving Lexington, I made a terrible mistake misreading the map. I turned the wrong way on a busy one-way road. Luckily, the car coming towards me saw what was happening and stopped. I ended up flipping the trike just as I came onto the car. My feet came out of my shoes and all the contents of my side seat mount bag were strewn all over the road. Remarkably, the only damage to the trike was a broken flag pole. When I flipped the trike, the left handlebars went into my ribs which was quite painful. My left ribs were bruised but not broken. Many of the car drivers stopped to help me. The police were called and they couldn't have been nicer. Their only concern was for my safety and well-being. They helped me get the trike and trailer onto the sidewalk. One officer also figured out how to attach the broken flag pole back on the rear rack with duct tape and a couple of zip ties. There was no damage to the trike or trailer and I was able to ride on.


Very nice officers

Scuffed Rohloff gear shifter

Frayed flag pole

The ride to Troutville was very hilly and I could feel my ribs as I huffed and puffed up every climb. A few miles before getting to the community park, the rains started. Troutville is a town that is on the Trans Am and the Appalachian Trail. They allow camping to both groups. I was the only person camping tonight. Just as I got under a park shelter, a big powerful cell really let loose. Oh my goodness, did it pour and pour and pour. I was grateful to be under a shelter for the night. There was water, electricity and a shower trailer. This was something new for me. The shower trailer had anything anyone could need. Soap, razors, shampoo, foot care bandages, toothbrushes, towels, and a really hot water shower. They even had a box of free clothes. This was very generous and unusual.


Day 63 Ride Video

There were also train tracks 50 ft from the shelter. Luckily, the last train went by at 8 pm and I had a quiet night's sleep. In the morning, I was relieved that my ribs weren't more sore than they were yesterday. I could tell this event was having an effect on me psychologically and I tried to laugh it off. I just couldn't believe I had made such a careless error and this had me second-guessing my judgment.


Great sense of humor

welcoming sign


The ride to Christiansburg had a good deal of climbing which tested my rib soreness. Even though there had been lots of rain the day before, the air quality was still poor with smoky haze. Coughing with sore ribs is no fun. Using my ACA maps, I followed the route to a recommended motel. This motel was scary-looking. It was old and run down with sketchy people sitting outside their rooms. The doors to the rooms were not wide enough to get my trike through. I asked a man if he could help me and he couldn't. Maybe he was too high. The thing about getting help carrying the trike into a hotel room is I would also need help in the morning getting it back out. This place didn't feel safe and I pushed on riding back into downtown Christiansburg. This added another 6 miles to my ride for the day but I found a normal Econolodge hotel where I checked in for 2 nights.


20 Anniversary sign for bike route 76

Abandoned auto repair

Day 64 Ride Video

I really could have stayed another night. I didn't feel super rested even though I didn't do anything for 2 days. Sometimes, I try to stay too positive and push myself when I really should have stayed put to rest more. It's hard not to ride when the weather is good. I had a few miles to get out of Christiansburg and back on the Trans Am bike route. Again today, there were lots of hills. The scenery was beautiful and even though I was enjoying the ride, I could also feel that I was still spooked by my close call when I flipped the trike. My ribs were still quite sore but there wasn't anything I could do about it. I got lost a couple of times when I couldn't get Google Maps to agree with the ACA digital map I had on my phone. After all these years of touring, I still have a terrible sense of direction. Today I ended up climbing two very steep mountain roads expecting to find a shortcut. There wasn't one. Just a lot of extra riding - oh my! I found my way to Max Meadows to camp at a private RV park. The tent sites were $15 and separate from the RV campers along a beautiful creek. The sites didn't have water or electricity but there was a covered gazebo that had outlets. I decided to set up my tent there to make charging my batteries and gadgets more convenient.  At one point, I needed to find the bathroom. I was walking around and around and couldn't find it. I knew I was in trouble emotionally when I started to cry about it. This was a clear sign that I was exhausted. 


Day 65 - Ride Video

I have toured all over the world and done a lot of tent camping. All my gear is excellent and as comfortable as it can be. Somehow, I have never been comfortable tent camping no matter what I do. The tent is so thin and I always feel vulnerable. I rarely sleep well even though I was probably in my sleeping bag by 7 pm in the evening. I always think that I'll get used to tent camping and I never have. Maybe if I had other people to tour with I would feel safer. I'm always staying at campgrounds but, still, I don't feel safe.


Hay drying in the field

Scenic country road

There was a huge 14% grade hill to get back on the road leaving the Pioneer Family campground. The route was beautiful but the road was busier than I was hoping and I didn't feel safe. This made me quite emotional. It's been a lonely ride on the Trans Am where the road has become a monster. I felt like something terrible could happen at any moment. I had completely lost my sense of humor. The sore ribs, sore throat and burning eyes from smoke-filled skies also wasn't helping how I felt. At about the halfway point for the day, I was feeling like giving up on the ride but decided to continue. Maybe something would happen to change how I was feeling. 


Fur trappin

Cows going home


All through my ride across the country I have had friends keep in close contact. My friend Joni at the church near Palm Springs has been a constant companion as well as Ron and Cindra in Dayton, Ohio. Ron and Cindra had been very concerned about me over the last week. They were not happy about how narrow the roads are and, every day, they called to ask if I needed them to come pick me up. If they hadn't been so insistent, I probably would have blown off their offer but, instead, today I called them to say 'yes', I needed them to come pick me up.  The narrowness of the roads had taken its toll on me and it was time to be honest about the situation. I could hardly believe it when they said they would come the next day, from Dayton, Ohio. I was very near the Appalachian trail town of Rural Retreat and found a hiker's motel. This motel was next to a highway which would make finding me easier for Ron and Cindra.


Rural Retreat, end of the tour

Appalachian trail blaze

Ron and Cindra arrive with a trailer

Being rescued is fun!

Day 66 - End of the Tour Video

I called my friend Joni to explain the situation and, incredibly, she said, no problem, I'll come get you. She started driving my truck from Palm Springs the next day. Ron and Cindra found me in Rural Retreat, VA arriving before noon the next day. Once we knew when Joni could make it to Illinois, Ron and Cindra decided to drive me, Myrtle, and the trailer to meet her from Dayton, Ohio. This was a huge help and would save Joni 2 days of driving. I couldn't believe how fast everything happened. When I thought about stopping my ride, I expected to rent a truck to get back to Southern California. Being rescued is a lot more fun.

With Joni, on Route 66

Blue Whale of Catoosa, Oklahoma

Even though I didn't finish the 7,000-mile tour I had planned I felt good having done the riding I did. This has been an amazing experience. Touring by trike is a wonderful way to travel. Much of the tour was in really terrible weather conditions and I think the ride will always be affectionately known as the 'Sufferfest Tour'.

The thing that has made the tour worth all the suffering was the wonderful people I met along the way. The triking community has been fantastic. Trikers all over the country have been warm, inviting, and generous. So many trikers opened their home to me. I loved meeting everyone. Andy O'Neil, a triker in Missouri, design a website for me with a map to show my YouTube videos, contact form, miles and climbing accomplished. He also put together a donation page where many of you donated to the tour. With the terrible weather, these donations made the tour affordable. The most common donation was $100 which was, for me, a huge amount of money. I want to thank everyone who offered support, encouragement, information, hosted me, rode with me as well as all those who followed along. I will always remember your kindness.

I ended up doing just over 3,000 miles with 100,000 ft of climbing. 

Until the next tour, keep on trikin!








 


Sunday, December 31, 2023

Fredericksburg to Love, VA

 



Garmin Stats and Maps



Getting on the TransAm

Myrtle says 'C'mon, let's go!'


I continued on the Atlantic Bike Route 1 south for about 30 miles. The roads were very nice and smooth with little traffic. Yesterday, I had a section with a lot of traffic and there really wasn't enough room on the road so this was a big improvement. There was also no wind and temperatures got up to the high 70's. I had lots of climbing today. Many of the hills were 8-10% grades. The riding was constantly up or down. 

Weathered barn

Historic markers

Today was a big day for me on this tour. I got on the Trans America Bike Route 76.  This would be the turnaround point and from now on I would be heading west. Heading home. Today may have been one my biggest mileage days as well. I did 68 miles with about 3,000 ft of climbing. 

Day 57 Ride Video

The TransAm is the most popular cross-country bike route. It is also the oldest bonafide route. The TransAm was designed by the Adventure Cycling Association for the bicentennial in 1976. A few hundred riders made the inaugural ride. There were a few groups. Some rode west to east and others east to west. The route is designed to ride west to east to take advantage of the prevailing winds.

Pavillion at Mineral Firehouse

Tent setup without fly

Mineral Firehouse

Because the route is so well established there are lots of services. Many parks, community centers and churches are open to cyclists. Tonight I was staying at a firehouse in Mineral that has a big field with a covered pavilion for cycists to use. There is no fee to stay at these places. When I arrived, another cyclist was there with his tent already set up in the grass. This tourer was from Switzerland and had started in Yorktown to do the TransAm east to west. This was the 1st touring cyclist I had seen in a long time. Seeing more cyclists was something I had looked forward to when getting on the TransAm.

There are huge fires in Alberta Canada that have been burning for many weeks already. The smoke from these fires is noticeable in the air. The skies are hazy and I can feel irritants in my throat and eyes. Not good.

Bridge is out!

I have both the digital and paper maps for the Trans Am bike route. The paper maps are from 2019 but I expected the digital maps to be updated more frequently, especially with road closures. Today, I came across a bridge being replaced and had to find a detour. This was in an area with big lamb farms and I knocked at a farmer's door to get information. The farmer cheerfully gave me clear directions and I was on my way. This detour probably added 6 miles to my planned route. Luckily, I had an easy day. The roads today were very smooth and quiet. The ride was a joy.

Day 58 Ride Video

I had a funny thing happen when I came to a place called Kent's Store. It's the actual name of the town and I thought I going to see a market. The only thing in Kent's Store is a post office. Very funny!


Palmyra Methodist Church


I made my way to the Palmyra Methodist church. No one was there when I arrived. There was a phone number for the pastor who explained where the key is to let myself in. The church has a kitchen, bathroom and separate room for cyclists. I put my sleeping pad and bag on the floor and made myself comfortable. No one else showed up.

Sleeping pad set up on the floor

Myrtle and trailer settled in the front room

The next day's ride was very historic. I went passed James Monroe's Highland House as well as Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. The area was very upscale with lots of manicured lawns and horse farms. Unfortunately, I couldn't go into either house because it isn't safe to leave my stuff unattended. These tourist attractions are well known for professional thieves. People see the beautiful estates and are lulled into a false sense of security letting their guard down. Hopefully, I can return with my truck and rv trailer to visit these wonderful historic homes.

Which way?

Hotel room in Charlottesville

The traffic really picked up coming into the university town of Charlottesville. There were no campgrounds and I made my way to a hotel.

Day 59 Ride Video

The scenery so far in Virginia has been very beautiful. The roads are in good shape but there are no shoulders. I am constantly checking my rearview mirror to see if traffic is coming up behind me. I've only had a few people express annoyance at my being on the road but many drivers pass on blind corners which makes me very nervous. Occasionally on these blind corners, cars coming toward me are just about run off the road. Many times it seemed impossible that the cars didn't crash but, somehow, they never did. I really wish people would drive more safely. I'm very surprised that the bike route is on such narrow roads that feel unsafe.

The next day was overcast with lots of smoke haze from the Canadian fires burning. The winds are stronger today and I was hoping it might blow the smoke out. There also lots of 10-14% grade hills. Up and down all day long on very narrow country roads. 

Cookie Lady's House

aka Afton Bike House

I made my way to Afton and the Cookie Lady's house. June Currie was one of the 1st people to take care of cyclists on the Trans Am bike route back in 1976. She started out offering a hose for water and freshly baked cookies. After a few years, she actually opened her home for cyclists to stay. She died many years ago but her daughter has kept the house open. I called to make sure I could stay and Nicole said there are 7 couches and to just pick one to sleep on. The Cookie Lady's house is on a very steep road that leads to the Blue Ridge Parkway. After a lot of huffing and puffing, I was happy to stop for the night. 

So much stuff

Floor, ceiling and walls

Even bikes on display

Again, I was the only cyclist at this stop. The house is chocked full of memorabilia. There must be hundreds of postcards cyclists have sent to the house after finishing their ride. There are tire tubes, bike parts, stickers, and flags from all over the world as well as sweaty and stinky socks, shorts, bandanas, and shirts. Once I had a look at all the 'stuff', I started to see that the house wasn't just dirty, it was filthy. It hadn't been cleaned in probably years. The couches were more than well-used. I found a broom and dustpan to sweep out the front room of spider webs and dirt balls. I also spent some time cleaning the kitchen and bathroom. I cleaned enough to put down my sleeping pad. There was no way I was going to sleep on any of the disgustingly dirty couches.

Day 60 Ride Video

The Cookie Lady's House is probably the most famous stop on the Trans America Bike Route. I was sad to see it in such poor condition. I wish Adventure Cycling could buy the house and turn it into a biking history museum. 

Getting on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Myrtle is ready for climbing


The next day, I continued climbing up the steep hill. Within a few miles, I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is also a well-known biking road. There is no commercial traffic allowed. Today was the Friday before Memorial Day and I wanted to be at my destination before the road was crowded with RVs pulling trailers. 

Day 61 Ride Video

The ride was gorgeous with lots of climbing. The road goes along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains with views looking down on the lush Shenandoah Valley. The road was beautiful but there was also lots of smoke haze obscuring the views. 

Tonight, I was camping at a brand new campground in Love, VA. I was probably the 1st camper on my site. The Love Ridge campground asked $60 to set up a tent in a site with no electricity or water. They did have a very nice bath and kitchen house. Everything was brand new and sparklingly clean. Unfortunately, even though the site was smooth surrounded by beautiful woods, it wasn't level which I find very annoying.