Day 12.. The Grind...AKA The Blue Ridge Mountains! Ridin' to the sky!

Climbing up Blue Ridge!

Finally, the sun came out today! I woke up feeling sore and a bit apprehensive about what was ahead of us today...miles and miles of climbing UP The Blue Ridge Mountains. After a cup of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal, we hit the road. Slow and steady was our mantra today...and that's exactly what we did!

It took about 30 minutes of riding to warm up...which is how long it took us to get from the camp ground to the base of the mountains. Shift, shift, shift....big chain to small chain, shift, shift, shift. As any cyclist knows, sometimes the most tragic moment when riding up a steep climb is when you try to shift but find out that you are already in the easiest gear!

We climbed up about 5 miles to Skyline drive and began our journey mostly up (and sometimes down and across) The Blue Ridge Parkway for another 30 miles. 5,700 feet of climbing en total today. Shock to the system, although at least we had some "warm-up" hills in NJ and PA last week. After 35 miles of climbing and 5 miles of fast descent, we exited the Parkway and scooped down into the quaint town of Vesuvius, VA. We stumbled upon a great spot for lunch called Gertie's Country Store. What a cool place! Full of friendly people, including some cowboys, and good 'ol fashioned cookin'.

Gertie's

We filled our bellies and spent the next 20 post-prandial miles soft pedaling down South River Road and into Lexington, VA, home to two wonderful Universities (VMI + Washington+Lee).

Cruisin' down S. River Rd.
Along the railway

The sun shone on us all day and, although quite cool on top of the mountain, we were fully warmed up by the time we pulled up to the RV, 60 miles and 5+ hrs later. A good stretch in the warm sun (thanks Kev + Jim) followed by a hot shower and a yummy meal (thanks Chip!). Good night!