Day Seven - One Week Done

Well... As we look out the motel windows, the rain has stopped, and the skies appear clear. It's cold. It's 39 degrees F. After we consider we have started out on mornings with temps of 29F and 30F, we tell ourselves we can't use that as an excuse to wait things out. We came to ride bicycles, and so we decide to ride bicycles.

We left the Hampton Inn at 8:30h, and because hwy 100 that we have been following, joins onto Interstate 81, which we are not allowed on, we backtrack 2 miles (3k) to get onto hwy 11. Hwy 11 takes us into and through Pulaski, VA, over Draper mountain, and back to hwy 100 one exit from where it joined I-81. We follow hwy 100 to it's end and turn right onto hwy 221 for just 2 miles (1.5k) into Hillsville, VA. We stopped here for a break and drink.

From here we take hwy 52 to Fancy Gap, Va. It's only 8 miles (12k), but this is when the weather changed.

We had either very hard snow or else it was hail. It actually hurt our faces upon hitting it. We just kept turning the pedals. Once in Fancy Gap, I actually removed my coat and threw it in the van. Dale wasn't sure that was smart and Dave and Paul were long gone ahead.

Leaving Fancy Gap on hwy 52 is a downhill run of about 4 miles (6k). Dale said I should go, and with cold temps and wet roads, I went. Dale said he never saw me again on the hill till well past the bottom. I hit a speed of 48 miles (75.4k) per hour on the downhill. The snow also stopped about half way down and at the bottom the tempurature was up about 8 degrees F.

We all met up again at the North Carolina border where Becky was waiting for us.

We rode for seven miles into Mount Airy, N.C., and turn onto hwy 601. We go just a mile or so and took a motel at the Quality Inn. We were here by 15:30h (3:30 p.m.). This is a nice early day.

After a Golden Corral dinner and a trip to Walmart, we call it an early night. Tomorrow could be a 100+ miles (160k+) day.

Today I rode 94.4k in 5h 9m for an average of 18.3k/h (11 m/h).

Our next day

Previous day

Go home

Contact Harvey Gordon

So... What do you think?

Share it!

[ ? ]

Upload 1 or 2 Pictures or Graphics (optional)[ ? ]

 

Click here to upload more images (optional)

Author Information (optional)

To receive credit as the author, enter your information below.

(first or full name)

(e.g., City, State, Country)

Submit Your Contribution

  •  submission guidelines.


(You can preview and edit on the next page)

What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Snow? Not rated yet
Hello gentlemen... Well, I sure hope you are leaving the bad weather behind. I was having visions of the four of you doing snow angels on the side of …

Fancy Gap hill Not rated yet
Hi Harvey; Isn't Fancy Gap the hill you cruised down a few years ago and passed a car on the shoulder? Now you do it with snow falling! There is no …

Click here to write your own.

Share this page:
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.