Day 8: Helpful Thomas & Heat Exhaustion: Christianburg,VA to Wytheville,VA

57 miles (92 km) – Total so far: 464 miles (747 km)
The plan today was for solid mileage and a moderate recovery from yesterday’s 80+ mile hilly bonanza. The reality was that the accumulated fatigue really hit me hard. I had a good ride up until the last 20 miles, but my body has demanded a rest day and so tomorrow a rest day it shall have.Appalachian Virginia was cool temperatures and ethereal mists this morning. There was a fragile beauty to the scenery as I coasted by. The farmhouses and businesses had a feel of something between rural and suburban. Sort of a cosmopolitan rurality, if you will. And if you won’t, than perhaps I’ll just say the country folk round here watch a lot of HGTV. In support of this absurd argument, I present Snow White on the front lawn:

Sunrise in Appalachia
Sunrise in Appalachia

Snow White on the front lawn
Snow White on the front lawn

I continued along the New River. This river captures much of the water from the mountain basin I’ve been riding through for the last 100 miles or so, and the river is impressively wide given how early in its meandering I witnessed it.

The New River just outside of Radford, VA
The New River just outside of Radford, VA

Frequent steep hills on a gradually increasing incline tired me greatly… perhaps too much relative to some of my prior climbs. Eventually I ended up in Draper, VA at the Junction Bike Shop which is attached to the Draper Mercantile Exchange. The owner, Thomas, has in just two short years of opening his shop become something of a fixture on the TransAm trail. He regularly inspects cross country biker’s rigs and gives advice and expertise on the setup. His advice to me proved prophetic. He told me that on his TransAm trip in 2012 he got very fatigued and the low mileage days weren’t refreshing him. However, a full day off the bike completely recharged his batteries. He strongly advised me to take a rest day soon. In addition to his sound advice about personal care he inspected my cables and brakes and adjusted the latter. No charge, just being helpful.

Junction Bike Shop with proprietor Thomas Hash, the nicest guy on the TransAm.
Junction Bike Shop with proprietor Thomas Hash, the nicest guy on the TransAm.

The next 20 miles were an incarnation of evil itself. I’ve never been so exhausted in my life. It took almost four hours in the blazing sun to reach the town of Wytheville, VA. Long inclines and an unforgiving sun further sapped my strength. Running on fumes, I rolled up to a B&B that looked promising for a two day rest. The owner took one look at my sweaty biker appearance and promptly told me they were all booked up, contrary to their website information. A quick google search directed me to Comfort Inn suites, just UP the road. *sigh*

Fortunately, on my way up I met Phil and Linda, who are also traveling across the country. The three of us worked our way up to Comfort Suites with no small amount of grumbling and cursing the fracking hills. We were *very* tired. After some negotiation about where to store the bikes, I took a brief respite (i.e. I completely passed out for an hour).

Phil & Linda from Pennsylvania
Phil & Linda from Pennsylvania

Our next task was dinner. I had heard a lot from the cyclist grapevine about 1776 restaurant so we gave it a try. Oh Lord of all that is holy… fresh vegetables and an IPA on draft. I’m tearing up as I type just thinking about it. It has been extraordinarily hard to find vegetables in the last 8 days of the trip. I’m so happy to have filled my belly with well prepared fresh foods. And a bitter IPA. Not as bitter as my current regard for steep inclines, but bitter nonetheless. Let’s call it, ‘as bitter as the tears of my enemies’.

The 1776 Restaurant
The 1776 Restaurant

Vegetables, Beer and a succulent pork tenderloin at 1776 restaurant.
Vegetables, Beer and a succulent pork tenderloin at 1776 restaurant.
At this point, I”m totally tapped out.  I’ll see you all on the other side of tomorrow’s rest day.
 

Published by Mike Evans

Founder of Fixer.com. Founded GrubHub in 2004. Rode my bike across the US. Wrote a sci-fi novel.

3 thoughts on “Day 8: Helpful Thomas & Heat Exhaustion: Christianburg,VA to Wytheville,VA

  1. Sleep well. Put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, and sleep the day away. Arise only to eat and restore your glycogen.

    The general public doesn’t understand that a cyclist spends almost all his time climbing, since there’s a 10:1 ratio of downhill speed to uphill speed.

  2. You’re still going strong! Take that well-deserved rest day or two. Really enjoying your updates. Keep it up. Can’t wait to start my journey in 10 days!

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