Ashland, VA to Charlottesville, VA – 92 Miles
This morning started out after a fantastic night’s sleep and a good breakfast with Kathleen and Dave. After saying goodbyes and feeling well rested, I was on the road by 930 AM and had all but decided to make it another big mileage day.
Spirits were high during the first portion of the ride. The weather was fantastic and the terrain was rolling hills with no climbs that were too incredibly steep. The good energy combined with the fact that I had heard from another Warmshowers host in Charlottesville made me decide to go for the more than 90 miles.
By about lunch time I made it to an old mining town called Mineral. I stopped at a grocery store and grabbed some things to make sandwiches and made my way to a local park.
The afternoon was scorching hot and became increasingly hilly. My pace was slow and by the time I hit Palmyra, about 70 miles in, I was exhausted. Decided to stop for another good break and pushed on. As I came into Charlottesville the sun was setting and there were some really fun descents. I made it to Will’s house, the Warmshowers host, at around 830 PM. He’s an Architectural History graduate student at UVA and was just finishing up his thesis as I arrived – good timing I guess. Super interesting guy. He’s done some bike touring in Europe and does a bit of road, cyclocross, and mountain bike racing.
Currently laying on a couch thankful for some more human hospitality looking forward to much needed sleep. I’m thinking tomorrow will be a rest day that I will use to explore Charlottesville. My butt could use some time off of the saddle.
