Day 37 (6/3/22): Virginia is for Cyclists

Start:                  Hindman, KY

End:                    Haysi, VA (pronounced “hey sigh”…see below)

 Mileage:             79 miles

Elevation:           6,534 feet

My plan to hole up in the Baptist Church Cyclists Hostel played exactly as I expected.  A storm came in yesterday (Thursday) morning that would have followed me most of the way to today’s destination (or what was today’s destination).  It wasn’t the most exciting day.  Other than walking across the street for lunch and dinner, I spent the entire day alone in the hostel alone as no other cyclists showed up.  I’m caught up on SNL though and got some other writing done.

What’s more, today was a perfect day for cycling.  Cloudy but no chance for rain and temperatures in the 70s all day.  The perfect conditions combined with some concerns I have about some foul weather we might see Tue-Thu of next week made me reconsider my destinations for the next few days and try to squeeze the next 3 days into the next 2.  I went an extra 17 miles and 2,000 feet today to set myself up to hit Sunday’s destination tomorrow and Monday’s on Sunday.  The day off yesterday was a big help.

Highlights from the day:

• I made it through Kentucky.  Because it’s the biggest State on the trip, it was a mental victory when I crossed the Virginia state line.  I liked Kentucky a lot—especially the variation between the farms in the west and the Appalachians in the east.  The people were super nice too.  One thing though, I can’t say I saw any blue grass.

• Second highest climbing day of the trip, although nearly all of today’s climbing was on 8 ascents that varied from 350-1,000 feet.  No undulation.  I like that kind of climbing.  The 1,000-foot ascent had some nasty uphill grades and was one of the toughest on the trip so far.  The others were quite manageable. 

• On one, I had a guy drive by and ask me if I wanted a tow up the hill.  I declined.

• Really beautiful scenery again.  The Appalachians are fantastic, although I would not want to hike the AT.

• Camping in Haysi this evening.  I stopped at their Trail Days celebration for dinner (great BBQ) and asked about the proper pronunciation of the town’s name and they said “hay sigh”.  I said, so if I had a friend name Sy and wanted to say hello to him, I’d just use their town name (“Hey Sy”).  They all agreed, and then a gentleman in the pavilion where we were all eating said, that’s how the town got its name.  A guy saw his friend Sy across the river and said “Hey Sy”.  Everyone in the pavilion argued that’s just a local urban legend.

• The campground is very nice.  I have a spot right by the river, although I’m going to be out very early in the morning.  No time to enjoy it.  That said, they had the cleanest restrooms and showers I’ve ever seen in a campground.  (Joanne, you would have been impressed.)

What I’m Grateful for Today

Today is my very good friend Matt’s birthday.  I value my friendship with Matt on several levels. 

I’ve talked a lot about the fine group of friends I made in high school, but I’m not sure that would have happened without Matt.  He was (and still is to some extent) the connector.  He was the one who not only connected people, but also the person who organized the parties, conversations, and other events.  He was in the middle of it all and made it happen.  Above all, he values true friendships and the comradery that goes along with it.

Although we didn’t meet until 12th grade, when we did, we found we had a so much in common we became fast and incredibly solid friends.  I really can’t recall the circumstances, but one day in 1981 I only knew Matt casually and the next I was in his old Fiat driving to Woodbridge Mall to buy tickets to see The Moody Blues.  There have been many concerts, ballgames, boys trips, and more since then.  We’ve lived on separate coasts most of our lives and don’t see each other often, but like all my close friends, I know I can pick up the phone and it will be as if we haven’t missed a beat since high school and college (kind of like we did a few hours ago).

We’ve also gone through a lot of the same things in our careers—both the highs and the lows.  What’s interesting is he’s an attorney and I was a product manager, but a lot of what goes with climbing that ladder doesn’t discriminate between areas of specialty.  We’ve always been about to be sounding boards for each other here.

 Matt lives in Bethesda, MD which “miraculously” found its way to my route.  Tish and I are really looking forward to catching up with Matt, Marci, Jonah, and Molly in a few weeks.