Day 38 (6/4/22): Stunning!

Start:                  Haysi, VA (remember…Hey Sy)

End:                    Damascus, VA

 Mileage:             71 miles

Elevation:           6,172 feet

I included some pictures of the western Virginia Appalachians in the gallery, but they don’t even come close to showing how beautiful this part of the country is.  I really can’t say enough about this ride.  Sometimes, there were magnificent, far-reaching vistas of the mountains.  Other times, I was just immersed in these fantastic forests.  State Route 80 in this part of Virginia is just spectacular.  Drivewr it if you ever get the chance.  Seeing it from the vantage point of a bike saddle was just a fantastic experience.  Perfect weather didn’t hurt either.  Brilliant sunshine, but not too hot and a breeze that was lazy enough to cool you down, but not strong enough to slow the ride.  What a day.

 That’s not to say it was a piece of cake.  It wasn’t.  Another day of 8-9 ascents.  Two were close to or a little more than 1,000 feet which made for some tough going, but again it was manageable.  I’m amazed at how well my body has acclimated.  I’ve never completed two 6,000-foot climbs in successive days—and probably don’t want to in the future—but I’m feeling good and my confidence level is sky high to finish the trek.

 Some other notes:

• Something very strange has happened over the past 2 days.  Many of the drivers in eastern KY and western VA have become overly courteous—almost to the point of being annoying and/or dangerous.  I’ve lost count of the times a car will come up in back of me and just wait for the road to completely open up before passing me.  This happens even after I slow down and give a thumbs up that the path is clear.  It happens even when there’s a bike lane.  I guess this is a good thing, but it causes me to constantly check on how close they are and vary my speed on a very narrow shoulder which is not ideal.  I could do without the “lurking”.

• Then there’s the other end of the spectrum.  There is segment of the driving population in eastern KY and western VA—almost all of whom are male and drive either dirty pick-up trucks or immaculate Mustangs—who, for some reason feel the need to gun their engine when they pass me (they don’t have an issue with passing me).  I have to believe they’re either annoyed by cyclists or are making a statement that my bike is no match for their manly vehicles.  Maybe they’re compensating for something else.  Don’t know, but c’mon.

• Spending the night in Damascus.  Two interesting items here.

  • First this is where the TransAmerican bike route and the Appalachian Trail cross each other.  It can get pretty nasty when these two groups get together.  It’s kind of like the Sharks and Jets, only instead of guns and knives, we have tire pumps and walking sticks.  No.  Not really, but it’s fun to think of the two groups rumbling over who’s heartier.

  • Tish found a nice B&B for me.  Too nice.  It’s an old Victorian home that’s been restored as such.  I’m far too dirty to be staying here.  Take a look at the dining room picture in the gallery.

What am I Grateful for Today?

 The Sisters

I’ve mentioned Tish has been at her sister Ann Marie’s house in South Carolina for the past week as I wind my way through Kentucky and now Virginia.  As a result, I’ve been thinking a lot about “the sisters” as I’ve been pedaling these past few days.

Tish is one of 4 girls.  She’s the baby by 6 or 7 years.  (I can never remember.)  As a blanket statement, Tish and my 3 sisters-in-law have the biggest hearts of anyone you will meet.  This comes right from my mother-in-law, Florence, whose heart, although challenged with cardiovascular disease, was world class when it came to love. 

Heaven help me, but here we go in order by age…

Christine is the queen of giving.  Sometimes a package will show up at the house from her and, borrowing a line from Sonny Corelone, we’ll say, “What the he!! Is this?”  (Luckily she’s never sent a bullet-proof vest with a fish.)  Often times, it doesn’t quite hit the mark, and it goes in the ever-present “return to Christine pile”, but when this happens, we always say (out loud) she was thinking of us and thought it might be useful.  That’s a very kind gesture and it happens all the time.  Christine is also one of the best negotiators I’ve ever met.  She is fearless and insistent when she thinks there’s even the slightest chance she’s been wronged.  We know who to call whenever have a fierce battle to fight that requires the big guns.  Again, she’ll gladly go at it for us because she always wants to help.

I’ll always be grateful to Ann Marie for the kindness and generosity she showed Tish and me when she and her family moved to California in the last 80s.  We were still young and mostly broke, but the door was always open in Redlands, CA (and later Greenville, SC), and there was always a very good time to be had with her gang.  Some parts of it were mutually beneficial.  When she wanted to get away for the weekend, we’d volunteer to watch Katie and Robbie (they were in grade school at the time).  She got to get away and we got to watch kids for just long enough to know we weren’t quite ready for that responsibility just yet.  (Rob and Katie, it was us not you.  We loved and still love you dearly, but just weren’t ready for that responsibility.)  So many good memories of when we lived so close.  We’re also grateful for Ann’s grandkids who we affectionately call our “grandies”.  Katie’s McKenna is a math whiz who just finished kindergarten.  She’s getting Cioci Patty time now in SC .  We’re looking forward to seeing Rob and Ann (different Ann) and their son Jackson when we get to the D.C area in a few weeks. 

Joanne made Tish’s childhood special.  She decided Tish (Patty at the time) was going to be her baby/toddler/little girl and that they were going to have the best time together possible.  A lot of that involved goofy things that are far too numerous (and secret) to mention.  A lot of it had to do with candy.  A lot of it was about just giving Tish lots of attention.  Tish’s parents were great, but a lot of her personality—the things I love most about her—are the direct result of how Joanne took care of her when she was younger.  Its sounds weird, but it gives me tremendous piece of mind knowing how well Tish was cared for as a kid.  Fast-forwarding to adulthood, Joanne and her husband Al have always opened their doors to their house wide open for us.  I feel so at home there.  I also love to see how Tish has returned (as best she could from a distance) some of the same love and goofiness to Joanne and Al’s daughter Jenny when she was young and now to Jenny’s (and Tom’s) Lucas and Sydney.  Everybody loves Cioci Patty.   

One other thing.  All 4 of the sisters are tough, thrifty, and no-nonsense.  That comes right from my father-in-law Bernie.  For those of you who knew Bernie, you know what I mean.  You also know he was a character.  He could be gruff, but he loved his wife dearly and worked very hard to give “the girls” the best life possible.  Everyone worked very hard in the family whether it be cleaning the windows or fixing the cars.  There was no guys vs. girls work.  Without those blinders, it made for a relatively easy conversation when Tish told Bernie and Florence she wanted to pursue aerospace engineering rather than nursing (all three of her older sisters are nurses).  They supported her fully and couldn’t have been more proud when she earned her degree.  I know, because I was sitting right next to them at graduation.

Last thing. I left Bernie out of my veterans list on Memorial Day too. (Guess I had a mental block on fathers.) He served in the Army Air Corp and the Merchant Marines.