Day 10: Radford VA to Troutville VA

What's not to like about today's ride, except maybe that the elevation was significantly more than advertised; ugh!  It was a fun and beautiful ride, though.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I did not hear a single dog bark the whole day.  Even dogs passing in cars were well-behaved.  Today I just heard a few dogs barking, just one loose and he/she didn't venture very close to the road.  So nice..........  Oh - and today I heard an overhead airplane for the first time.  I think it was when we were close to Roanoke.  

Another late-ish launch time, with "knives down" at 9.  We had a short ride to rejoin the Adventure Cycling route, at which point the road went straight up.  OMG - I didn't even try to ride it.  Oh well - nothing like starting the day out with a little hike.  The whole day was like riding a roller coaster.  Not sure we had even a mile-long stretch of flat riding.  Fairly early in the ride (within about the first 10 miles) we passed close to the cities of Christiansburg and Blacksburg (which is the home of Virginia Tech University).  Neighbourhoods are a tad more upscale than what we saw in much of Kentucky.

  Another sign welcoming cyclists.

After negotiating our way through some urban areas, we took a right onto Ellett Road and enjoyed about 5 miles of almost no traffic, a smooth road surface, and a few miles of winding, sweeping, really fun downhills.  Really - the roads were all terrific to ride on until we got close to Troutville.  Here are some pics from that stretch.

Note the juxtaposition of old (barn) and new (elevated highway in the background)

This is the 10-foot high tunnel that forced the van & trailer to take an alternate route.

We've spent the last few days in "The Great Valley" that separates the younger Appalachians from the older Blue Ridge mountains.  The Adventure Cycling map says "The Great Valley is actually a series of valleys divided by small knolls and ridges.  The Great Valley is the dividing line between the farming-oriented economy of eastern Virginia and the mining economy of the Appalachians.  To the west of the Great Valley and the Blue Ridge lie the large beds of bituminous coal which cover the southwestern and western parts of Virginia.  There is also some mining and quarrying done in the valley.  To the east of the Great Valley are the fields of tobacco, corn, hay, wheat, and oats."  Today was a good representation of that.  We saw some farming as well as some mining/quarrying.  We also crossed the Appalachian Trail again today.  

I managed to be ahead of the SAG today, so I found a nice picnic area beside a church for lunch at about 40 miles, and then rolled on in by about 2.

Tonight we finally celebrate the Queen.  Dubonnet and gin before dinner................

Stats for the day:

Distance:  57.57 miles / 92.65 km

Elevation (Garmin):  4960' up, 5729' down / 1512m up, 1746m down

Elevation (RWGPS):  1293m up, 1516m down

Weather:  Perfect!  Temps 13C - 21C.  Mostly clear blue skies, with a few scattered clouds later in the day.  Often a bit of a tailwind.  What's not to like??