Tough Day 2

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Sore and stiff, we left Elkhorn City at 7:30 in another fog. A big hill started right out of the motel, but we had to ride up it to get to a diner we had heard about 4 miles up. Breakfast was waiting, but first we had to stop for pics at Interstate Breaks Park State Park. It has over looks and is called the grand canyon of the south. I wouldn't go that far, but it is very pretty. The Virginia state line was 2 miles from the motel. After yesterday, we were both ready to get out of Kentucky. With a road system that could be made into a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, and so steep a motor is required, Kentucky kicked our butts. When we walked into the diner for breakfast, we were in Virginia, but not much had changed. The other customers, two women, were on disability, didn't have a job and weren't planning on getting one. They lived in a double wide up the street. One was butch, both were deadbeats. We talked, asking about all things local. I brought up moonshine, coal mining, kinfolk, and lifestyle. By the time we left, all we could think of was that we were glad we weren't born around here. Continuing on the hill, we rode through the hollers. After about 20 miles, we looked ahead and shifted down. A killer hill started, and after about a mile of it we had to start walking. Pushing the bike for a mile or so, we climbed at about 2.5mph. As yesterday, the cars and coal trucks come around the corners at breakneck speed, many of them honking just for fun. Those we hope to find in a ditch. Thinking we were on the way to lunch and relaxed again, we tore down the hill, only to find another one we couldn't get up. We walked, disgusted, up the hill. The switchbacks ended about a mile later, and we finally flew down the other side into Honaker for lunch. Only 5 miles later our destination for the day appeared, but alas it was not to be. In a light rain, we talked to the owner of the only motel in town. He told us that it would be 30 minutes to make up one, but the dealbreaker was that there was no place to eat anywhere around. We sucked it up and rode 9 miles out of our way to Lebanon, Va. Two of the three motels were sold out, so we ended up at the least desirable. A Chinese buffet sufficed for dinner. Seemed appropriate with the Olympics in progress.

By now we are ready to get out of Appalachia. The riding is not good, due to the heavy amount of crazy traffic, and roads that are curvy, steep, shoulderless. and filled with aggressive dogs and trash. The food is all the same. They could bread and fry a glass of water. When we ride by the houses, we see lots of people lounging on the porch, seemingly unaware that their yard and trailer look like a flea market or a double wide that suffered through Katrina. Of course there are always two sides to things. Despite all the warnings from people we talk to, no one has been rude or hostile towards us. In fact, we have had a great time talking to the locals. Most of those we talk to do have jobs, from clerks to grease monkeys. We like to walk after dinner, but lack of sidewalks or shoulders keeps us inside. Tomorrow we will try to ride about 70 miles to Wythesville. There is one big pass to go over, then we should be out of the mountains and heading for Charlottesville, home of Thomas Jefferson, where we will stay an extra day. Tim, who has been helping me with the map and all else, figured out that yesterday we rode 87 miles, but as the crow flies it was only 48 miles between the two points. The Shenandoah valley is fairly direct, pretty, and level. We should be there tomorrow.