Day 24: Elkins WV to Harrisonburg VA

The cycling gods were benevolent today. No rain. No flat tires. Beautiful pavement to ride on for almost the entire day. The day started shrouded in fog, and by the afternoon the temperature was up to its usual 95 muggy degrees. Compared to yesterday, I was thrilled. We only had to do 108 miles, and got into the motel in Harrisonburg at a reasonable hour.

There was, however, the minor matter of climbing 10,500 vertical feet.......

The climbing started off with a bang, with 5 big passes, totalling 4000', before the first rest stop at the 29 mile mark. Roads in West Virginia don't mess around.......they go straight over the top of ridges. No switchbacks. As a consequence, there are frequent 9% pitches that go on for a while. At about the 40 mile mark, we turned off on a small sideroad called the German Valley road. It wound steadily uphill for many miles, before suddenly plunging downhill in a dizzying descent. I didn't see a single car on this entire 20 mile stretch. Another steep climb followed, and by the time we got to the lunch stop, we had done about 7200'. The last pass was a doozer, climbing a 9% grade for an agonizing 6 miles, before ending at the Virginia border. Another rapid descent followed, and then I hit a perfect cycling road: brand new tarmac had just been put down by the road department the day before......the yellow center strip hadn't been painted yet. This glorious surface went on for 10 miles, through some gorgeous woods. Another 20 miles of rollers brought me to Harrisonburg, legs a little rubbery after all that climbing but not too bad.

This was a day for the mountain goats........those 140 lb. riders who can soar up the hills seemingly without much difficulty. It was especially awesome to watch Marc and Caterina, our 2 superstars, attack the hills.

For the first part of the day, I couldn't see much of West Virginia because of the fog. When the sun shined through, spectacular vistas were revealed. Multiple green ridges extending as far as one could see. Some of the homes we passed appeared beat up, but then we would also see an occasional well tended horse farm or other well groomed property. Route 33, which we basically took all day, is remarkable for how rural it is......the only towns we came to were quite small. The German Valley was especially beautiful. Just a few miles into Virginia, an increase in socioeconomic status became obvious. It looks like the Harrisonburg area has lots of Civil War history.

Yesterday I had serious doubts about my EFI status. About the time of the 6th flat, I was about ready to be sagged to the motel. Now I think I'm going to make it after all. Tomorrow we ride through Virginia to Ashland, with some climbing but nothing like today. Then on Thursday we have a ceremonial ride into Paris (Williamsburg). Unfortunately, the predictions are for temperatures in the low 100's with a heat index of 110. I'm getting used to the heat. I'll freeze when I go back to Seattle.....

108 miles. 10,500 vertical feet.