Probably the least foggy shot I could take
Not a happy camper
We tried to make an early day, but ended up with our first flat on the trailer, & then chatted up the cookie lady some more & didn't get out until well after 10:30. The majority of the ride was on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which I think may be my equivalent to a bikers hell. There were hills that I did not even know existed! We spent 95% of the day climbing and climbing. The hills were so steep that our pace was pretty much non-existant. The hills in Virginia & through the Appalachians are supposed to be the most challenging on the route, and they are exceeding that expectation. Unlike the Rockies which gradually incline, the Appalachians are just plain steep, & by the time we get to the Rockies we should be in pretty good shape to climb (our highest peak will be almost 12,000 ft near Breckenridge, CO).
The real bummer of the entire day was that the Parkway is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous, but once again it was raining, and so foggy the majority of the day that we didn't even feel it was safe to be riding. At the exit of the parkway, there was a descent into the town of Vesuvius that was 13% grade. Normally I would excite over a downhill, but this descent was matched with horrible switchbacks on a narrow highway, with our trailers pushing us down. The entire drop was terrifying and I'm pretty sure our hands almost fell off from clenching the breaks so tight.
We still had another 22 miles to go after that & it was really dark and gloomy, so the whole day kind of stunk, but we made it into Lexington (late) for a layover day.
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