Day Two

Day Two --

We start the morning having breakfast by the lake in Peak of Otter.  We are all feeling better after a nights sleep.  Today is only 80 miles and we have a couple of big climbs, but nothing like yesterday. 

First section is rolling, for the most part and we lose some altitude.  The rolling hills and pasture land that we pass is exceptionally scenic and the weather is clear, calm and starts in the high 60s.  I guess you could say, it is a perfect day for riding.

The morning ride has no hard climbs and the rolling work is welcome.  Really the scenery is spectacular.   From the rolling pastures dotted with homestead and juts of boulders to the cascading blue hues at each of the overlooks.  We each comment that "this is more like it".   We go from just trying to get from point A to point B and begin to enjoy the ride, notating milestones along the way.

As we amble about the road, we meet up with a man who is 60 years old and just built his bike.   It is outfitted with a leathers brooks cycling seat.....it only takes about 1000 miles to break-in.   Ouch.  It turns out, we leapfrog each other all day. 

Just before lunch, we descend into Roanoke and cross the Roanoke river.   It is beautiful to glance over the edge as we pass and see the water cascade over rocks and small falls.   We continue on and meet our SAG for lunch at mile 125.  We are feeling great, which is good, because we have to start another climb.

This climb is not as bad and we finish feeling strong, relatively speaking.   According to our notes, it is just 30 miles to go to our finish and they look to be relatively rolling hills.   Ooops, we miscalculated.   We are running our of fuel and the "rollers" are more steep than we anticipate.  We meet up with our SAG again for a break.   Fortunatetly, our strength comes back and we finish the final 20 in fine form.   We are cruising into mile 165 when, just for kicks apparently, there is one final steep climb.   With the end in site, we power up it and head into Floyd, Va for a night of rest and pizza.   (note: if you are ever in Floyd, stay at the Floyd Hotel, it may be the only option, but regardless it is a neat little place).

Ok, I promise to take longer tomorrow (tonight) and add some good pictures.