Saturday October 6, 2012

Cotton Field near Society Hill

Cheraw SC to Sumter SC; 119 km 323m vertical climbed

The motel breakfast was the worst so far, a barely drinkable coffee and a few cornflakes. Not the best start to the day though the weather was wonderful. We were on our way shortly before 9 under a clear blue sky and 20°C. If it had stayed at that temperature all day the stage would have been easy but it kept on rising to 32.  We are definitely in the south because we saw our first cotton fields today.  We had done 61km before we found a gas station/convenience store/diner at which we could stop. We were both dehydrated and had loads to drink while the proprietress asked us a lot of questions. It was a bit of a hammer blow when we left the air conditioned store and walked out into the midday sun and we had to take several short breaks to have a drink in the shade of trees until we finally reached Sumter. Even then, things weren’t over for a while because we had to ride 6km south, east and back north until we found a motel. If I can get TimB away from the College Football on TV we can go and eat.         

Swamp near Sumter

Church near Bishopsville

Friday October 5, 2012

Southern Pines, North Carolina to Cheraw, South Carolina 82 km  402 m Vertical Climb

We had another short day planned and we got a quick start this morning.  The road was fast and 2 hours later we stopped in Hamlet, North Carolina.  Hamlet is a major train junction that has made it’s living from the railroad from the last 100 years.  We ended up at the Hamlet Train museum, where we got a 3-hour tour from a very knowledgeable guide. There were 3 of us; TimG and the 3^rd person (from France) were both train buffs.  The guide rose to the occasion and we got an outstanding tour and a surprise visit to the only Tornado train engine left in existence.  It was 3 hours well spent. 
  Back on our bikes we crossed the border into South Carolina and arrived in Cheraw at 4 PM.   We toured the old historical district of Cheraw and saw the stately homes from the civil war era.

Thursday October 4, 2012

Siler City NC to Southern Pines NC; 89 km 593m vertical climb

Antique store in Goldstone

We only had a short tour planned for today but we still managed to make it a full day. The first 10 miles were more difficult than usual because the shoulder of the dual carriageway had a rumble strip leaving only 6 to 12 inches of asphalt for us to ride on. This narrow strip of road was covered with all sorts of rubbish, which a couple of hours later caused a problem. We left the highway to take a country road and a short time later I saw that I had left my (new, bought specially for this trip) drinks bottles in the fridge in the motel. I wasn’t prepared to do a 24 mile round trip to fetch them so we continued on our way. There was one historical point of interest on the route so we made a small detour to see the “house in the horseshoe” where loyalists and patriots fought during the war for independence. Shortly after continuing on our way we had to stop again because my rear end (bike, that is) was drifting all over the place because the tyre was nearly flat. I repaired the tube while TimB inspected the tyre and pulled out two pieces of fine wire. I patched the tube and we were soon on our way but a closer inspection in the motel found a second hole that has now also been fixed. We checked into our targeted motel shortly before 3pm and had a couple of hours to ride around historic Southern

House in the Horseshoe

Fields in North Carolina

Pines, that has a more traditional style of shopping street than the modern strip malls. We were able to enjoy a very tasty ice cream, we even found a bike shop where I was able to replace my drink bottles and the owner of the shop directed us to O’Donnell’s just around the corner where we were able to start our process of re-hydration.

 

Wednesday October 3, 2012

Danville VA to Siler City, NC  119km, 987m vertical climb

This morning shortly after departing, we crossed into North Carolina. Our route took us through the countryside and the neat green lawns were everywhere.  Even what looked like abandoned houses were surrounded by well-manicured green lawns.  We had a good day navigating with just a little difficulty in the middle of Burlington NC.  However our destination hotel was nowhere to be found in Siler City.  After consulting with some locals we ended up at the hotel we wanted on Chatham Square, not Chatham Street. 

            We had lunch in a small place, Sharkey’s Grill in Burlington, where the cook kept asking us about our trip.  When we left he took our picture to post on face book, since nobody would believe he had 2 guys who cycled from Montreal eating in his restaurant.

            We also noticed a strong change in the accent in North Carolina. We are definitely in the south now and we both have trouble understanding the locals.

Tuesday October 2, 2012

Lynchburg, VA to Danville VA; 114 km, 996m vertical climb

When we got up this morning it was still raining but being optimists we figured it might stop by the time we got on the road. First we had to get breakfast so we walked down the highway a few hundred yards to a diner and on the way the weather had to pretend it was monsoon time. That was the first soaking of the day. Breakfast was our first all-you-can-eat-buffet for $6 so we loaded up good and proper for our 114km/71m ride.

Our optimism didn’t help at all so we set off in the rain. On a fast downhill to the middle of Lynchburg to cross the river the front half got wet and on the highway to get out of town the trucks going past made sure the back half got wet as well. Monsoon type showers gave us the rest and by the time the water was running out of our cycling shoes we didn’t care which direction the water was coming from. For some reason, when our multi-lane highway, Route 29, bypassed a town, we were not allowed to use it so we had to successively take the exit and ride through the middle of Altavista, Gretna and then Chatham before finally exiting for Danville. The rain stopped around midday when we were in Altavista and, thereafter, steadily improved to the point where we thought we were in a tropical jungle when we arrived in Danville. After settling in at a Super 8 motel for $55 we set off to find the Laundromat that the receptionist said was just down the road. After walking over a kilometre we gave up and diverted to a Mexican restaurant just for a beer to get us back. It turned out to be Happy Tuesday and the Mexican draught beer was only a $1.50 a glass so we decided to stay for supper and a second, third and, I think, fourth. It was a long walk back. Some days are really tough.

Monday October 1, 2012

Charlottesville, VA to Lynchburg, VA 97 km, 1153m vertical climb        

Mexican Restaurant in Lynchburg

After getting lost twice yesterday, we took the main road today.  Route 29 runs straight to Lynchburg and we made good time riding the shoulder of a 4-lane highway.  We rode all day in the hills and climbed or descended all day.  We stopped in the suburbs outside Lynchburg at a Mexican restaurant to have a hot drink and reorganize our maps.  The waitress didn’t know what black tea was, so we picked our teabags, gave her some instructions about hot water and she made the best tea we’ve had this trip.  We had a second cup and by the time we left it was raining heavily so we checked in a the motel across the road.  After cleaning up we went back to the Mexican restaurant for supper and just one beer.

Just one beer

Sunday September 30th, 2012

Warrenton Virginia to Charlottesville Virginia; 127km; 1160m vertical climb

Horse Country near Warrenton

  
Today we had a long day planned.  Within 5 km the day got longer as we had to turn around after we couldn’t find the 3^rd road Google maps had recommended.  We picked up the route again down the road but within 20km we lost the road again when 3 roads had the same name.  After flagging down 2 cars to get instructions we finally hit a main road and we threw the Google map away.  After losing an hour on back roads we stuck to the main roads until Charlottesville.  The terrain is still hilly but gentler hills than Pennsylvania.  During the morning we passed through the horse raising area of Virginia.  During the afternoon we saw some remnants of the industrial area.  We arrived in Charlottesville at 5pm but it took an hour to find the hotel district.  Fortunately the pizza parlour next door to our hotel had a special on beer tonight and we enjoyed 4 large locally brewed beers for $8. 

Stone walls just like England

   

Methodist Church

Old Mill near Rapidan, Virginia

Saturday September 29, 2012

Gaithersburg Maryland to Warrenton, Virginia; 98km; 823m vertical climb

Every day has a personality and today it is traffic lights. We rode down the longest strip mall in the world when we rode Route 29 from Vienna VA to Warrenton VA.  Every 800 metres we had a traffic light.  Some were green - most were red!  Some were on down hills – most were on up hills.  We stop / started are way through Virginia.  We are each carrying 20 kg of luggage.  When we come to a stop it uses up energy to get started again.  I estimate we went through 140 stoplights today and stopped 70 times. 

Crossing the Potomac

 
  

            We left Maryland this morning and rode into the District of Columbia.  We then crossed the Potomac into Virginia and rode past the CIA offices. There was a sign at the side of the road that said “George Bush Centre for Intelligence” which we thought was a contradiction in terms. We dropped into a bike store for travel information.  The shortest route to Warrenton was route 29, which wasn’t recommended by the riders in the store, but we tried it anyway. It was interval training at its worst, or best depending on how masochistic one feels.

Stop Lights everywhere

 

 

Friday September 28, 2012

Tourists at the White House

  

Washington DC

Today was our planned tourist day in the capital. We had to wait until 10am to be able to take our bikes on the Metro and we were not allowed on between 4 & 7pm so we had a full day to look around. Having the bikes was a major benefit because the centre of town from the White House to the Lincoln & Jefferson Memorials and Capitol was several miles. It was all well worth seeing and on the way from the Jefferson Memorial to the Capital we were held up by police closing off crossroads all along Independence Avenue. I asked a pedestrian on a corner what was going off but she didn’t know so I rode into the intersection to ask a 9 foot 300lb black police officer what the hold up was for and he growled `the President` and shortly thereafter we were treated to the spectacle of around 10 police outriders clearing the road followed by the 2 big black limos and about 14 other vehicles. We didn’t get his autograph but we did manage to video it. Once the road was freed for the plebs to use we went up to look at the Capitol and then road back down Constitution Avenue to then head north for a few miles to see the Washington National Cathedral. With that little job done we then rode down Newark St.!!!!!! towards the Metro where we had to waste an hour drinking in a bar until we could get on the train after 7pm.

                                                                                                             
           

Washington Monument

         

Lincoln Memorial

WW II memorial

The Pres is coming

Jefferson Memorial

The National Cathedral