Day 7 - June 15, 2002
Troutville to Radford, VA (The Lees)
Ride length: 66.5 miles
Total to date: 392.16 miles
Moving time: 6 hr. 12 min.
Average Speed: 10.7 mph
Total ascent: 5104 ft.
Minimum elevation: 1165 ft.
Maximum elevation: 2209 ft.
Ending elevation: 1935 ft.
Wind: North wind for most of the ride 10-15 mph G25 (head to quarter).
Weather: pc/mc; high 75°F; very nice weather
Ford, NPR, and the Lees
The weather was beautiful today and I rode right up to 4:00pm after an 8:00am start. I went to the Greenwood Restaurant on Route 11 in Troutville, VA for some breakfast. What a menu! Everything comes with grits and they serve pig brain with eggs. What a selection! I guess they eat everything around here. If you can afford to eat in a restaurant then why on Earth would you consider eating such animal parts? Get some bacon or sausage!
Ford F-series pickup trucks are the best selling vehicles in America. One reason: Virginia. It seems like everyone drives a Ford pickup of some sort or another. I rarely see any Chevys or Dodges. All the other cars are mostly domestic - few imports. Most pickups have that ubiquitous gun rack in the rear window too for shootin' dinner.
The ride today was just beautiful through rolling farmland. People around here actually have working, profitable family farms and boy do they have a perfect location for it! What wonderful land! Below are some pictures of the sights although they pale in comparison to what it looks like live.
I met two other cyclists today who are heading east for Yorktown. They may very well be the first to make it to the east coast this season. They started in early March in California, took the Western Express Route to Pueblo, Colorado where they met up with the TransAm. They are only about six days from finishing. We swapped stories and shared information about stops along the way and route conditions. They too recommended the Lees in Radford for the night just as the Cookie Lady had a few days before. The Lees (Thad, Sarah, and their son Sam) are a great family and open their home to cyclists - a hot shower and dinner makes it great!
A rider who did the TransAm last year had just flown down from Alaska to pick up a vintage Ford Mustang he purchased and was staying with the Lees for the night too. He will make his way west to Seattle where his car will be shipped back to Anchorage. It was good to hear the experiences of two veterans.
Food: 3 pancakes (850 kcal), 2 sausage patties (200 kcal), glass of orange juice (280 kcal), pint of chocolate milk (415 kcal), 1 L of Gatorade (240 kcal), 6 L water, tossed salad with french dressing (105 kcal), 4 pieces of Italian bread (400 kcal), chicken marsale with 1/4 lb. spaghetti (860 kcal), 1 can Pringles Right (700 Cal.)
Total Energy: 4050 Cal.
Food cost: $5.43 for breakfast; $7.12 otherwise.
Donation to Lees: $10 to cover dinner and lodging. Thanks!