17-05-27

Virginia Beach

We departed early on our final ride day due to our route taking us on busy roads part of the journey.  Our plan to meet cycling companions part way in for the final miles to beach front where our family will be waiting.

Everything moved smoothly for the 40+ miles.  It was bitter sweet to finally see the Atlantic Ocean, but wonderful to see family again. Our final landing point, Second Street and Atlantic Ave water front.

Early am departure from our final hotel stay over.
Beautiful weather - sunshine and cool temps

Crossing the South Jordan Toll Bridge Road on Route 337 East.
Shipyard on both sides, amazing view in both directions.

On the board walk at Virginia Beach.

Our escort group in our Kioware jerseys (thank you
to Jim and Gina).
Jess, Ian, Craig, Matt, Marge, Jim, Gina, Jon and Dale.
A huge thank you to everyone, we truly appreciated
the company.

Trip to the waterfront 

It's official!!!
Coast to coast - Santa Monica, CA to Virginia Beach, VA.

17-05-27 Day 49

Suffolk, VA to Virginia Beach, VA

No words today, other than we
accomplished our goal.

Will send additional info and pics tomorrow.

17-05-26 Day 48

Courtland, VA to Suffolk, VA

With a 30+ mile ride ahead of us today, we decided on a later morning departure. Although the route we chose was not the most direct in terms of mileage it kept us off major thorough fares and out of harms way traffic. The reward for a little extra milage was the tree lined shade sanctuaries and a firm tail wind. Sweeeeeeeeet.

As we were riding along the beautiful scenic country side of Virginia, we shared many thoughts of our journey. Amazing views, experiences, challenges, and wonderful people we've met along the way. Memories and stories to share for a lifetime. It was difficult to believe we were completing our final solo ride on this incredible adventure. Tomorrow morning we will begin our final leg to the beach alone, but eventually meet great friends as we complete the final miles. We truly appreciate the support of our friends and family.

Our bikes are patiently waiting for our mid morning
departure outside the Courtland Motel.

Our last solo ride day as cross country cyclists.

17-05-25 Day 47

Blackstone, VA, to Stony Creek, VA, to Courtland, VA

Started the morning with breakfast at the Grey Swan Bed & Breakfast, great omelet, grits and biscuits prepared by Mandy the Inn sitter.  The rain we missed came down overnight in the form of a huge downpour, and we awoke to sunshine this am.

Mandy our host at the Grey Swan.  Thank you for the
wonderful breakfast and good conversation.

Our goal today was the town of Stony Creek, 40 miles, to keep us moving toward to our VA Beach destination. Once we arrived, around 12:30 pm, we did our typical food stop and reconsidered our riding plans for the day. Consulting Google maps, our Virginia paper map, as well as our sleeping accommodations, we made a joint decision to keep rolling to Courtland.

Destination one on travel plans.
Passed and peddled on.

Over the past few weeks Randy has made it his mission to save the turtles crossing the road. This originally began in the Ozark Mountains and has continued through the other states. Today was picture day to thank him for these moments of kindness for the turtles. We do not have an official count, but estimate 20 turtles owe their turtle lives to this bleeding heart.  BTW Karen rode past them and yelled turtle.

The turtle saviour.

Carefully crossing the road.

Success another turtle has been saved.

What a beautiful day for a ride.

The sunshine, scenery, and of course Randy's

view of Karen across the US.

Our final destination for today,
74.75 miles giving us a shorter ride for tomorrow. 

We must mention that the terrain has significantly changed today as we made our way toward  the coast.  The hills have gradually reduced to minor inclines assisting in makig miles move by at a faster average.  

17-05-24  Day 46

Keysville, VA to Blackstone, VA

Moving forward today, we finished our 36 mile trip to our destination of Blackstone,VA.  We are pacing ourselves to reach our Atlantic Ocean destination by Saturday, May 27th as planned. Unfortunately, traveling through rural VA does not always provide the over night accommodations we would like based on mileage.  Staying this evening at Grey Swan Bed and Breakfast in the historic district of Blackstone, VA.  Walked downtown to experience the Brew House for dinner options.  We were pleasantly surprised with the menu items, namaste Chicken Bowl for Karen and Pulled Pork Sandwich for Randy, both gave a thumbs up to the cuisine.

Nice entrance into the town.

Met a local native from Farmville, VA outside Food Lion when we were doing a bit shopping  when we arrived today. We had a wonderful conversation with Larry and we appreciate him taking the time to talk with us.

It was great meeting Larry Mays today, thanks for your
Best wishes on your travels..  

We have researched many options for the remainder of our travels, which are not the most desirable for cyclists. But, we are keeping in mind we have traveled approximately 3000 and will obviously finish our journey.  Tonight, like every evening of our travels, we are planning the the final days of our travels. Previously we only needed to consider our daily route, now we need to consider others for the final days. Not a problem but the pressure is on.

17-05-23 Day 45

Appomattox, VA to Keysville, VA

Today's highlights were brought by mother nature.......Rain, rain and more rain. As forecasted the rain began early am, we watched the radar for a gap in the gauntlet of green.  Thinking we made a fairly good estimate for our 40 mile ride today. Headed out at 10 am, no rain (perfect), 5 miles on our route and the rain began (not perfect) 😓. So best guess we rode 35 miles in the rain, but a bright spot was the beautiful scenery.  Tree-lined roads that provided wonderful mature canopies and hilltop views.  Deer in the field, cows and horses in the pastures. Unfortunately the spray from periodic vehicles would bring our thoughts back to reality quickly.

The rainy weather today brought back thoughts of dry
roads, blue skies and warm sunshine from
our ride the other morning.

Tonight we are staying at Sheldon's Motel and Restaurant in Keysville, VA, a family owned business that celebrated 75 years in 2016.  Was the first restaurant and motel in the area in the early 1940s.  Currenty have 40 rooms and the restaurant offers an all you can eat buffet for $9.99 with home cooked meats and veggies. Worked well for rain drenched hungry cyclists. 🙄

17-05-22 Day 44

Bedford, VA to Appomattox, VA

Woke up to a steady rain this am, weather predictions indicated the rain would be out of the area between 8 and 9 am.  Sure enough the rain ceased to cloudy cool temps.  We gathered our gear and hit the road just after 9 am.  We had pre-planned our route the night before.  Leaving Bedford and route 460 breaking the law to get to the nearest exit through town.  After a few miles, we entered route 43 south, Virginia Byway, a nice road with beautiful views for 10 plus miles.  From there we navigated through other more rural areas, but again gorgeous view of the Virginia landscape.  A few of our ascents in the distance reminded us of the Ozark mountain terraces we had to climb, but thankfully a much more forgiving on the climb elevations ☺.

Route 24 East

With only a few more riding days remaining in our venture, we are looking forward to seeing family and friends on Saturday.

This evening we are staying in historic Appomattox, which happens to be the location where one of the last battles of the American Civil War occurred.  It was the final engagement of Confederate Army, Robert E Lee, and Union Army, Ulysses S Grant in 1865.

17-05-21 Day 43

Christiansburg, VA to Bedford, VA

Today began with a late start to our travels due to the logistics of picking up our final care package at The Salem Family YMCA.  Their opening was not until 1 pm, distance approximately 23 from Christiansburg.  Fortunately we had a mostly downhill course that put us there about an hour prior to opening. We stopped at a local establishment in Salem (Mac and Bobs) for a quick warm up and small bite to eat.

Made our way to the YMCA and were greeted by Savanah and Mile. Changed out our items, and were ready to get back on the road to final destination.

Thank you for the warm greetings at the Salem Family
YMCA from friendly customer service staff,
Mile and Savannah.

A huge shout out to Bill Minarik
for picking up our return box at the
Salem Family YMCA on his Trek
back home from the Hikers Festival
in Damascus, VA.  Saved us time, effort
and money. Look forward to seeing Bill
in the near to retrieve my smelly clothes 😲

Completed the remainder of our intended route dry, even though am forecasts indicated precipitation by 4 pm.  Thank you to the weather gods watching over our journey.

Arrived at our lodging and were greeted by police cars (3) doing a DUI check on a local suspect pulled over in the entrance to our hotel.  As we stopped to check in for the evening, an officer greeted us in a friendly manner informing us that we are not permitted to ride on Route 460 within the city limits of Bedford.  He ran a check on our Driver's License then suggested an exit strategy for the am in order to avoid violating the law. By the way, you are not permitted to walk along the road as well.  This is our 10th state on our journey east, this is the first indication that riding through town is illegal, go figure 🤔.  Who came up with this ordinance? Unfortunately we missed the signage bicyclists and pedestrians not welcome.  Motor vehicles only.

Officer friendly checking our Driver's license.
Yes we do hold a valid license in the state of
Pennsylvania.  Holy smokes 😆

17-05-20 Day 42

Marion, VA to Christiansburg, VA

Fortunately today was an uneventful ride day.  We were anticipating rain in the am, but the sun broke through the early fog.  We made our way through various towns and counties, climbing was some what minimal to our previous several days.  Yippee, legs have paid the price 😥.

A view from the Old Baltimore Pike.

From this location forward we will be off the Trans America Trail grid, we are plotting our own course into Suffolk, VA for our final leg.  Please bear with us over the next few days as we make changes to the posted itnerary based on mileage and weather conditions  (which of course will be all sunshine and cool temps).

Just want to remind everyone who has been following our blogs that we have had a great amount of support and encouragement from everyone.  Thank you especially to Kioware, South County Brewing, HB McClure, YMCA of York, and Hard Chrome Specialists for contributing to our adventure. We are extremely blessed to be employeed at work sites who are supportive to our journey over the past two months.

17-05-19 Day 41

Rosedale, VA to Marion, VA

Today began on a bleak note with thunder storms rumbling in the early am. Watching the radar, we decided to postpone our initial take off time until the storms past. Once the storms dissipated, we hopped on our bikes for our daily trek. We went off our map set today, due to the hiker takeover of Damascus, VA this weekend.  There were no accomodations in the area with the 20,000 visitors coming into town to participate. Choosing a new destination for the day in an effort to keep us on track plus put us back on the Trans America Trail tomorrow.
We had a few surprises on our journey today. After leaving our overnight accommodations, and within the first 5 miles, we had to make our big ascent on Hayters Rd. This was over a 2 mile climb with numerous switch backs and lots of heavy breathing and pounds of perspiration.  Once we made it to the top there was a long descent which was interrupted by a tanker truck that was on an inappropriate road. Local signage clearly indicates no trucks over 30 feet on this section of route 80. Fortunately, we were permitted to pass with minimal clearance around the truck cab by walking our bikes.  Sooooooo, thankful we did not have climb back up the hill 😨.  

Our first glimpse for the tractor trailer mess from the gentleman
that warned us about what we were going to encounter.

Once we were past the truck cab.  Yikes!

Beyond the switchback corner.

Karen hiding behind the police car as the wreckers
arrived.

A few miles after our descent we met a group of cyclists that are doing a supported Adventure Cycling ride across the Trans America Trail.  So of course we had to stop and chat for a bit.  Also, at the same time, our friend Bill Minarik  and Appalachian Trail through-hiker, Chris Leininger meet us on the road.  Huge group conversation along the road in VA. Big thanks to Bill for hunting us down, it was great to see a friendly familiar face.

From left to right
Chris, Bill, Randy, Karen and the Adventure
Cycling Group.
Safe travels to the group.

After leaving everyone, we finally made our way to Marion with no rain. Except of course the last 2 miles from the hotel.  We pulled into a convenience store gas awning to wait out the pelting rain and wind that rushed through.

17-05-18 Day 40

Lookout, KY to Rosedale, VA

Another day in the saddle completed, finished our miles in Kentucky and have moved on to Virginia. We departedid Lookout at 7:30 am to have bit more time in the cooler am temps.  We were anticipating doing 60+ miles today knowing there would be numerous climbs to conquer and they certainly delivered. Although I must add we were treated occasionally to riding along the stream numerous times through the valleys, which was gorgeous and gave the legs a bit of recovery time.

This am entering Breaks Park that is in both
Kentucky and Virginia.

Stopped at a scenic overview to get
a glimpse of mother nature's
beauteous handy work.

Our bikes propped at the overview prompted

fellow biker Charlie to stop for a chat.

He is traveling the Trans America Trail westbound.

Wishing him safe travels.

Made our way into Virginia at 9:36 am.  

With not very many accommodations in the area, we are again relying on the hospitality of a church that opens their arms and facilities to cross country cyclists.  Elk Garden United Methodist Church, Rosedale, VA, thank you to them for hosting cyclists for the past 40 years.  They are a member of the Virginia Bicycling Feduration.  We were able to order food from a local pizza shop via delivery. One unique feature here is the shower is outside without hot water. Needless to say a bit refreshing, fortunately the temps when we arrived were outdoor shower friendly (mid 80s).

17-05-17 Day 39

Hazard, KY to Lookout, KY

Cheryl Kay Foundation Update .............

We are now $220.00 closer to Randy shaving his head. Thanks to Thomas C., Scott S., and Melissa G. For their gifts! This brings our current total to $1,695.00! With only 10 days remaining we'll need to pick up the pace. Our current mileage is 2,609 which means we need an additional $3,523.00 to meet our goal. The Cheryl Kay Foundation is a great organization doing wonderful things for those in need. PLEASE help us hit our goal.



Back on the bikes today in Kentucky.  Hoping to avoid dogs, hills, and heat. Unfortunately, we were only able to avoid one of the three, dogs 🙄.   We did have the hills and heat.  Completed 76 miles of our intended approximately 86 miles, the heat was a large contributing factor to the afternoon hill climbs. Leaving minimal gas in our personal fuel tanks.

Randy took this picture to illustrate how steep the grade was but it really does it no justice. So he took a photo of the elevation profile (shown below) just before the top. Our location at the time is shown by the dot half way up the Christmas tree on the left side. The best we can estimate from the profile this was 12-13% grade which went on for over two miles. 

SO, we decided to stay at the Freedom Harris Baptist Center, Outlook, KY. This venue is cyclist friendly church that provides, food, beds, and warm showers. Thank you to the church for allowing road weary bikers a place to crash after a long day in the saddle. We will finally make our way out of Kentucky tomorrow and begin our journey through the state of Virginia, with approximately 500ish miles to the finish.  But the mighty Appalachians standing in our way first 😓.

Met westbound biker, Joe today along the road and talked the Trans Trail info exchange briefly.  Interestingly, we were fortunate to share space at the church with westbound bikers, Lincoln and Jordan this evening.

Received a thumbs up from Joe on his route
this am.  Good luck!

Trans America Trail riders, Lincoln and Jordan
Just beginning their journey across the US.
They will end up in Oregon, safe travels guys.

17-05-16 Day 38

Berea, KY to Hazard, KY

Today was an interesting day as we decided very early this morning to err on the side of caution and self preservation. If you read our blog yesterday you know we were considering changes to our day based on dog attack reports. So, we rented a pickup truck, loaded our gear and bikes, then drove our designated route to our next destination. We felt a bit guilty not riding but we are comfortable with our decision.

During our short ride to pick up the truck we were approached by another bike rider who was on the Trans America Route headed west. As it turns out this young man, Patrick, was one of the individuals we heard about. Patrick was riding with Alex, who we met previously, when they encountered the 5 dogs on the route.  Unfortunately, Patrick was the bite cushion and now needs to complete the rabies shot regime. Fortunately, he has positive attitude and is continuing on his journey.

Talking to Patrick about our understanding of the dog conditions ahead
and our decision to drive by the high risk area.

After talking to Patrick for awhile we were joined by a local resident who offers his services as a bike mechanic to those passing through. Paul was very much familiar with the dog situation and wished dog owners were more responsible. Paul was delightful to talk to as well and had many stories to share regarding Trans America rides as well as the Race Across America  (RAM) riders who come through town each year.

A local mechanic, and fellow bicycle enthusiast, Paul, stopped to chat
and offered any assistance we needed. 

Then, in the afternoon as we were driving the Trans America course we encountered two riders resting along the road in the shade.  We pulled over to check their status, it was great talking to them and sharing stories. Good luck to Eric and Judy on the remainder of their journey.

Eric and Judy in a photo taken from their blog site at www.crazyguyonabike.com. I hope they don't mind as we failed to take a selfie with them today. 

17-05-15 Day 37

Harrodsburg, KY to Berea, KY

Busy day for us cyclists, we picked up our latest box from Wilderness Trace Family YMCA, in Harrodsburg this am.  Met Layne Elliott, who had received the box to her surprise.   Our initial contact person no longer works for the YMCA so Layne was waiting for guidance on the box that was received.  After a brief discussion and few laughs, we changed out supplies and were ready to hit the road.

Thank you Layne for your assistance today.
Sorry for the surprise package.
All worked out well ☺

Not to far outside Harrodsburg we met two west bound riders.
Biff (from VA Beach area yellow helmet) and Alex (from Belgium).
Traded war stories and were warned about
Dogs in eastern Kentucky.

We made it to Berea safely today, although temps were in the low 80s.  Karen is hoping for cooler weather.  We had the pleasure of company for dinner this evening.  Dover classmate, Jeff Rice and his wife Candice drove from Cincinnati, KY to meet us.  What a great honor to see them and chat.  They truly went out of their way to make this happen and we are grateful for their efforts and time.

All smiles after dinner, thank you Jeff and Candice
for making the trip.  It was really nice to meet
Candice and see a familar Dover, PA grad on our travels.

We are reconsidering some route options this evening based on the information received from several riders over the past few days concerning dogs on the route.  We reached out to local police for knowledge, but they recommended the Sheriff's Department which is County wide.  We have both decided that vicious dogs are not something we prefer to deal with at this time in our journey. Will keep you posted on our decision moving forward.

17-05-14 Day 36

Sonora, KY to Harrodsburg, KY

Happy Mother's Day to each and every MOM reading our daily blog.  Please remember you have made a special impact in your child/childrens lives as well as giving them the most important gift of unconditional love.

We neglected  to mention that last evening we stayed at the Thurman Phillips Guest House in Sonora, KY.   What a great way to end a long day on the bike.  Charlie and Rose went out of their way to make our experience there over the top.  Awesome accommodations, washed our clothes, picked up pizza, provided adult beverages and breakfast this am.  I plan on moving to work for them in the future 😆.  They also have a tea house and are in the process of completing an event barn. Big thank you to Charlie and Rose for taking care of us bikers.

As with each day, you never know what you will encounter in our daily travels.  Today was a beautiful weather day in the am and temps getting into the low 80s this afternoon.  About midway through our day after passing through Springfield, KY we discovered a road closure on our main route.  We pushed through hoping it was nothing to significant.  Well a bit more involved then we anticipated.

Encountered the bridge totally missing.
Decided to do a bit of cyclocross, dismounting and carry
our gear across the void.

Randy carried each bike across the stream to safety
on the other side.

Karen carried the panniers across the stream.

Our final destination, Beaumont Inn, Harrodsburg, KY.
Bed and Breakfast with significant history.

Unfortunately, when you roll into town on Sunday afternoon your eating options are a bit limited.  So, it was a Mexican Restaurante (El Charro) today in a strip mall next to Walmart 🤔, but the food was two thumbs up.  Could be we were both famished 🙄.

17-05-13 Day 35

Utica, KY to Sonora, KY

Awesome day regarding weather, cooler temps, sunshine and minimal winds. This made for a big day distance wise, 88.7 which puts us a bit ahead of schedule. This could be a good thing with the upcoming terrain I'm sure we will be thankful at this point.

Todays travels took us from Utica through numerous areas including Falls of the Rough which is a lake area for locals and visitors with boats.  We were fortunate to ride across the Dam breast and were provided a beautiful view.

Pic does not do justice to the view.  Was not bike
friendly to stop on bridge.

We met Jeff today who is riding the Trans Route to Oregon.  Pleasant surprise on our journey.

Jeff emcounter.  Thank you for the information
And conversation today.  Good luck on your trip to Oregon.    

Over the past few states Randy has been searching for the ultimate bovine pic. Today the sun and moon aligned.  Bovine selfie!

The girls were quite accommodating.

Our sleeping accommodations this evending are at the Thurman Phillips Guest  House, 103 Broadway, Sonora, KY,  Thank you to our wonderful hosts, Charlie and Rose.