Day 7 - To Front Royal
Leaving Harrisonburg:
The night before I had been thoughtful about re-planning my route to avoid the sort of situation I had on the Lee Highway the day before, trying to plan out a route that was both scenic and off the beaten path, but didn’t hugely increase the distance I would need to go, or require unnecessary summits.
Before leaving I needed to repack the trailer a bit to get things into position better. When I moved one of the bags I noted a small hole forming in the fabric floor of the trailer.
This was now priority one. I needed to reasonably stabilize that hole and thenn try to prevent it from spreading or else I would be on the side of the road with my luggage strewn and my trailer akimbo.
Even with the best planning I still had to take small sections of the Lee highway and other larger routes to get from one less populace sidetrack to another.
However this afforded me the opportunity to hit a Tractor Supply store without any additional fuss.
The remedy was quickly found.
After a few sweaty minutes in the blazing parking lot of the Tractor supply, I was able to lay down a quadruple layer of thick gorilla tape over the area most likely to propagate tears, and then to further stabilize and add more structure to the underside of the trailer I did a cross pattern. Additionally there is a line of tape on the under surface as well, but that was not applied as thoroughly.
You might wonder about the front where the battery compartment is, given that it is also heavy and likely to tear through as well.
Fortunately before leaving I spotted that particular problem and purchased a 1/8th inch thick sheet of ABS plastic and roughly cut it to fit between the aluminum frame members on either side. I then put grommets thought it and ziptied it tightly to the frame. That battery box is then velcroed to the sheet. I don’t expect to have similar problems up front.
Onward to Luray:
After a two mile climb up out of the basin that Harrisonburg is situated in I began to cross over the adjacent ridge. The first part of this was unfortunate highway travel, but thankfully the shoulder of the road was broad and forgiving. I was no impediment to traffic, and they were no real danger to me.
After cresting the ridge and coming down a mile or so off the highway the land opened up into larger farmsteads and small communities nestled between the mountains on either side of this sub-valley.
There isn’t much I can say about this area other than what you see. It’s a scenic drive and even though I was off the highway the road that I was taking was an established scenic byway. So while the traffic was slower it was still significant, and much of it from out of state. People driving aggressively around me on blind hills and blind turns, creating unsafe conditions for everyone.
I could go into a rant about that, but it would only serve to soothe my own ego.
The night before leaving Harrisonburg I had sent a message to the facebook page for Front Royal UMC. The pastor there forwarded my name along to the head of their hospitality team and put me in touch with her. Susan, my host, had graciously offered a spare bedroom for me if I could make it to Front Royal later that day.
Shortly after crossing the river I was in Luray, famous for its caverns. I had intended a rest of around 3 hours in Luray because I was getting behind in blogging and needed to catch up. The intent was to settle down into a coffee shop and get that done, and then hopefully have time to go see the caverns.
Upon entering Luray though, it had the vibe of a overly commercialized tourist spot with all the regular trappings. Gift shops, outfitters, art galleries, coffee shops — but not the kind for locals. The sort you grab and go from.
Being a Saturday it was absolutely crowded and I loathe being a spectacle for others.
Sitting here now reflecting on it, I can’t really put my finger on the feeling or the reason, but tourist spots seem uniquely unwelcoming to me. I don’t me personally, just someone who is doing the sort of thing I’m doing in the way I’m doing it. I’m sweaty, wearing clothes I would normally not wear which are tighter than I would want, usually just bicycle shorts. I’m fat and on a fat tire bike with a loaded trailer with flashing lights.
In the small towns I blew through in my last tour I got to the point of not really caring. People were far more likely to be interested, spend time and ask questions rather than get that odd puckered face at the sight of me. I just feel that pervasive sense of “You don’t belong here” in areas like Luray’s town center.
So I neither took pictures or looked at the caves. I blew almost all the way through town until I got to what could only be charitably called the “poor section” of the town, and stopped there in a roadside greasy spoon and took on some lunch.
I tried to work on my blog there but it felt too exposed again, so I rode back into the town and just sat at a picnic table in a park and completed my entry. By then it was just after 4pm, when I said I could leave for the final 25ish miles to Front Royal. So I left.
The road out of Luray to Front Royal was Rte 340. It was even worse than Lee Highway. Frequently there was no shoulder whatsoever. Or it would appear for a moment and then vanish. Traffic was heavy and impatient, and there were only two lanes.
I set the bike into the highest possible assist and threw all my leg power into pedalling as quickly as I could. There simply was no other route I could reasonably take. So I figured my best bet for safety was to increase my speed. I was doing 27-34mph.
I’m not discrediting the effect of the motor, but I also need you to understand to go that pace over hilly terrain with a heavy system is excruciating. My eyes were constantly scanning for hazards as my muscles were screaming for a rest. An hour at this pace was enough to close the distance to Front Royal, but it had exacted a real physical toll. I could feel the sort of deep muscle ache that only rest can mend starting to accumulate.
There were a few brief moments of rest where I pulled off to catch my breath or take on some calories. I only bothered to snap a few pictures in those moments. Had I been in a car the ride would have been pleasant and beautiful.
One last hill:
Front Royal isn’t terribly large, and so I was quickly at the bottom for the drive that would lead to Susan and David’s home. One more mile up one more hill… and what a hill. With a max gradient of 12.9% and an average grade around 8% it took me nearly 15 minutes to climb. I had to stop three times, and if you could see the last part of the route more closely you’d even see that I had to zig zag my way up. But what you can see is that huge surge upwards on the last part of the elevation plot.
When I arrived Susan came out and greeted me, and then gave me a quick tour of her home, introducing me to David, her husband. I pulled some bags off the bike and went upstairs to my chosen room and quickly took a shower. David was grilling some chicken outside when I had come in so I didn’t want to delay dinner, especially when they went out of their way to provide one on my behalf.
About 10 minutes later I joined both of them out on their screened porch where we talked for some time about our lives. They are both midwestern transplants to the area and found each other later in life after their spouses both passed. They each have adult children and grandchildren. Susan was also a teacher. So much of our conversation that night revolved around family and our experiences as teachers.
After a bit David suggested that we actually go eat the food. So we went in an continued our conversation over dinner and sat and talked for some time after.
I excused myself to go get some things charging and ended up laying on the bed for a moment while charging my phone and looking at social media. That turned into me starting awake at 11pm having simply passed out.
I couldn’t hear my hosts stirring and so I actually got under the covers and went to sleep.
I had already made plans to join them both at their church service in the morning.
And so ends day 7.