Distance: 71 miles Haysi, VA to Damascus, VA
Ride Time: 6:51
Average Speed: 10.4 mph
Maximum Speed: 32 mph
Altitude Gain: 5478 feet
Average Temperature: 82
We drove the truck back to downtown Haysi to start my ride this morning. I climbed a hill that was several miles long and had earned the name of “Big A” name from the locals. At the top of the hill, I stopped to take some pictures. A man approached me and said he was waiting for his mail. We talked about my bike ride and I mentioned that Kathie was supporting me from a travel trailer. He said he was a former truck driver and that the mountains ahead of me were no place to be taking a trailer through. He used to be on a rescue team that would take extra tractors up the pass to bring trailers off the mountain. He said that the mountains I will go through will not allow trucks and it would be just as bad with our trailer. We talked about alternate routes for Hayter Pass that I was going to be climbing. I feel real blessed that this man approached me and had the knowledge to save us from getting into a driving problem.
When Kathie and I met for lunch, we discussed a revised route for her and we would meet in Damascus.
I found out real soon that there was a reason for his advice. When I turned onto the road a sign recommended that no trailers be taken up over Hayter pass. The switch-backs were so sharp that a trailer would be dragged off the road to make the corners and they were too steep for the truck to pull the trailer over it. It was everything I could give to get up and around the switch-backs on the bike. I have been experiencing shifting problems at an increasing rate. I have been lucky to be able to adjust my shifting tension and the bike would start shifting better. About the time I topped the summit, it started to rain hard. The East has lightning storms that get your attention. There were a couple of times during the storm that it rained hard enough that I couldn’t see where I was going and had to stop and find shelter. I was glad that I had my rain coat and could keep my phone dry. I was also happy that I had disk brakes and that the brake pads were up out of the water on the road. I don’t know if the disk brakes made a big difference, but I felt better about it. With the road and tires wet, I tried to keep my speed slower so I could keep the rubber side down. I rode in the rain for at least two hours.
I rode into Damascus past the high school and through the outskirts of town and it was still raining. I rode though the town and saw a cyclist bed and breakfast and a couple of bike shops. Damascus is also a support town for the Appalachian Hiking Trail. Damascus also takes people up to the summit on the east side of town for mountain bike rides from the summit down hill into the town of Damascus. This whole town operates on hikers and cyclists. I tried to call Kathie and my hands were so wet I couldn’t get the screen to operate the phone. I went into a convenience store and got some table napkins to dry off my hands but still couldn’t get my phone to work. While I was riding around town I found two campgrounds – one of them was full and the other one was on the other side of the river and I couldn’t find a place to cross the river. I went back to the convenience store and asked if I could use some more napkins and asked if he had wi-fi I could use. He said they did not have public wi-fi. I explained that I couldn’t get my phone to work and needed to get ahold of my wife. He said he was closing and couldn’t help me. I walked outside to get back on my bike and he came out and asked if he could connect my phone to his wi-fi. He put his password into my phone. I was able to call Kathie and find out how to get to the other side of the river where she had found a campsite. I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t changed his mind. Another miracle!
When I finally found Kathie the people next door in the campground were excited about my bike trip and we talked until darn near dark. It finally felt so good to get warm, dry clothes on again.
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