32.41 miles (Total: 536.17) Average Speed: 11.2mph Max Speed: 37.2mph
Cooper had to be up for an appointment he had made to get his painful ankle checked out at the doctors, so I strolled round Damascus looking for breakfast and wifi. I didn’t get the wifi but did get some nice pancakes with maple syrup. We eventually got our stuff together and left Damascus not realising we had already missed the route turn coming into the town so were heading the wrong way from the off. We soon realised and spotted a road that would connect us back. Having bought the pepper spray I was on lookout for any dog that fancied charging me today.
Today would involve one huge climb of around 2000ft up clinch mountain, a sheer wall of vertical road to the heavens. I was moaning early in the ride about my sore knees and dreading the climb, then we came across Allen. He has Spinocerebellar Ataxia and was riding a hand bike from St Louis, we talked about what was ahead and asked him questions about his bike. After the meeting we both felt inspired to defeat this mountain so ploughed on up the steepest grades of the trip so far. The sweat was pouring of my face as flies hover around but you can only continue crawling up.
Allen
After finally making it to the top we stopped to celebrate, there was a county line where the road bends and goes downhill and it was just as fun as the Damascus downhill. After reaching the church in Rosedale where we were going to camp we find the Adventure cycling group setup too. They invite me and Cooper to eat with them and in return we washed some dishes. They also sold beer for $1 a can which has become a must after a hard day in the saddle. All is good.
Cooper had an appointment to get his aching ankle looked at, so I spent the morning wandering Damascus on my own in search of breakfast and wifi. I found the pancakes and missed the wifi, which felt like a fair trade. By the time we got everything together and left town, we’d already missed the route’s turn coming in and were pedalling confidently in the wrong direction for a while before we caught the mistake and found a road to stitch us back onto the trail. With the pepper spray now riding in my handlebar bag, I was keeping half an eye on every driveway for the dog that fancied a chase.
The day held one serious obstacle: a two-thousand-foot climb up Clinch Mountain, a wall of road that seemed to run straight up into the sky. I’d been moaning early about my knees and dreading the whole thing when we met Allen, riding a hand-cycle down from St Louis with Spinocerebellar Ataxia, and we stopped to talk about the road ahead and the machine underneath him. Something about that conversation put steel in both of us, and we set off up the steepest grades of the trip so far with a bit more purpose. Sweat ran freely, flies hung around my face in a cloud, and there was nothing to do but keep crawling.
Allen.
We made the top eventually and stopped to celebrate at the county line, where the road bent and dropped away downhill, every bit as good as the Damascus run had been. Our stop for the night was a church in Rosedale, and we arrived to find an Adventure Cycling group already camped there. They fed us in exchange for a turn on dish duty and sold us beer for a dollar a can — which, at the end of a day like this one, has become something close to a necessity. All was well with the world.
5 comments from 2010
<3 Allen
Keep the updates coming, can't wait to get out there myself! hope you didn't spray that dog!!! x
Hi Rye,update is brill,sounds like you & cooper having a great time,love the pics, lots more adventures ahead ...enjoy,luv mum xxx
HIya rye,was that an example of the viscous dogs,scary.World cup less than a week away,can't wait.Take it easy.
Queen - I want to break free