65.14 miles (Total: 722.30) Average Speed: 10.6mph Max Speed: 42mph

The gang wakes to another amazing breakfast from David, then I set about fixing my tube again. I take of the tyre and checked yet again for any sharp objects that may have caused the previous puncture and manage to finally find the smallest piece of wire metal that isn’t protruding but still lodged, it has caused all the problems. So this time with the tube I trim the patch small enough to fit inbetween the ridges and apply it. After filling it with air it holds perfect so I set about fixing my other tube from yesterday, same success. I put the tube in fill it then load all my bags, several minutes later its still rock solid. Me, Cooper and Terry hit the road while Joe continues his leisurley morning still recovering from his huge day yesterday and says he will catch us down the trail.

After the first 20 miles we spot a Wal Mart so pull in to see if they have suitable inner tubes. They stock some cheap universal one that is the right size so I buy it as back up until we get to another bike shop which could be another week away. Cooper also buys a new camera as he broke his before pursuading us to go thirds on a big box of Little Debbies Nutty Bars. He says they are amazing but me and Terry weren’t very impressed, imagine a chocolate bar filled with salt, BORK. Just as we are about to head off Joe pulls up as he needs brake pads, Wal Mart has everything. We continue on as the rain starts to pour on a busy road with a shoulder filled with rocks and shrapnel. Terry’s rear wheel goes flat, so we pull over in the pouring rain to fix it finding a small piece of glass that had pierced the wall.

We push on through small towns like Chavies and Emmalena before reaching a gas station which is our only real option for lunch. Services are still pretty limited as is our destination for the night, Booneville. In Kentucky you pretty much don’t have a choice in where to stay you just have to push out the miles and make it. I get a few sliders and a chilli hot dog whilst cooper gets a large hash brown with ‘everything on it’, it looks like a plate of sick.

The calories would soon be burnt in the afternoon as we tackled 5 reasonable climbs, each feeling tougher than the last. Joe, although travelling light, only has two cranks so doesn’t have the climbing gear options we do so he just powers it out the best he can. We stop a few times for small breaks and wait for Terry to catch up because his stuff weighs a ton. I like that nobody is trying to be a hero and honest enough to take the breaks because it was really tough. I hit a new max speed on one of the downhills without even feeling it and inform the gang of the new record to be beaten, 42 mph.

We eventually arrive in Boonville at the church that allows cyclist to camp. It has a small pavillion, toilet, sink and cold shower, perfect! Me an Joe decide to head into town for supper but everywhere is closed so it ends up being a hashed up meal from the store. We all sit under the pavillion chatting about general stuff while I patch Terry’s tube from earlier. I am now the official go to tube expert guy. Terry makes me an amazing cup of tea then scolds himself with the water. Nice to be back on the road, tomorrow its Berea and I’m pushing to split a motel with the group as its been a while.

Today was going to be a rest day as we all had stuff to fix on our bikes and Cooper hadn’t even had a day off yet! I make my way down to the patio to find Terry already sat consuming breakfast, David instantly presents me with a cup of Tea, cereal, cake, strawberries & cream, apples, bananas, grapes and just about everything else you could imagine. Cooper eventually joins us to the same astonishment and we sit for hours stuffing ourselves. It was a great idea to take a rest day in Hindman.

We all sit and work on our bikes in the blistering heat during the day. I struggle a few times to fix my tube from yesterday as the hole is right on a ridge line in the tube, then I notice the rear tyre on the bike has gone flat. This leaves me out of spare working tubes! I take it out check the tyre again for something sharp and can’t find anything. Maybe this tube has a faulty valve? Deal with it later.

After a stroll around sleepy Hindman we return to the house for a beer. David makes us all an amazing potatoe with grated cheese, sour cream and bacon bits followed by a huge banana and ice cream sundae. We sip away the night until the phone rings, another cyclist is coming for the night. Joe, 22 from Ohio turns up looking exhausted from a really long ride. I thought I packed light but he has hardly any baggage. We soon learn he didnt even start the trip with a sleeping bag. We are all heading for Booneville tomorrow so the gang has grown to 4.

74.74 miles (Total: 657.15.35) Average Speed: 11mph Max Speed: 39mph

The rain continues to drop on top of my tent so I glance out the doorway to see its actually stopped and the wind is just blowing some. I got up to find just about everything stained and dirty, my bike especially. It takes forever for us to clean up even though we know the only option for tonight is to cycle 75 miles to Hindman. We leave Breaks and glide downhill towards the border. I glanced back to see the welcome to Virginia sign then just around the corner we had arrive in Kentucky, it felt like a real milestone.

I had heard and read some crazy stories about Kentucky and not a few metres over the state line we saw our first feral dog just trotting along the roadside.  Alongside this we noticed the roadside suddenly becoming increasingly trash filled. We stop in Elkhorn city to have breakfast, I manage to get wifi so call home. Keen to get back on the road concious of the big day ahead we soon hit the road again to find we must now share it with more coal trucks. This is coal truck central, even the homes and shops have banners and stickers that read “We love our coal miners” I guess the whole place depends on it.

We struggle up and over each climb then stop at a Dairy bar for food. The locals have thick accents but have all been friendly enough so far. We soon press on down a busy road with a large shoulder, lumps of coal that had fallen from trucks covered the side. The scenery is strange, they strip mine entire mountains for the coal leaving devastating gaps in the landscape.

Its getting into late afternoon and we still have around 30 miles to cover, then a feel my back wheel throbbing up and down. We pull over to find I have my first flat, now I feel like a genuine touring cyclist. We fish out the tube check the tyre, I can’t find the hole or what caused it. I fish out a fresh tube I can patch the other one later. After I start pumping the new tube I check the tyre isn’t pinching it anywhere then continue to pump. After some more pumps I check how the pressure is building in the tyre and feel a bubble underneath. The tube HAD become pinched and looked like a small bubble coming out the side of the tyre so I take the pump of straight away but it explodes, great. I fish out my second spare tube and we both double check everything a million times after each pump, it seems seated right and eventually pumps up nicely.

Once were back on the road the clouds turn black and light fades we race the last 25 miles to Hindman sprinting up and over the hills. We had two choices, find the motel just off route or stay at the Historical Society. The latter would have been our first choice but you had to camp and our tents were soaking from last night, plus the ACA group said they were heading there so we didn’t know if there was room and got no response from calling the place. We passed through Hindman and found another huge climb towards the motel. Both tired and angry we stayed civil and trudged up. We get to the intersection to find no sign of the motel so ask in the station for directions. They tell us its 2 miles up another hill but it was a nasty motel for drug addicts. We try the Historical Society once more and David answers, he tells us we would have to camp but we would get a free beer, laundry done for us, supper & breakfast for $25. Deal.

We finally arrive exhausted to find Terry is there also, he helps us with the bags then fetches us a beer. David greats you at the entrance with a large glass of ice tea. We then settle down for beer, pizza and potatoes as the stresses of the day soon fade away. Cooper asks Terry what he makes of Kentucky, he replies in his best oz accent “Its bloody primitive!”. David then brings out jars of moonshine and offers us a shot, we all oblige, its actually pretty good.

46.18 miles (Total: 582.35) Average Speed: 10.3mph Max Speed: 38mph

We left Rosedale hungry in search of a place to eat. We stopped at the first town to find breakfast but had to settle for some old egg and bacon biscuits (biscuits are like scone things here and I’ve never really taken to them).

The morning is foggy and with with people going to work and school buses flying past it makes tackling Big A mountain even more of a challenge. Our destination for the night was Breaks Interstate Park and Cooper has a small stove so we had decided to cook supper, tacos were on the menu.

After picking up some food for later we then reached Haysi and stopped at a pizza buffet before hitting the Haysi library. I spent a few minutes checking emails but couldn’t update my blog as they were typed up on my netbook and Haysi had no wifi. By this point the roads had started to become heavy with coal trucks. We knew this would be a problem in Kentucky as the industry is huge in the area. They are huge monoliths with dark souless windscreens.

We sweat our way through yet more short climbs before reaching Breaks. The woman on the entrance waves us through without charging and points us in the directions of the campground. We stop in at the camp office to register a spot and the guys are super friendly with deep country accent and talk us through the best sites then even give us a golf cart to drive around and check them out before picking one. Once camp is set up we get a fire going and cook up the grub, the taco shells in the kit we bought were horrific so we went to the camp store to pick up something else.

Just as the evening was coming to a calm end thunder rolls in, soon followed by the rain, then lightening. Its only about 8pm but we scramble into our tents as the storm raged on and on. I dropped in and out of sleeping as each flash of lightening would crash close by and I battle to make sure my tent wasn’t letting the water pool on top. This is going to be an interesting night!

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.

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.

46.13 miles (Total: 503.76) Average Speed: 11.6mph Max Speed: 36.5mph

After sinking those beers last night I woke up around 7am desperate for the toilet, it had probably been the best nights sleep yet in the comfy beds. We headed out to the country kitchen cafe across the street looking to score a hearty breakfast and we weren’t dissapointed by the large range of fry ups they offer.

Today was going to be around 46 miles to our next town of Damascus, however we were both a little concerned about two big climbs on the elevation profile, but after them is a huge 10+ mile downhill to Damascus. It was forecast rain and we soon pulled out the waterproofs but it wasn’t too bad, quite pleasant to ride in. After entering the Jefferson National Forest we began the first climb, it was steady, smooth and before we knew it we had arrived in Troutdale. This was the midway point between the two climbs. The early part of the ride over small rolling hills had been way tougher than the long uphill.

There was a cafe in Troutdale where we stopped for lunch. I ordered the chilli cheese burger, both greasy and delicious. I attempted to make use of the wifi but with limited success. Trying to upload pictures for my blog wwas clearly going to take forever and I would rather post my blog entries in full with them so decided to wait till Damascus before I catch up.

Now it was time to tackle the second even longer climb for the day, on the way up we come across a horrible situation. A snake had been ran over in the road its head still able to move and swing but its whole back end flattened out. The worst part, it was pregnant with all its eggs firing out the back end scattered across the road. Cooper ‘took care’ of it. we continued with the ride and suddenly began a nice downhill, too nice and too long. I pulled over and Cooper stopped behind me. What the hell, is this the big downhill already? Have we completed the big climbs without so much as a wince. The downhill continued on and on, we coasted without pedalling once for at least 20 minutes gliding around the bends in the forest roads, so much fun. I wanted to ask a truck driver at the bottom if he would ride me back up to the top so I could go again, why is there not a service set up here to allow people to do that!

We coast into Damascus to a heavy downpour, but the sky quickly clears and its bright sunshine again. After finding ‘The Place’, a hiker/biker hostel ran by the methodist church we proceed inside to find a bunch of bearded Appalachian Trail hikers lounging around and cooking on their stoves. ‘The Place’ as you can imagine smells like sweaty hikers, its basic but its a roof and has showers again only asking for a suggested donation of $5. We find a room all to ourselves upstairs, the windows are cracked its actually quite fresh. The bunks are wooden so you need to use your rollmat and sleeping bag. I shower and then we head into town firstly stopping by the cycle shop to finally get our hands on some Halt! pepper spray for the upcoming feral dogs of Kentucky then hit the outdoor store so Cooper can pick up some sandals. We spot what looks like a touring bike with panniers down the road, after catching up Cooper soon realises its Austrialian Terry whom he met in Catawba and I had heard was a few days ahead of me way back in Mineral.

The three of us head out to the highly recommended Quincy’s, a pizza and beer combination similar to Mellow Mushroom in Charlottesville. Terry is 59 and well travelled, he was actually born in Manchester (a city fan) and has cycled round the british isles, visiting frequently. We devour our pizza’s and go through several pitchers of beer before retiring for the night.

56.37 miles (Total: 457.61) Average Speed: 11.1mph Max Speed: 37mph

The Lee’s have cats and dogs, despite not usually being allergic I woke up with a running nose and sneezing. The dogs outside also start barking around 5am and I eventually got up around 5:30, very tired and bunged up. Thankfully I was able to have the best cup of Earl Grey and it set me right again. Cooper eventually got out off bed, before we hit the road for the day we stopped by a station to pick up another 5 hour energy shot which I now swear by.

The shot doesn’t seem to have the same effect for me today but Cooper is flying as I ignore my burning thighs to keep up. The weather is looking ominous and eventually the heavens open, we stop by a shelter on a local bike trail and hit the store for some lunch whilst waiting out the rain. “Are you from Liverpool?” asked the women. It turns out she spent some time in northern England so I commended her for at least recognising I wasn’t from London. She tells me her favourite place in the world is “right here in Draper!”. Seriously, the place was literally a gas station and a portable toilet, oh well.

After the rain we rode sluggishly, we had only covered a third of the day and it was already 1pm. The hills are steady and frequent enough to make it feel as if your constantly struggling up a hill hour after hour. We pass a huge Gatorade bottling factory and shout out to an old guy on his porch about it. He calls us over and says “he ain’t got the gatorade” but offers us some cold fizzy peach water. It was really refreshing, the guy then introduces himself as Perry Graham. He tells us how the area has become dominated by trucks, how he doesn’t get gatorade discount and how he had to retire “because I got a disability”. Just as he seems like a laid back old timer he starts to turn religous on us, his voice gets heated as he talks about the divine healing he has received. Ok thanks for the beverage Perry but we gotta roll!

We get to the outskirts of Whytheville and decide to stop at the busy services for food, there were trucks and cars everywhere. We have probably one of the most mediocare subways ever (they hardly had anything we wanted) before heading out to finish the last few climbs to our destiniation, Rural Retreat. Once we made it to the Historical Society building that allows cyclists to stay over Cooper phones the number provided on the locked door. A woman turns up almost immeidiatley to show us around, stocked kitchen, hot showers and beds! She tell us its free to stay but they ask kindly for donations. She then hands us the key and leave. The place is unbelievable and turns out to be the birth and deathplace of the original Dr Pepper (later we would discover the connection to the drink was loose, the drink is from Texas and only named after this guy through a friend of a friend, but Rural Retreat likes its claim to fame).

I crack open the fridge, free gatorade and Dr Pepper galore, I then spot two beers at the back. Me and Cooper instantly rejoice before necking them in celebration of a tough day. We head out to the store to get some more to drink and to replace the two we drank for the next tired cyclists that roll through.

Places like the Rural Retreat Historical Society, which you would otherwise not even consider a destination have been amazing. The woman who gave us the keys to this entire building/museum had no doubt we would treat it with respect and leave her a donation. She must have been proven right so many times over the years to be this comfortable that it restores your faith in humanity, especially when I think of some of the scumbags I encounter around Newcastle and Middlesbrough back home. Life is good.

59.21 miles (Total: 401.23) Average Speed: 10.8mph Max Speed: 30.5mph

I was up and waiting for the motel breakfast to begin as I was keen to get an early start towards Radford. Last night I rang Dr Lee, whose card I had picked up from the bike house. He did the TransAm back in 1998 and now he lets cyclists stay at his home. I devoured waffles, cereal and eggs then drank a 5 hour energy shot which I had picked up the previous day.

I’m often sceptical of these energy drinks but this thing was immense. I knew the first 20 miles were going to be mostly uphill towards Catawba but I powered through them staying in a pretty high gear the whole time just sprinting over the hills. It was Sunday and really early so the roads were quiet and the weather was perfect. I found a turtle in the road and moved him off to save him from certain death, they crawl out to sun themselves which is pretty stupid.

After climbing over the crest of one hill I suddenly spot another cyclist up ahead, hes not local, he has pannier bags like me, he must be on the TransAm! So I stand on my pedals again and sprint, remember I was on fire today. He soon heard me charging up behind and glanced back to see me. It was 26 year old Cooper from Minnesota and he IS on the TransAm, I asked where he was heading today and he says the Lee’s house in Radford, me too! They had told him an English guy was also staying, that guy being me. We talked bikes, bags and equipment whilst forgetting about the ride, the next 20 miles flew by. We both agreed a week after starting it was great to have company, it also turns out he stayed at the motel I was at in Lexington the same night.

Cooper needed to take a leak at the side of the road so we stopped, seconds later a truck pulled down the driveway right where he went, uh oh. But the they just smiled and waved oblivious to what had just went down. We stopped at the small town of Ellet to refuel on some gatorade and bananas and talked about the cookie lady. He had slept in the bike house alone too which is a VERY scary place in the dark with all that old stuff hanging around and the old furnishings.

We had another 20 miles until Radford, the next 7 were going to be a killer uphill towards Christiansburg. It was tough but seemed to finish alot early than either of us had anticipated. From there on it was an amazing downhill coast all the way to Radford. We stopped in at Arby’s to get some grub before finding the Lee’s house. We were welcomed in with glasses of iced water and then told we could shower, do laundry before flipping for the bed/sofa for the night. AMAZING.

We also finished our first map today the new one finishes off Virginia then takes us midway through Kentucky. We later worked out by mileage we had completed 10% of the trip.

46.86 miles (Total: 342.01) Average Speed: 10.2mph Max Speed: 33.5mph

I would like to tell you I have an exciting story to bring you today but in truth it was as bland as the final destination, Daleville. It began really foggy and the road was still wet from yesterdays storms, the 76 route signs that had stopped coming into Lexington picked up again.

I was soon onto some of the quietest back country roads I have been on all trip, I could tell it was going to be a dull one from the off so pulled out the iPod and put some essential Bob Dylan on. It helped pass the first 20 miles and then I finally had some company. I spooked two deers on the field next to me and they started running parallel with me along into the forest, they then realised I was no threat and stopped to chew on some leaves a little further up.

The rest of the ride then ran alongside the interstate which wasn’t much fun, even though I had this road to myself the noise was annoying. It did have frequent services though where I could stock up on food and gatorade. I decided to treat myself to some handlebar bag snacks so picked up Hawaiian Punch jelly beans to munch on.

I continued on some fun rolling hills where I could generate enough speed going down to get me back up again as I have had a few days ago. I past through Buchanan and then Troutville which was my first option for the night, camping at the park but its Memorial weekend and it was rammed. So I pushed on another 5 miles towards Daleville. Here I had a decision to make either go another 15 miles towards Catawba or get a motel here. I knew in Catawba I could camp but tried ringing the supplied number to no answer. It wouldn’t have showers either and after spraying past some puddles early in the day I needed one.  So I swallowed my pride and got a motel again, it doesn’t really make a difference as my destination for tomorrow is Radford anyway so my 2-day schedule that I keep hasn’t changed.

I do now consider a 46 mile day a short day however which suggests my saddle fitness is improving. There is no rushing Virginia, I know its one of the longest states on the trip as the route goes up and down rather than just west. There is plenty of flat farmland out in the mid-west to crank out 100+mile days. The motel has been given some life by the hordes of hikers that turned up who are on the Appalachian Trail which intersects my path for the next couple days.

I woke this morning to the news of flash floods and storms in the area and although it was sunny outside they were forecast for midday. I had washing that needed doing and my bike also needed a tune and clean up so after putting in an extra 20 miles that anticipated the previous day I took the day off.

It was spent doing all of the above and finishing off the pizza from last night, it was a good job I stayed in though because bang on cue the sky went black and the storms rolled in. Tomorrow I will be going either Daleville or Catawba.