Tuesday, 9am was a cool, windy, start for a ride up to Skyland
https://www.nps.gov/shen/learn/historyculture/skyland.htm
on the Skyline Drive. I took my usual scenic route to Culpeper, and had lunch at Baby Jim's Snack Bar.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevystew/27592426132/
I took Rt. 522 north to Sperryville. On the way I saw a tiny loop road that I had to check out.
There was a one lane bridge, and the road's namesake.
I entered the Drive at Thornton Gap. It was another ten miles south on the Drive to my day's destination, and I had a lot of juice left. So I rode WOT all the way there, never dropping below 25 mph, and seeing 35 mph on the descents. I am afraid this was a poor decision, as I ticked off several drivers along the way. The speed limit is 35mph, which many like to exceed, and my speed made it difficult to pass. A guy in a Corvette flew around me and the car ahead at deadly speed into oncoming traffic. I did arrive alive at about 3:30pm.
90.2 mi, 4:34, 19.7 av, 35.2 max, 1950.2 Wh, 21.3 Wh/mi, 35.12 Ah
I checked in and rode to my room. I put the bike on the charger and took a shower, then walked the quarter mile trail up to The Tap Room. I had a beer and a hummus/veggie/pita platter on the deck, overlooking the Valley. I got a large coffee, and espresso brownie to go, for desert. I sat on my room's balcony, also overlooking the Valley, enjoying the food and the view. I wasted a bunch of time scrolling the the dozens of cable channels of crap, as usual, before giving up and going to bed. The next morning, I walked up to the snack bar, and got another coffee, orange juice, yogurt, and a chocolate croissant to eat on my balcony. The blackbirds were slope soaring as I ate, and I watched the fog slowly burn off of the Valley.
I left at 9am again, and headed south towards Afton. This time I set the cruise control to 16.5 mph on the level. I saw a low as 15.0 mph on the climbs, and as high as 38 mph on the descents. This meant cars could easily pass most of the time, and I was going fast enough on the downhills to avoid slowing traffic too much. Ten miles on, I stopped at Big Meadows and took a picture of the charge stations there...only to delete it from my phone just now. I chatted with a couple there, about electric vehicles, for probably 15 minutes. At 57 miles in, I saw a bear cub on the side of the road. It quickly scurried down into the woods. A half mile on, I stopped and spoke to a park guy with a weed wacker. He said there were three cubs that he saw along there most days. I arrived at the snack bar for a hotdog with sauerkraut, and an orange soda. I met a cyclist waiting for his wife. He had ridden the 105 miles from Front Royal, with his wife driving sag. She was off in Waynesboro getting supplies. Somehow she had both their phones, and didn't know where he was. I let him use mine to try and contact her. Her phone didn't respond, but he was able to leave a message on his. I hope she checked it.
Stats for the Skyline Drive: 64.18 mi, 3:13.42, 19.8 av, 38.0 max, 964.30 Wh, 14.1 Wh/mi. 16.09 Ah, 6.7% regen
I took my usual route home...mostly Trans America/76 bike route.
The day's total stats: 128.314 mi, 5:54, 21.7 av, 38.0 max, 2217.6 Wh, 16.4 Wh/mi, 38.55 Ah, 14,143 miles, so far