Christiansburg is a nice small town...i found the cheapest motel i could and hit the sack early. This morning i started riding about 8am and headed out into the roanake valley which proved to be lushously green and pretty. The road wound around and up and down through countryside which us gradually reminding me more and more of England. It is however warm here.
I met a group of four roadies out for a quick ride...they were all interested in the trip and the gear on my bike.
When I got to the city park in troutville I was tempted to push on to Lexington...but my thigh muscles are aching after to many short rides and ice cream...so as I have a lot if time on my hands ill stay here in the park tonight...it has power a place to stay and I can grab a shower over the road in the fire station.

I passed some really nice houses today. One five bedroom place with 45acres had a board up saying for sale from owner $450k. Now given its located in some of the most beautiful countryside I have seen on the transam ride I thought that sounded ok. It even had a horse corral and a stream.
The bug questions are...do I have a spare $450k and what the hell would I do with all that space?....sweet dreams are made of this..lol!

The Virginians are really nice people for the mostpart. They wave say hi and are extremly helpfull.

I rode 47 miles today...I think only day ones ride was shorter. I'm finding it hard still not to keep clocking up 70+ mile days. Lord knows what ill do when I have to stop riding.


Riding in Virginia is a real pleasure.

Chritiansburg this morning

Some shots from my ride today along the roanoke valley in Virginia.

Filling up

I really liked this house.

The Roanoke valley near fort lewis and brushy mountains.

This is the transam cyclist guest book at troutville city park Virginia. All along the route I have been asked by people if I would mind signing their guest books..and some have wanted my photo...foolishly I might add lol!

I think its a great tradition and reading comments from travellers from all over the world is facinating. It also provides a source of news about who is ahead of you on the route and how many days or weeks ahead they are.

Back the saddle again

http://soundcloud.com/andy-mcclelland/rolfs-back-in-the-saddle-again/s-IZxiv

Here us a very cool tune by my friend Andy!

Yeeeehawwww!

I'm on the final section (12) of the transamerica bicycle ride!  Tomorrow morning ill start riding along map 139 ...map 150 is Yorktown. Each map panel covers about 40 miles.

My new addiction !

Riding into Radford Virginia this afternoon.

Scenes from todays ride outside of Radford virginia

This is as close as I want to get to the interstates here lol!

The blue hue over the mountains

As dawn broke I was up and at 'em...well ish. I dragged my sorry arse out of my tent where I could happily have slept all day..lol! Today I rode from wytheville to christiansburg Virginia a total of just 52 miles. I hit a diner for breakfast and.went for the as much as you can eat buffet...mistake....I ate way to much eggs bacon pancakes sausages burgers biscuits bread pudding French toast and went back for seconds....Shinto was not happy with me lol!

The ride itself was easy enough but the extra weight of breakfast stopped me getting my rythym ..that and several short sharp hills. The first part ofbthe ride was nice...then I filled the interstate into Radford...I can really tell now I am in the east. Radford presented a navigational nightmare as the bike route signs are wrong, the map is right and the GPS still hasn't made up its mind.
I finally found a tunnel that led me through a park and around the back of town. Here two girls in a car pulled up and the passenger asked me if I was from England...I have a union Jack on the back of Shinto which is a big clue...I said yes and she giggled and the driver shouted...'allo mate I'm from crouch end init!....I dropped a gear and cruised away pdq.

Throughout the day the sky became gteyer and I sensed rain. I knew the park at christuansburg was a no go for camping so I decided is get a motel as it is the end of the map section ...its a treat think for me.

Although I have time on my side something in me just wants to get the job done now and get to the coast...then decide what next. I can see why the mountains are called the blue ridge mountains...they have a blue hue over them..almost prehistoric...and very beautiful.

I have aquired an Arizona tea addiction. It's only green tea with honey and ginseng but its served ice cold and a huge tin costs just 90c ...Gatorade costs $2 ...my guess is tea is just as good for me.

Tomorror I start the last map section...wow...the last of twelve from the pacific to the Atlantic....I'm secretly pretty proud of what I have done so far...but I still want to just get there and finish what I started. Then I will relax.

Tonight on fox news channel is some kind of election crap...Mic Romney ...yawn..zzzzz...

Lol!....hey and what the hell is martin Bashir doing o. American tv....wondered where he had gone Lol!

The lady in the dollar store was talking to me and thought I was Australian...when I told her I was from London she said...oh I.just love the London accent it'd so.cute...do you live in christiansburg.....luckily I.don't lol!

I often think you can judge the nature of the town by the restrooms lol!

Fire flies surround my tent tonight. Can't get a picture but they are beautiful. It's the first time I have seen them!

And tonights five star de luxe accomodation is here in wytheville Virginia....I can almost smell the atlantic from here lol!

Scenes from todays ride to whyteville Virginia

So now I'm wondering of this will get me up the mountain in the morning or not....oooops.

Scenes from the ride from Damascus to wytheville Virginia today

After a day off the bike I'm still.tired....lol...but I forced myself out of my sleeping bag to do battle with the Virginian hills once again...its a tough job but someone has to.do it. The map elevation profile showed huge climbs coming out of

Damascus....in the event I cruised up them and was over them thinking they were just foothills before the real climbs came...erm...but they didn't!

Instead I was speeding along good roads, mostly flat or downhill with a nice tailwind. I.had thought is just stop at the next hostel but I was there so quickly that I had ridden a few miles past it before I noticed!

So I headed to wytheville  a mere 58 miles away to the city park. Along the way I got a subway for lunch and just sat back in the saddle and enjoyed the ride...one of the few this trip with the wind behind me.

At this pace I am only a week tops from the coast...I have to decide what to do next...as I can't re book my flight like I had hoped.

I'm so tempted to just uturn around and ride back again....I feel free and happy here...but unfortunatly bank accounts I'm my name arnt bottomless pits of cash. I will have a word with god in a church along the way and see if he can fix that for me.

I seem to attract Insects on this trip...mosquitos and chiggers...bloody things..

The morning rides are a lot colder now...buy it hearts up to perfect riding conditions for the rest of the day.

It won't be long before I start map section 12 of the transam...the last map!!

So many people on this trip have told me they wish they could do what I am doing...with the exception of one guy who was disabled I couldn't see a single reason why any of them can't do it...I think it'd a mental battle much more than a physical battle. There are moments when I just have to push on through anything that comes my way...the best way to do that is to simply accept what has to be done and get the hell on with doing it....just keep peddalling no matter what happens....through all kinds of weather, mountains, poor drivers.....and above all else...stop for nothing except ice cream.

On a tour like this there is always something to do..
Something new to see, people to talk to, I never get bored. I wonder about life again without touring....it has its plus points for sure...but living on the bike like this beats it hands down...especially here in the USA.
....the policeman just came to open the restrooms for me and wished me a pleasant nights rest in the park here..how cool is that...bet plod back home wouldn't do that.

Larry arrived at Damascus today...its good to see him again!

The horrible thing about chiggers is chiggers just ain't  much fun. They're lumpy bumpy and make you grumpy...but the most horrible thing about chiggers is...there's always more than one!


.....these horrid little creatures live in the grass here...and I think my lower legs got bitten in Kentucky the other evening. They arnt dangerous, just itch a hell of a lot...oh well..lol!

Today is Sunday...I'm in a church hostel and reminded that god once mentioned that Sunday is a rest day. So today I have decided to agree with him and take a day.off.from the bike and the hills. The hostel here has all I need for $6 and it is a mice town...so I'm resting today...just in case I get struck down by thunder and lightening on the Sabbath you understand...not because I am lazy and there is a good ice cream parlour in town.

Actually there is a fair chance of catching a lot of rain in the next few days regardless of my actions on the Sabbath...as the storm from the gulf heads this way...well that is what the weather expert on a Harley on his way to church just told me lol!

There is a small alternate route here called the creeper trail...I won't ride it as it had loose shingle as a surface...so I will stick on the transam route. Scott and Anna are going that way today so ill go my own way agin from here. It was great riding with these guys for a couple of days..I wish you both good luck and tailwinds all the way to your destinations!

...ok..time get up and cycle the 100m to the ice cream shop lol!

Damascus

Virginia

The road to Damascus this afternoon.

The road was closed but I rode down it anyway...to find it was open enough for Mr to get through....I've learnt that roadsigns are only for cars...so I ignore things like this and go my own way. The rivers here are pretty...slow flowing compared to the Rockies but nice nevertheless.

The gradiants here are steep...very steep in places.

Scenes from todays ride to Damascus virginia

Riding today in Virginia...wow...although I knew inside I would do this its still a

Strange feeling to actually be here in the final state of my tour. But what a wonderful state it is so far. The mountains here are a joy to ride in...lots of steep climbs through dense forest. It is very humid but strangely not to hot. The trees are alive with birds ands all kinds of insects...it sounds like a tropical rain forest!

The downhills are fast and have sharp switchback turns...my brakes are wearing thin...time to change pads.

They have sheep here...mostly all I've seen across America is cows. Some of the trees are dropping their leaves..I wonder if this is the first sign of fall here?

As I rode today I felt mixed feelings...happy that I am riding in such beautiful surroundings, sad that my trip.is almost done, thinking of life back in the UK...some good..some not...but there are people I want to hug.

Damascus is a lovely small town in the hills here. The church has a biker hostel and I have a bed for the night. Around the corner is the bar where tonight I can recommend the special..pasta..bolognaise sauce...salad...yummy!

People in the town are welcoming...within two minutes of riding into town I had an offer of a free bed in somebodies house...then two guys on motorbikes stopped to say hi and recommended this bar to eat in...I followed their advice and it was good.

Once again..good things are happening on this ride...I make my own luck..take may own decisions and live with them...they have always been the right ones for me.

I try to catch the essence of the rides with the pictures and videos on facebook. But really it'd about the wind in my face, the smells, the people, the freedom and the feel of the bike under me. I can't catch that on camera.

I just don't want this ride to end. But I'm young enough to do this again or a similar ride. But its not over yet...I still have some big climbs and a state to cross....and a lot more smiling to do!