After Subway came the climb. It was several miles long and I covered it in a decent time according to my cousin Kevin; he keeps close tabs on me when I am riding.
I passed through Christiansburg and headed to Radford; a college town. In Radford I came across a bike shop (not surprising for a college town) and I took time to use their floor pump to get my air pressure where it needed to be before arriving in Kingsport, TN the next afternoon. I also purchased a couple of water bottle cages to change out the ones on my BOB Trailer. It was a really nice shop and the staff was extremely helpful.
After Radford I headed to my second major mountain climb of the day. It was a long, grinding ride up; this climb was in excess of 3 miles. Along the way I was surprised by one of our English Corner students who Skyped me during the climb; it was great to see him. Once I got to the top I was rewarded for my effort to get there; what a view! I took a few minutes to soak it in and chat with a motorcycle couple who wanted to know more about my ride.
The ride down was beautiful and fast. I actually missed the Service Road I was to turn on so after going under I-81 I had to turn back and get on the Service Road that tracked along 81. That is where I was the rest of the day. About an hour out of Wytheville I stopped at a Convenience Store to refuel. Celeste and I chatted about the weather report for the evening; storms were going to be passing through Wytheville. I had a camp site reserved at the KOA in Wytheville; I had Celeste call the KOA and change my reservation from a campsite to a small cabin. Good thing I did; after I arrived, showered, ate dinner and got back to the cabin; the heavens opened up and it stormed hard.
That helped me fall asleep early. I tried to read a bit but could not keep my eyes open. Even in my tired state I was a bit excited about the next day's ride to Kingsport. I would be staying with Steve & Gwen Janulis and having time to visit and celebrate with friends, family and CCH Alum Mike Rigas.
