Day 6 - June 14, 2002

Lexington to Troutville, VA (Camp Bethel)

Ride length: 46.1 miles
Total to date: 325.67 miles
Moving time: 4 hr. 2 min.
Maximum speed: 41 mph
Average Speed: 11.4 mph
Total ascent: 2254 ft.
Minimum elevation: 858 ft.
Maximum elevation: 1459 ft.
Ending elevation: 1190 ft.
Wind: South wind 5-10 (head to quarter).
Weather: pc/mc; high 85°F

The pain begins...

I slept for a very long time last night and my right Achilles tendon hurts today. I stretched it and took a little bit of Tylenol to ease the pain. Riding was alright otherwise. The roads are rollercoaster and pretty smooth with little traffic. There were some gradual ascents and descents that I liked a lot. What is bad are steep descents where I have to waste all the energy I used to get to the top of the hill in braking.

I passed through Lexington, VA, home to the Virginia Military Academy and Washington and Lee University. They are very nice looking campuses and the town is quite nice. I stopped to eat at a restaurant and put the food down with no problem. I think I'm getting my appetite back.

Buchanan, VA is a nice little town. Today must either be Flag Day or they are very patriotic here. I've never seen so many flags out in a town before. I stopped and got a nectarine at a fruit stand. They had some canteloupe there to try and it was excellent as well.

The campsite at Camp Bethel was very nice. It is a church camp run by the Church of the Brethren. They had hot showers and a nice, streamside site where I was able to pitch my tent under some trees. The songs of birds will probably wake me up in the morning.

Tomorrow I'll finish the first of 13 map segments on my way to Seattle. It is nice to be over half way through Virginia, the most difficult state to ride in terms of the mountains.

Food: 1 packet ramen noodles (360 kcal), grilled chicken breast sandwich (290 kcal) with bbq sauce and cole slaw (70 kcal), a pickle spear (nil), one serving of chips (600 kcal), a tossed salad (50 kcal) with Catalina dressing (54 kcal), four saltines (58 kcal), a glass of lemonade (250 kcal), one pint of chocolate milk (415 kcal), one quart of Gatorade (240 kcal), one package of Skittles (450 kcal.), and a freeze dried dinner of turkey and mashed potatoes (510 kcal), 1 nectarine (66 kcal).

Total Energy: 3413 Cal.

Food cost: $12.56 at the restaurant; $4.63 otherwise.

Camping cost: $8


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