It was an uneventful day until….

 It was in the 70’s when I left Cary and was mild all the way into VA.  It got up to the 80’s then but was comfortable.  There was very little traffic so I moved right along through VA.  Lunch was a chicken sandwich at KFC with a twist.  They still won’t let you eat indoors in VA.  So I took my sandwich to the curb and enjoyed it but not as much as Chick-fil-a.  It was a chunk of chicken with a blob of mayo.  Not very appealing.  So then I was off to Davis.  In 10 miles I would be in WV.  I was traveling on Rt. 33 and seemed to be clear sailing until my GPS told me to turn.  Ok so I am a trusting sole and I am lost anyway.  The single lane paved road quickly deteriorated to dirt and gravel and became very steep.  The sign said unimproved roadway ahead.  Also, no plowing beyond this point.  The road really wasn’t a road but a forest service road and was so steep I couldn’t turn around.  For 4 miles I climbed this trail up and around steep switchbacks, potholes and gravel with no suitable place to turn around.  This really sucked!  Did I tell you that I was riding a BMW R1200rt which is a road(pavement) type bike, not an off road bike.

This crossing is called a low water bridge.  Fine to cross now but with their heavy rains the water rises up and goes over the “bridge” not useful for crossing.

 

I finally crested the top of the mountain to a patch of pavement barely wide enough for a car and for 4 miles I came down the other side of the mountain, at least on pavement.  By this time the storm was building up ahead and I was hoping to reach the lodge before all hell broke loose.  Sprinkles started but nothing to worry about and I was 5 miles from the lodge.  With 4 miles to go the skies opened up and the lightning was flying all over the place.  Could barely see but forged ahead to the lodge where the front awning was packed with arrivals.

I was wet inside my suit but not from the sky but from the effort I put in getting over the mountain.  But I am here and the evening dinner was great.  Tomorrow I am off to explore.