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Trans-Am Day 4 - Ashland to Lake Anna, VA

December 30th, 2007

Before willing myself out of my warm sleeping bag, I snapped a picture of my view. I rose into the cold and decided on a cold breakfast to keep with the theme. I finished off my first pack of Fig Newtons and had a mug of Gatorade (my morning drink of choice for that last few days.) The early Gatorade seems to give my muscles what they need to start out. I knew I would be having an early lunch, as I planned to go into Ashland today.

I got a kick out the the simple parts of bicycle touring that the Pete’s and I shared. Cycling clothes that we washed last night while we showered, hanging out to dry. They may have used the on site laundry, I just didn’t have enough to justify it. A little time in the shower with some soap works just as well.

I started out of the campground, hit the restroom, and did my bike pocket check. You know how you do the pocket slap for your keys and wallet? I do the same for my essentials on the bike after every stop. My water bottle slap came up empty. Megan Pete was holding them out as I rode a few feet back to camp. I made sure that they knew the short cut to get back on route which I had, through much effort, learned last night.

I detoured off the route in Ashland to find a Radio Shack and a Post Office. I was successful on both accounts. I purchased a replacement and spare fuses for the 12V battery. By the end of today day, the battery had charged fine via the solar cell. They didn’t have a loaner soldering iron and I figured that I could find a better solution than buying $30 work of stuff to fix my bike computer wire, then immediately mailing it to my parents. I’ll be using the GPS as my only bike computer for a little while longer.

I stopped at a Jersey Mike’s Subs and got a Giant Club Supreme. They didn’t miss use the word giant! In the picture of it, the two paper plates it is spanning are normal large sized plates. I had them wrap up that last 1/4 to take with me. That made my little breakfast work out perfect.

I rode up to the Post Office and started pulling out bags. The time honored tradition of elimination was upon me. I draped the laundry from yesterday that was still wet all over my bike. I went through every piece of equipment that I had on the bike and made each piece justify itself to me. I came up with about 8 pounds of stuff that I could live without. It should be in my parents house day after tomorrow, thanks to the fine people of the USPS. With that done, I headed out of town around 1:30.

Ashland has some history in railroad, as do many towns in this nation. Two main lines run right through town and made for some pretty scenes. The railroad depot was a nice place to sit on a bench and read a book. But alas, there are miles to go before I sleep and I had yet to purchase a book.

On Blunt’s Bridge Road, I started hitting my first serious hills of the trip. Before, I never was steep enough to not be able to gradually winch my self up with little effort. This one was more like some from the Hilly Hundred in Bloomington, except I don’t have all this gear on my bike for the hilly. As I was struggling up this hill, I saw an older lady in front of me doing the same thing on foot. When I got to the top, I pulled over to get my heart back in my chest and chatted for a little bit. She told me that if she climbs that hill a few times a week, it just might get her some vigor back. Well her body and stamina was looking a lot younger that the years on her face, so I say kudos to you. I know a few people who need that kind of mindset.

I noticed an old log cabin and pulled the bike over to stop. At first I thought it might be someone’s home, but then read the plaque. It is one of the few surviving cabins with a certain style of construction. I took pictures all around and looked at the various construction details. Instead of flats, they used notches to lock in the logs. The door jam height was extremely low, by modern standards. I would bang my head a few times going in and out of this place.

I noticed a water tap and it was pressurized. I assume it is city water, as I heard no pump start up. I let it run a little as I soaked my head and shirt, and filled up bottles before heading out again.

I stayed on the route to Scotchtown (which is a couple miles longer than you would have to go on 738) and wasn’t too happy with the results. I climbed many, many hills and when I finally got to Scotchtown, I had to ride downhill a 1/2 mile to get there. Sorry Patrick Henry, I know its your home and everything, but I’m not ready to optionally climb another hill that steep to see the house and 18 century antiques. There are too many hills to climb today and not enough hours to do it.

I snapped a few photos of my “dashboard view” with the map and solar cell. I also took a blurry shot of my air horn, GPS, computer, headlight switches, and Halt dog spray.

I took a break at a little store in Coatesville. I enjoyed some pecan spins and various beverages of the Gatorade persuasion. I also took the time to notice my many burns from mishandling the cook stove. It is kind of fun stopping at one of these little hole in the wall stores. You never know what is available and it is always a little adventure.

Just after leaving the store, I ran into yet more road kill. Check out the teeth on this one. As I was snapping this photo, some people stopped an asked what I was doing. I just said, “taking a picture of road kill, the first one I’ve ever gotten with a bike.” They just looked at me strange and drove off. Perhaps they saw the wide tire print across the midsection. Perhaps not.

Many hills later, I road through Bumpass. I’m not sure what syllables to accentuate either, but it really gave me a chuckle. I’m guessing it is either a place where bums come to get across the mountains or a place where the road is bumpy and they want to warn you. I didn’t really see either to determine the correct pronunciation.

Past Buckner, I reached Lake Anna. This area has really reminded me of Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. The little country stores, the lovely farm views, and what else… Oh yeah, never a flat road for miles. You are either going up or down. My leg muscles are going to need a day off soon or they are going on strike. I stopped at a large store for the area. After walking past the bait displays, I purchased some food for the evening.

I got into the Lake Anna Family Campground after 8PM. What a joke. I’m sure it was in better condition when Donna wrote her book. I got there too late to check in, and couldn’t figure out where I would do so. I just dropped my Thermarest on a picnic table at what I thought to be a site and threw my sleeping bag over it. That is after I cleaned off the inch of pine needles and leaves that were residing on the table.

After cooking up some dinner, I walked up to the bath house to take care of business and get a shower. Seeing the toilets made me laugh. For some reason I thought of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. One toilet with a plunger, one toilet without a seat, one toilet that was just right. Well, not just right. More like, do you business quickly and just in the shower to make sure you don’t catch anything.

The shower was nice and hot and felt good after a day of riding. I gave my clothes from today a scrub, finally starting to get into what felt like a rhythm as a bicycle tourist. I filled up some water bottles and decided to brush my teeth at camp. I wanted another snack before bed.

I was anticipating mosquitoes to be a problem, but I didn’t use and spray. As I watched the moon rise behind the beautiful foliage, only 3 mosquitoes came to visit me. Those 3 are no longer with us. I knew the huge canopy of leaves would make dew not a problem, but it restricted my view of the stars. I guess there are always trade offs. I was surprised how much I enjoyed falling asleep, to the sounds of nature, in this little decrepit “Family Campground.”