Day 6, May 17. The Cookie Lady.

Ted taking a break at an old country store. This is where we met Dale, the local cyclist with a wealth of information. Sorry, I forgot to take his picture. But at least I remembered his name.

Lisa in the living room of the biker house. This where the cookie lady performed her angel like good deeds to weary touring cyclists.

Our bikes stored neatly away. Proof we were here.

Approaching the cookie ladies house. The biker house is the first one, there is the family garage and fill station in the center(now abandoned), and the cookie ladies residence at the far end. All this at the top of our steepest climb of the day.

Out of nowhere, we ran into this road side stand that sold fresh fruit, cold drinks, ice cream, and an assortment of fruit preserves. The three of us decided this was a good place for lunch.

At one of our rest stops, these horses came over to see what we were all about. Lisa tried making friends by offering them some granola.

There were several little brooks and streams like these along the way. Each one inviting us to stop. If nothing else, just to enjoy the little wonders The Lords Blesses us with.

We met this young lady at the Alexander House. Sorry, I forgot her name, she and a friend were also staying there. They had just completed a multi-sport event, and was leaving in the morning.

What a luxury, to be able to just relax after a grueling day of sight seeing.

On our way to dinner, a train came along. I was so mesmerized that it must have been going past us a good five minutes before I had the sense to snap this shot.


Day 6, May 17. Charlottesville to Afton, Va. 30 mi.

Since yesterday was Fabian’s birthday (37), last night the three of us walked down to one of the local hang out for dinner. I saw one of the guest eating Buffalo Wings. She made it look so good, that I ordered some myself. I must say, it was great. After dinner, we strolled back to the Alexander House. About a hundred yards from home, it started raining. The rain got harder and harder, resulting in thunder and lightning. There were even reports of hail falling in some areas. The rain lasted most of the night. When I woke up this morning, the rain had stopped. At least that’s what I thought. I immediately got the bikes together and started working on them. Mainly clean and lube the chain, and make sure everything is working properly so as not to cause any problems once we get on our way.

The Alexander House is a great place to stay, especially if you are a traveler on a budget. Between the three of us, we paid $35.00 each. For the night. We enjoyed our stay there, while meeting the other guest who were also there.

We left Charlottesville in the rain. Not a very heavy rain, but a steady one that made for a cold wet morning. Before we were out of the Charlottesville area, the rain had stopped, and things started to warm up. It was still over cast all day, so I wore my leg warmers, and jacket the rest of the day.

Today’s ride took us along winding country roads that followed several brooks and creaks. We passed through the rolling foot hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian mountain range. climbing several medium grade hills, some lasting for more than a mile. There were also downhill descents that were well worth the climbs. At one point, we rounded a bend when by chance, a train came along side of us, and we were riding right next to it going in the same direction. I wish I could have stopped and taken a picture, that would have been great. Although the sun did not come out today, I could tell that this area full of rolling hills and valleys, was something special. Just being here made me happy to be alive. Our Lord truly is and Awesome God. “Thank You for All You’ve Done.”

We stopped now and then as it became a custom by now. Some planned, and some unexpected. It’s great to be on your own time. At one of our stops, we met Dale. A gentleman in his late 60’s to early 70’s who happened to be out for a ride himself. A very informative individual, he told us where all the good places were, and where we needed to go. Since the weather wasn’t all that great, I didn’t have my camera handy, and missed a chance at a photo opt. From there, our route took us on lonely narrow country roads. Most of them didn’t even have a center dividing line on them, and a couple of them followed along side little streams that gently flowed passed us as we peddled in the opposite direction. We saw another dead deer on the side of the road. We could see the vultures from a far, and knew it was something. I really wanted to get a good shot of them, but stopping for a photo was not an option at that time. We also saw wild rabbits, some strange birds the size of sparrows, but wings that were way, way longer, and they were doing swooping maneuvers over the open streams. They looked pretty neat. Fabian saw a couple of deer standing next to the road. Since he was our navigator, he spent most of the time up ahead, while Lisa and I followed. I usually stayed back in case of any mechanical problem. That way I wouldn’t have to go all the way back to deal with it. Saves a lot of climbing in these mountain stages.

In the middle of no where, we came across this brand new building in the middle of a peach orchard. Of course we had to stop and check it out. Come to find out, it was also an apple orchard, strawberry field, and what not. They made all kinds of fruit products such as preserves, drinks, ice cream, ect. I tried the home made apple cider. Great stuff………….. At about 4:00 in the afternoon, re reached our destination for the day. The community of Afton. This is the home of the world famous “Cookie Lady.” She has been hosting touring cyclist ever since the first Bi-Centennial crossing in 1976. This place is a life saver for touring cyclist like us, since there are no stores, restaurants, or camping facilities near here. This place called the biker house, is a living museum of all things cycling. Some of the most famous names in cycling have either stayed here, or visited at one time or another. Every square inch of space is occupied by some kind of memorabilia from the past and present. There are old bike parts, tokens of appreciation, letters of thanks, books (Some of them written by the very people visiting here), magazines, You name it, it’s here. It would take me over a year to see and read everything in this room I am right now. Incredible. More than 30 years of helping the traveling cyclist from the heart. What a remarkable woman this June Curry is. At 88 years old, she is being assisted by her cousin Renee, who was the one who greeted us upon our arrival. June is no longer able to get around as much as she used to, but her desire for helping these brave, adventurous, and color cladded nomads will always burn in here heart. Thank you so much June for being an angel of The Lord. Aloha kaua.

No internet service yet, so this will be posted later in the week. Sorry for the delay, but some of there places are even farther behind than Molokai.