That moment when you are running out of water and are just picturing a nice cold beverage when you see a flag banner waving over a hill. As you bike closer, you see there are multiple and the first one says welcome. As you bike further up the hill the second one comes closer into view. You see a c then a o and you immediately think of cold….cold drinks. As you reach the peak you realize it says coffee…

Day 3- June 3rd

That’s what happened to us, but it was a convenience store so they did have cold drinks and a place to refill our water bottles.

The ride was quite pretty. Spacious lands of green with lots of animals. We have seen deer, squirrels, llamas, birds, sheep, rams, goats, and horses.

What the trail sign looks like

76 is the bike route, it’s the bottom sign. It correlates with a road number, in this case 685/686.

We came across a farm stand that uses the honor system. Taking something? Remember to pay. The owner Bill, drove by and talked to us for a bit. He told us people have not been paying and he set up a trail camera. He said himself: “I’m quite a character.”

If you are passing from Ashland to Coatesville on 685/671 make sure to drop by and check it out!

In total, we went 50.7 miles to Mineral, VA. This includes some errand-riding around Ashland to raise the handle bars on my bike (success, and much more comfortable!)

We were planning on staying at the volunteer fire department as they welcome bikers and it was awesome that it was right on the route! The map says call ahead, which we did, but no one answered or called back. The people from the MS group and the couple (below) called and had the same situation. No worries! Just show up (after calling) and the bathroom and upstairs room are unlocked for you.

Also staying there was a couple from New Zealand. They are absolutely incredible! It was a pleasure talking to them about their adventures- bike touring all over the world and mountain climbing. The gentleman saw my seat and was astonished that it was a Brooks as he has one and his mother before him did as well. He highly recommended it.

Photo courtesy of Dad

We stayed inside due to the chance of rain, which it did. There were bathrooms, no showers, but still nice. One of the firemen said the city won’t pay for showers. Maybe if more bikers stayed they will find reason to so make sure to drop by!

We slept on the floor in between the tables under open windows

We ate at the Mexican restaurant, which had free WiFi down the street then went to the ice cream coffee shop next door for dessert. The owner puts ice cream in ice coffee along with frozen ice coffee for ice cubes and mixes it together.

A little like a milkshake. I got coffee with cappuccino ice cream and Dad got coffee with strawberry ice cream. Both were good!

Day 4- June 4th

We rode 56.91 to Charlottesville, VA from there and there was a lot of hills! Unfortunately, there is a lot more up coming!

We still rode by lovely scenery and near the end of the day, Monticello- Thomas Jefferson’s plantation and Ash Lawn-Highland- James Monroe’s plantation.

We started earlier than before this particular morning, which paid off. The weather was cooler and we could ride more miles in a day. However, with all this riding, to replenish my energy, I need to eat more. Dad calls me an eating machine  (thanks :/)

The University of Virginia is located in Charlottesville and the route takes you through the university part of town with lovely shops and restaurants. There isn’t much camping close by so we opted for some near-to-the route motels. The New Zealand couple actually ended up at the same motel as us, which is fun!

To cut costs, and the fear of not finding any food places on the route, we have been stocking up on food for the night and/or for the next day as to not carry that much. For example, we bought dinner for tonight and some lunch things for tomorrow, by tomorrow night we will need to restock. It works thus far.