Biking, Day 32: August 19, 2009

Day 32: Chalk Hill, PA to Gore, VA
Distance: 115 miles
Route: National Pike/40E/Alt 40 to about 5 miles before Cumberland, right at MD Route 53, continue on 220, then to 963, then to WV 28 to Romney, WV, left at Route 50E into Virginia
Lodging: Hayworth Motel, Gore, VA, $42, no cell service, no internet, no phone, completely out of necessity – sun was setting and I was dying.

Today was probably one of my hardest days – physically, mentally, emotionally. I woke up around 6:15 and got ready to go. I went to the Lodge at the Chalk Hill resort and got online to post my blog and check my route. I also got my free coffee and enjoyed some early morning Saved By the Bell, one of my favorite shows of all time. It was a summer recap show, where Zach Morris recalls the summer working at the resort. Zach is pretty dreamy, plus, he got into Yale with his 1502 SAT score, so he's really the whole package.

I left the lodge around 8am and started on the National Pike. The girl at Subway yesterday told me that I had pretty much hit the summit the day before. As I started, I realized that there were many more mountains to go. About 10 miles in, I hit a summit where I had to push my bike. I felt totally beaten. I didn't want to bike anymore. It was humid, I was completely drenched in sweat, and with only ten gears on my bike, I couldn't pedal up these hills.

I said this yesterday – but in the West they fundamentally understand the need for switchbacks. In the east, the hills are so steep that I can't pedal up some of them. When you hit the top of a summit, there are often signs for truckers saying what percent grade the hill is. I saw 13 aand 14% grades today. In the west, I don't remember seeing any steeper than 10%.

It took me about 3 hours to get to my first break, which was about 20 miles before Frosburg. I took a break and asked the guy working at the 7-11 about the terrain. He said it was mountainous through Frostburg, but then it pretty much went down hill after Big Savage Summit. I took that to heart, I had had a rough morning, but I was ready to get through the mountains. Plus, I had crossed into Maryland. Crossing state lines is the bomb. Oh, and I saw the Mason-Dixon line, yo.

I forged on. The terrain was indeed challenging. The peaks weren't huge, but they were steep. I didn't go above 3000 Feet, which would be a joke in the west, but it wasn't up the mountain and then down. It was up then down then up then down. I stopped taking pictures of the altitude signs at the summit peaks after a while.

I rode through to Frostburg and took a break at a Sheetz. It was around 2pm and I figured I would ride until 5:30 and then figure out where I wanted to stop. My directions had me taking back roads to Winchester, VA. I thought that was a bit aggressive, so I thought I would cut down a bit further to Route 50, which I assumed would have more cities and stops.

I left Frostburg around 2:30. I went a few miles on National Pike, then cut south on Maryland 53. Then I took Route 220 to another road, which led me back into West Virginia. For some reason, West Virginia makes me nervous. It's not just the fact that the slogan is 'Wild and Wonderful' (the 'wild' being mysteriously vague and undefined), but the very evident poverty and poor roads.

I cut down WV-28 to Springfield, WV and decided to stay on WV-28 to Romney, WV, where I would get on Route 50E. On WV-28, not one, not two, not three, but five times a truck passed me and a man leaned out the passenger window to look back at me. I did not find this flattering, I found it creepy. Also, the mountains hadn't ended in Frostburg. Sure, the biggest peak was Big Savage at around 3000 Feet, but climbing 1000 feet is hard regardless of whether you start at 2000 Feet or 0 Feet.

I got to Romney and took another break at a Sheetz. It was about 5pm and I had a few more miles in me. I looked at a map and looked up motels and saw that there were a few motels along the route. I figured I would go to Augusta, ten miles away, and stay there. That would be about 105 miles from DC, which I could easily do in a day. I was able to pick up a wireless signal on my phone, but I couldn't make any calls to make reservations. I figured I would just stop at the motel.

The mountainous road continued. I made the ten miles to Augusta and the motel was out of business. There was nothing else. I forged on just assuming that I would hit a hotel. I went through some 'towns' that lookoed more significant on the map. I still had no cell service. Finally, I hit a more significant town and stopped to ask about motels. There were none in that town, but she said there was one in Gore, VA about 10 more miles.

It was 7pm. I wasn't sure how much more sun I had, but I figured I could make it to Gore. I went about 5 miles, through mountains, and hit the Virginia line. I entered Gore and saw the first sign I have seen for Washington – 85 miles. The motel that she told me about was shut down. I hit a low. It was about 14 miles to Winchester, VA, where there would undoubtedly be motels, but it was 7:45PM. I had no idea when the sun would set. I usually was at my motel by 6pm, even in the west when there were more mountains.

I just kept riding. I was going a bit slower even though I was trying to go fast. For the first time, I really was worried about getting caught in the dark. Route 50 has no lights. I have a headlamp somewhere, courtesy of my Kilimanjaro climb, and a flashing red light on the back of my bike, but I really didn't want to ride on a 55MPH road in the dark.

I went about 5 miles and then saw a motel on the left. The Hayworth motel. I pulled up. There were some gentleman sitting outside, they had a lot of tattoos and I said hello. I went to the 'office', which was someone's grandma's living room. Tragically, they didn't take credit card or checks. I only had $15 in cash. It felt dire for a moment, then I remembered that negotiating is actually something I'm quite good at.

I offered to go with the owner to an ATM or to write a check. She opted for the check. I wrote the check and she helped me into my room. I was visibly weak. It was a long day, after all. She gave me the number of a pizza place that delivered. The rooms have no phones, but she could see my cell phone.

I went in, showered, washed my clothes, and went to call for pizza, but I still had no cell service. And clearly there was no wireless. I just decided to eat my snackks for dinner. What really upset me, though, was that I couldn't email or text my parents. This has been less than fun for them and I try to call/email/text each night. There was no option to do that tonight. Not even a pay phone. It's actually a good night to be out of touch since my parents are en route to Paris, but when they land around 3am my time, they won't have a message.

I will get up super early and go to Winchester, VA for my coffee.

Tomorrow is my last day in this journey. Barring any unforseen challenges, I hope to be having a mojito during happy hour. Today was hard, but every day is hard. I'm ready to be done, mainly because I miss people, but, as a wise friend told me today, I will miss it when I'm not doing it. This is one of the hardest things I have ever done.