Riding Day 17 - June 19th, 2019
End: Black Mountain Campground
Miles: 56.6
Feet climbing per mile: 98
Record of today’s ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/36158143
What a difference a rest day makes! I felt strong all day today.
I woke at 5:45 and was on the Parkway at 8:10. The views at the overlooks were some of the most spectacular I’ve seen since I started riding through the Blue Ridge Mountains on June 4th.
The treat for the day was to meet Dave Nadolski, my friend since grade school, and his wife Connie, somewhere on the Parkway. Dave and Connie were driving north from Powhatan Campground and I was riding south from Julian Price Campground. As we were about to cross paths we immediately recognized each other. How cool is that! We met near mile marker 334 and ate the lunch that Dave and Connie brought with them that included salad, potato chips, a brownie, and chocolate ice cream. I was especially happy that we could meet because Dave and Connie will still be traveling when I stay in their home in Carbondale, IL.
Below is a picture Connie took after we said goodbye and I headed south and she and Dave headed north.
At 4:00 I arrived at J&J’s Grill on the Green and discovered that it would not open until 5:00. Jim, one of the owners, told me I could wait on the deck around the back of the restaurant. When I found J&J’s some months ago I thought that it was a small roadside diner. Instead it is a restaurant with an extensive menu next to a golf course (hence “on the Green”). Their reputation for grilled trout is well earned.
I had known, but forgotten, that the final approach to Black Mountain Campground is not paved. Although the road was covered with gravel, the surface was hard enough that I could ride, rather than walk, the full distance along the river.
The camp hosts Bob and Sandy were most helpful, offering me a site close to the office and showers, and making arrangements to store my food so I would not invite any bears to my tent.
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| My campsite at Black Mountain Campground |
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