Day 14: Huntington, West Virginia: "By God"

I must apologize profusely to my audience for the recent lull in updates. West Virginia is stunning, and the people have been wonderful, but internet hubs are far and few between.

Oh, I'm in West Virginia by the way.

And where to begin on regaling my adventures through the Appalachian State?

Last time I updated I was in Lexington, Virginia, recovering from a day long battle against the mountains and the elements. We got to sleep in that morning 'til 5:30am, and at our route meeting Sharif told us we could expect more of the same that day. The ride from Lexington to Marlinton was also very trying. The morning was lovely and cool, and I was starting to get the hang of the little hills at least. i've found the trick is all in the momentum. I try to build up as much as possible before the hill starts, then I shift down into lower gears as needed to get to the top. This trick was building my confidence up, but I was still not ready when we hit our first serious mountain that day, Warm Spring.

The ascent of Warm Spring was brutal. Lunch was waiting for us at the very very top of a three mile climb that was at least a 30 degree steepness at certain points. By the time I got to it I simply didn't have the fuel to take on that mountain. i was running out of water and it took the energy of three (yes THREE) Snicker's bars to get me to lug my bike, on foot, through the heat, to the top of Warm Springs.

The view from the top, however, was literally and figuratively breathtaking. I hammered down some lunch and dozed off to recover, and then proceeded down the other side.

The downhill from Warm Springs was amazing, as is all the downhill. There was a point during the descent where I was going just as fast as the motorcycles in front of me. It was a short-lived moment in a long day, but it was enough of a morale boost to keep me going.

I dug deep enough on the next mountain to bike at least half of it. The fact that I was closing in on the border with West Virginia kept me moving. Coasting through that third valley nature began to call in a big way. I stopped in a gas station in a small town, only to be told by a sweet woman who sounded like she’d been smoking 6 packs a day since the age of 4 that the next working bathroom was 7 miles away. Therein lay a dilemma, because the West Virginia border was 6 miles away, and I didn’t want to be clenching my butt cheeks as I crossed my first state line.

So I did my business in the woods. Perhaps that’s TMI, but I honestly am not ashamed. It was liberating and exhilarating. I felt at one with nature, giving back to the circle of life.

I alternated between walking and climbing up the third mountain and, soon after the crest, I did it. I rolled into West Virginia. A new state. A new story.

I couldn’t help but reflect on how much just the first state was transforming me. I mean, I’m certainly no athlete, but I did something I never thought I could do. I’ve started making friends with some really amazing people, and I’ve been at least a very, very small source of inspiration for a large number of small-towners, church-goers, and Habitat affiliates. These have been good days. Very, very good days, and though being in better shape may help me through the das a little more, I’m still out here, I’m still trying my hardest, and I’m still doing something I’ll be able to brag to my grandkids about.

I soloed the first 5 or so miles of WV and then caught up with a small group of bikers. Together we peddled into Marlinton, WV, and then cranked up that last hill before we reached our host. My legs were giving out, and I fell behind at that last hill, but once I hit the crest I coasted into town, rolled into the church driveway, and felt great for getting there. 77 miles. Much of it hiked, but I did it nonetheless.

I rushed to get a shower, and then lined up with the rest o the team for what’s easily been our best dinner so far. The folks at this church went all out. Literally too many good items to fully fit into my field of vision. Some dishes of note were Salisbury steak, meatballs, buns, mashed potatoes, lasagna, and pineapple upside down cake. Oh, and coffee. Real coffee.

I sat with the pastor and his wife and we eventually got on the subject of music. As it turns out the pastor had been playing bass for years, and loved to play gospel. He suggested a jam, and I almost exploded with excitement.

So after dinner the pastor showed me the stage, where the church kept a fully stocked set of band instruments. An electric guitar, a bass, a drum kit, a keyboard, bongos, mics, and tambourines.

One of the church members hopped on the keyboard and taught me some gospel, and we started singing loud and proud to anyone who entered into the church. Eventually the majority of the team was in there, and about ten of us eventually found their way on stage to sing, drum, play tambourine, or just danced. It. Was. A. Blast. A few songs in our set of note were “I’ll Fly Away”, “This Little Light of Mine”, and “Praise Him”. The whole crowd joined in for the faster ones and there was a great deal of stomping, clapping, and general merriment. After about an hour of this, we agreed to rock one last song, one of my personal favorites, “Country Roads”, which seemed all kinds of appropriate for our first night in a new state.

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong.
West Virginia! Mountain Mama!
Take me home, country roads.

After that beautiful rest in Marlinton something seemed to drastically change overnight. I really surprised myself on the ride into Summersville, and managed to bike the entire route across some serious, serious mountains.

The morning started right away with a 4 mile climb out of the Marlinton valley. Seeing the foggy forest all around me and feeling my blood pumping almost out of my legs, I found myself humming Led Zeppelin's "Misty Mountain Hop", and it became an anthem for the day. When I reached the top of the first mountain I and a group of about 6 other bikers enjoyed the remarkable view. Within the first 2 hours we had climbed 3000 feet (our max elevation for the day was 4545 feet). Looking out over that misty valley, which we'd biked out of, was beyond rewarding. The mist filled in the valley for miles, to where it looked like an enormous white ocean, and we were watching the waves from a sheer cliff.

After sufficient time was spent appreciating this first view, we enjoyed some downhill and then took on the beastliest climb in all of Appalachia. A FIVE. MILE. ASCENT. It certainly wasn't pretty, but I made it to the top on my bike, and the endorphin rush was indescribable when the road flattened out finally. At this point I was rolling with Jen and Brit across the mountaintop, which opened up to a stunning panoramic view of Appalachia.

Eventually we started returning from the clouds and I was humming along to lunch when from behind me I heard "WILL! GRAVY TRAIN! LATCH ON!"

The experienced bikers, who were behind me at the time (from stopping in a gas station, not from my skill) had formed what's known as a slip-stream, a train of bikers which creates a beautiful pocket of calm air for everyone behind the front rider. It allows a team to soar. We were eventually flirting with about 40 miles an hour and only stopped because we knew if we didn't lunch would once again be too far out and there may have been a riot

So we found an amazing lunch spot next to a river, and I enjoyed a swim and a PB&Salisbury Steak&Stuffing sandwich before moving on.

The other mountains after lunch were trying but not nearly as bad as what I'd taken on, and that kept me going. Even when I saw the sign for Summersville, turned around the corner, and saw I had one more nasty climb before I made it into town, I rolled with the punches and made it into the host site. It was a tremendous sensation of accomplishment. We celebrated by traveling to the local lake and enjoying an incredibly refreshing swim.

At this point we'd made it over the peaks of the Appalachians, and the next two days' routes were pretty much all downhill and delightful. From Summersville we coasted into Charleston, that is until the last hour, when we had to climb once more. And, as luck would have it, a thunderstorm rolled in right when the route really started to tense up

We took shelter under a porch and began watching the splashes that passing car made to keep ourselves entertained. Once the storm calmed down enough Jen and I decided it was game time and immediately hopped on the bikes. We battled rain and mountain, and were rewarded with the most remarkable view of Charleston, right as the storm cleared and the sun shined off that golden capitol building dome.

Sleep in Charleston was well earned, and today's route was a welcome break. We did a brief tour of the city and explored the capitol building, which is truly beautiful, and frankly blows Kentucky's capitol out of the water. There were gilded roofs and ceilings, and statues to prominent West Virginian figures like Abraham Lincoln, who granted WV statehood during the Civil War, and Robert Byrd, the "West Virginian of the 20th Century". I couldn't help but wonder who will eventually fill the vacant statue spaces for the West Virginian of the 21st Century and 22nd Century.

The ride from Huntington was easy, if a little boring. Route 60 is certainly not the prettiest part of West Virginia. It's basically just a lot of franchises and angry drivers, but company was good and the route was stupid-fast, at only 49 miles.

So now we're in Huntington, and excited to be in an actual city again. Being in Charleston during Memorial Day didn't do any favors for my perception of Charleston as being a ghost town. Tonight however there's talk of restaurants, bars, and general exploration that will make for a welcome change from the slow smalltown lifestyle we've been taking in for the last few days.

And that's about all there is of note to the ride through West Virginia. In summary, lovely people, lovely land, brutal but rewarding routes, and of course progressive bonding with the team, and newfound appreciation for small-town America. Tomorrow we'll be crossing the border into Ohio and whole new adventures will begin!