2014-07-02: Day 7 Double Ice Cream Day, Christiansburg to Max Meadow

Mileage Today: 42 Total Mileage: 397

No internet connection last night so this is being posted on 2014-07-03 for 2014-07-02

When Jon and I talked about our ride schedule for each week, we thought that riding 360 miles over 6 days and then taking a rest day, should be a "doable" plan. Based on our plan today should have been a rest day. However, despite the rigor of yesterday both Jon and I felt that we could ride today. We did pamper ourselves a bit by not setting an alarm, doing some shopping and then visiting a bike shop. We then rode 42 miles this afternoon and stopped for ice cream twice. Tonight, we are camped just outside of Max Meadow, VA in a KOA campground. So after 7 days as the sun sets here tonight , we find ourselves ahead of schedule by 42 miles. Woo Hoo! Today about 10 miles into the ride, we were passed by a car which quickly pulled to the side and a gentlemen jumped out to talk with us. We wanted to give us route advice. Turns out he does some riding himself including the TransAmerican route. He advised us to follow the road into Radford rather than around the town. We did and ended up with the benefit of one or our servings of ice cream for the day at a yogurt shop in town. In talking with him, we also learned that our killer route yesterday through the Catawba Valley is used for an annual organized ride called the “Mountains of Misery”. Wow, is that an appropriate title!