Kellen found the music on Grandma’s iPad. He asked me to record this and put it on YouTube. A star is born!

It wasn’t a sinus infection. Nor an insect bite, but rather Erysipelas: an acute infection of the skin and lymphatics caused by the streptococcus bacteria. Mine was hot red puffy itchy tender cheeks and swollen glands in my neck. Treatment had to be aggressive. A painful shot and 10 days of heavy-duty antibiotics. That was yesterday.

Today, I had to go back to be checked. Yes, I’m getting better! Afterwards, I met Ade for lunch at Boudin’s in Roseville. My face is better, but there’s still some puffiness.

Billie took me on a different route today, around the airport,
and back to downtown where I bonked (a cycling/running term that means to reach a point of exhaustion that you can’t go on). I woke up this morning with a sinus infection. I thought I could finish the ride, but things only kept getting worse. My face hurt. I sat on a bench at Market Square and waited for Billie to get the car and come pick me up.

Miles = 16

Back to W Virginia to ride a different section of the trail, Renick to Seibert. It was a glorious day, a high of 77, a light breeze, no humidity.

The W told the train engineer to blow the whistle.

Our turnaround point was at

Miles = 41. A good strong day of riding.

To avoid the heat and humidity, we headed out early today.

A daytime view of the Roanoke star.

Not the Greenway, but a very steep road as we headed toward downtown.

This was a very steep downhill and I had to walk down because I didn’t have the hand strength to squeeze the brakes.

JD left us so he could go the the hospital to see his brother Herb who had gall bladder surgery a few days ago. Billie and I rode to Market Square where usually there are many vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables, but not on holiday weekend. We had breakfast at

Misty Meadows farm was there, however – one of Billie’s favorites.

Miles = 24

We drove to Damascus to ride the Creeper Trail. JD grew up on a farm near Damascus. There were 11 children in his family. JD said he really enjoyed plowing the fields following behind the horse-drawn plow, but lost interest in farming after his dad bought their first tractor.

The trail goes UPhill for 17 miles to Whitetop Mountain at the VA-NC border. We crossed 27 bridges in the 13 1/2 miles we rode to Green Cove and my legs were aching. Because the grade is up to 5%, the train had to “creep” up the mountain.

The Appalachian Trail crossed the Creeper Trail several times.

Laurel Creek was nicely loud with many little waterfalls.

I haven’t given Brother-in-law Tom the Geologist any rock pictures to analyze in a long time. This is for you, Tom.

Beaver Dam.


Whew! the 27th bridge, I was creeping at this point.

This guy is retired and volunteers with the US Forest Service as a bike patrol officer along the trail. He rides it 4-5 times a week. There are many shuttle services who take bike riders (of all ages and ability levels) to the top to ride downhill for 17 miles. On holidays and weekends, it’s quite crowded and there are many falls and breakdowns.

The ride down was glorious, and made the uphill struggle worth it. Miles = 27

Billie and I drove to Galax to ride part of the New River Trail. I was so thankful for all the shade on the trail – ALL the trails actually – it’s significantly cooler.

Chestnut Falls.

An old turntable.

Chestnut Creek flows into New River.

We rode toward Fries which is pronounced just like you’d expect in the summer, but pronounced “freeze” in the winter, or so they say.

We stayed at the Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon. The house was built as a family home in 1832. In 1858, it became a women’s college.

Miles = 31

We got up early and rode on the Greenway to downtown for morning coffee. Cups is a favorite of Billie and JD. There’s a tall shelf where regular customers can leave their own cup. Coffee is ordered by cup size: A, B, or C. Get it?

The Roanoke Greenway is about half completed with about 35 miles of paved trail. We stopped at Black Dog Salvage (of DIY Network’s Salvage Dawgs fame) to look around. This is one of Thais’s favorite kinds of stores and she would love this one, it’s huge and things are organized and well-presented.

Yes, there is a black dog. In the evening we went to Hits for ice cream and to listen to the Flaky Biscuits play. Billie works with Jeff (second from the left) who learned to play the guitar just 5 years ago. A local college student played the hammer dulcimer – beautiful sound. The Roanoke star on the hill above – the world’s largest fre-standing illuminated man-made star built in 1949. It’s 88.5 feet tall and is made from 2000 feet of neon tubing.
Miles = 16

We spent the night at a motel in Marlinton where there was NO cell service because we were in the National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000-square-mile area of eastern W Virginia. Why? The Green Bank Telescope is the largest moving structure on Earth, fully steerable to peer into deep space and collect radio emissions. It has a reflecting surface of 2.3 acres. Radio stations, cell phone towers, and wifi might interfere with reception so are not allowed.

We drove to Renick this morning and started riding AFTER the rain stopped.

It was just Donna, Billie and me this morning. One 15-year-old bottom was too sore today. JD drove to Caldwell, our ending point and rode toward us until we met up. The rain left the trail perfect for message-making.

Wild mountain laurel.

Ready to bloom.


Miles = 21