Road Trip

I realize that it's been quite some time since I posted anything new here... Some of the reasons have been plainly mundane (too much medical writing, laundry, kid-taxiing, bill paying, meal preparing etc), but one major obstacle was a recent family vacation. We went on a week-long road trip (my favorite type of vacation) that took us a few days down the Blue Ridge Parkway (Virginia, Tennessee), then 4 nights in a cabin near the Smoky Mountain National Park, then one final night near Stone Mountain, Georgia, after which we enjoyed a lovely 16-hour drive home the following day. (can you sense the sarcasm?) We really had a great time, despite weathering severe thunderstorms both of the 2 nights that we camped on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but that's part of the adventure, I guess...

Did I have my bike with me? You bet...I didn't get to ride quite as often as I would have liked, but the couple rides I snuck in were wonderful. During our cruise along the magnificent Blue Ridge Parkway, we saw a great many cyclists who appeared to be either out for a day, or in some cases, geared up to camp and were probably cycling the entire 400+ mile scenic highway (drool). It really was amazing cycling terrain...quite hilly, but not graded too terribly, traffic moves along no faster than 45 mph, and the scenery was breathtaking every time the trees parted to allow us a glimpse of the Blue Ridge Mountains:


I just HAD to cycle at least some part of the parkway, and on the second night, I begged to have an hour on my bike while Michael and the kids set up the tent and started working on dinner. Of all places to cycle from, we were camping at a spot near Roanoke, Virginia, which happens to be the highest point on the parkway. So, follow me on this...if you're at the highest spot, what is the only direction you can go? You go it...down! No matter which way I turned. So, I picked a direction and sailed along for quite a while, all the time trying to figure out how long the grueling upward return trip was going to take. I think it wound up being about 15 minutes down, and the remainder of the hour to get back to the campsite, but it was worth it...

The only other time I got to ride turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the trip. There is an 11-mile loop of one-way road within the Smoky Mountain National Park called Cades Cove, which encircles a large meadowy area with lots of wildlife and historical buildings. I learned that this loop is closed to car traffic on Wednesday mornings between 7 and 10 am, and open only for bike and pedestrian use. Well, that's all I needed to hear...On Wednesday morning, Michael and I left the cabin at 6 am and drove into the park. (those of you familiar with my biologic sleep clock will immediately grasp how badly I wanted to ride my bike) I dropped him off in a river with his fly-fishing equipment, and then headed to Cades Cove. There were quite a few cars already parked near the beginning of the loop when I got there shortly after 7:00. As soon as I headed my bike onto the roadway itself, the reality set in of how many people had arrived in those parked cars...the path, which was not much wider than a car width, was completely congested with strolling hikers and very casual bikers. (translation: very SLOW bikers) For about the first mile, it was all I could do to weave in and out of the "traffic" and keep on guard for little kids on training wheels who might swerve and take me down in a heartbeat. I was so disappointed, hoping for a magical early-morning ride through a majestic mountainside meadow. Finally, one other "serious" cyclist appeared behind me and started really moving through the crowd ("Coming through!" "On your left!") Well, I quickly settled into his "wake" and from about the second mile on, we left most of the crowds behind. The rest of the morning was, in fact, a magical ride through unbelievably beautiful surroundings...

"For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him." Psalm 95:3,4

I was able to get in 2 trips around the loop before I headed back in the car to retrieve Michael out of the river. I don't know if he had QUITE as exhilirating a morning as I did ("How'd you do, hon?" "I caught the smallest fish that I've ever seen.") We got back to the cabin around 10:00, and the kids were just getting up...they get their sleep habits from me, after all. I only hope they will find their own passion someday that would inspire them to voluntarily get up before the sun does...