Day 8

Mileage: 62
Cumulative mileage: 590

Today was my last day in Virginia, but it gave a good hurrah on the way out.

My morning started with a wicked climb up Hayders Gap. It was about 3.5 miles of 7% grade that took me half an hour to ascend, but it was worth it for the screaming descent that took me above 40 mph at times.

That descent was followed by the climb into Rosedale, then the climbs before Honaker and Council as well as the three climbs leading up to Breaks, where I'm staying tonight. You might notice my days are becoming more dominated by the hills than the miles.

In Honaker, I stopped in at a small restaurant called the farm table and was immediately beset upon by the owner who plied me with omelets, strawberries from his garden, his personal salsa, the day's roast beef and much more. While I ate, he told me all about his life as a rancher who specialized in breaking horses, and all about Honaker, which is shrinking as the coal industry dries up. It was interesting to hear the perspective of someone from a coal mining town talk about all the damage renewable energy has done to his home, city and livelihood. I've always considered our transition away from fossil fuels to be unequivocally good, but it was sad to hear of the devastation it wreaks on the coal belt.

After I had spent way too long on breakfast listening to Rick's stories, I was the last one in the diner. As I was getting ready to go, one of the cooks came out to say bye. Her name was Jemma (pictured) and we ended up talking for another long while. I know it cost me some miles, but I don't get much opportunity to talk to pretty girls out here on the trail, so I think I'll call it worthwhile.

Back to mention of the coal belt, I have what I call a 'Mac truck drill.' Whenever I hear one coming behind me (you can tell) I scan the road for potholes and then put my head down and close my eyes as they pass. Otherwise you wind up with little bits of coal in your eyes all the time which doesn't feel good. It's worked so far.

The rest of the afternoon was alternating rollers with big hills, all the way into Haysi where I ended up wearing out one of my pedals. Not being able to clip in on one side meant I lost my upstroke on both sides (didn't want to overcompensate with the other leg) and made hills considerably harder, so I slogged the last 10 miles to the Breaks interstate park to camp for the night. I'll order a replacement set tomorrow in town and have it shipped ahead of me and held at a post office.

It turns out here at the Breaks is where the MS crew is staying tonight and they were gracious enough to offer me a spare camping spot. I did something that deviated a little from my normal camp routine (and almost got me in trouble) which was set up my bedroll on the ground and then go hang out with the group for a while. I had a great time tonight talking with these guys, wish I had taken pictures while it was still light. Tomorrow I'll be leaving with them and probably stay with them most of the day until I split off to get more miles.

When I went to bed, I sat down on my sleeping bag for maybe five minutes and sorted all my stuff in my pack before pulling back my bag to climb into. When I pulled it back I heard a really faint buzzing sound, like a cicada stuck under my pack. Usually I would just swat away any bug and get in my bag, but this time I grabbed a light and shone it just in time to see a snake's tail disappear under the bag I was sleeping on.

Turns out I almost climbed on top of a copperhead (pictured) or baby timber rattlesnake so needless to say I'll be sleeping on a picnic table tonight, probably staying off the ground for the next few, and always getting in my bag right after I set it up for the rest of my life.

Glad that little accident was avoided, now I'm gonna stick my feet into my sleeping bag to see if there are any more snakes in there. G'night!