Damascus, VA

Today exceeded all expectations (all positive). Our62mile ride was wonderful, we had a great lunch in Abingdon, and we met some very nice folks at our B&B. All this was not dampened (pun intended) by the ever present thunder showers.

We left Kingsport early and headed toward a country road that took us eastward to Damascus. The first 36 miles were relatively flat with some minor rolling hills, nice down hill rides, and NO traffic (we saw only a handfull of cars/trucks during this time). We averaged 14 mph under cloudy, but dry skies. After this we had an 8 mile trek on a 4 lane highway with a shoulder (small but adequate) as we climbed 700 feet to the town of Abingdon. This is when we experienced our first rain shower of the day.

Cycling down the main street in Abingdon, it appeared that everything was closed. We expected to go without lunch and headed for the Virginia Creeper Trail that would take us on our final leg to Damascus. However, near the trail head, we found the Trail Café and it was opened. Joe had a red skinned potato soup and Jeff had a tuna wrap. The food was excellent and the folks that ran the place took excellent care of us.

The final leg of our trip on the Creeper Trail was about 17 miles with a slight downhill grade. While we had several showers during this section of the ride and we did get dirty from going through mud puddles that inundated the trail, it was traffic free and very enjoyable. Near Damascus we saw a sign for a winery and decided on a side trip. The tasting was fine and Joe purchased a bottle of wine for “later”. If you are wondering, the Virginia Creeper Trail began as a Native American foot path and by 1900 it became a railroad right-of-way. Today we cycled just half of the trail. The trail extends 34 miles to the North Carolina border. We are cycling the second half tomorrow.

We are staying at the Mountain Laurel Inn, a historic B&B that was built in the early 1900s. Since the intermittent thunder showers continued another guest and her husband offered to take us to a local restaurant. Before leaving we decided to sit on the front porch and share a bottle of wine and get to know each other. Our conversation was only interrupted by the birds chirping. Even though we had no choice of where to eat since only one place was opened, we had a great dinner with our new friends. After dinner we returned to the front porch to finish off another bottle of wine, watch the fireflies and enjoy the night air and good company.

Photos

Map