Wise, VA

We chose the shorter route for today and cycled "only" 47 miles and climbed "only" 5,000 feet. We are tired and thankful that we did not follow the original route which would have had us stranded somewhere out there. Yes, we are tired. Today's climbing was done in temperatures that exceeded 90 degrees and as I write this we are having severe thunderstorms. Yes, the day's work is done and we are safe in our hotel.

Leaving Pikeville early we missed their morning traffic. Just outside of town we got on a one lane country road where only one car passed us during our 7 mile trip. After this we got on a major highway with a wide shoulder that lasted us until we got to Virginia (30 miles into our day). While the highway continued the shoulder ended. Virginia needs to follow Kentucky's lead and provide good shoulders for cyclists. During the day we had some great down hill rides and several serious climbs. However, the only one that was challenging was the one up to Wise. We were tired and the climb seemed like it would not end. We got to our hotel on the outskirts of Wise at about 1:30 pm with the intention of going "downtown" for dinner. However, the desk clerk told us that Wise did not have a taxi service and we did not want to get back on our bikes so we ate near the hotel.

Today's photos

Route Map