Today . . . a Visit to the Asylum

Sunday, August 4, 2013
Day 29 - Parkersburg, West Virginia to Elkins, West Virginia
123 miles
7,347 feet of climbing

Today was a fantastic day on the bike.  The weather was absolutely perfect - again!  Partly sunny/cloudy, and the temperature never go much higher than the mid-70s.  With all the climbing we had today, it was great that it stayed cool and comfortable.  We started climbing right out of the box today, right as we left our hotel in Parkersburg, we got on the highway and rode some long, gentle rollers, with grades from 1 to 6%, up and down for the first 48 miles of our route.  After the second rest stop, we rode on quiet back country roads, which had climbs with steeper grades, but much less traffic and nicer scenery.  All day long, I had John Denver's song, "Country Roads, Take Me Home" in my head.  I rode by myself most of the day, so I was free to sing out loud and mess up the lyrics with reckless abandon.  We had our lunch stop in the parking lot of the now defunct Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, a state psychiatric hospital  that operated from 1841 to 1994, which is now a national historic landmark.  It now functions as a museum that offers tours and souvenirs.  The people conducting the tours dress in old-fashioned nurse uniforms from the earlier era, which I found disconcerting for some odd reason.  I had visions of them chasing me across the lawn and dragging me back to my padded cell.  Fortunately, that didn't happen, but just to be sure, I tried to act as sane as possible for the rest of the day.  The rest of the afternoon's route was more of the same - up and down more climbs.   There was a certain irony about today's ride; at mile 52, we took a left onto Meathouse Fork Road, but yet our last rest stop of the day at mile 99 was on Vegan Road.  Despite the long miles and significant amount of climbing we finished the ride before 4:00, which gave us time to do our laundry for the very last time on this trip - yay!  Art & I, along with most of our group, went to dinner at a steakhouse/buffet right across the street from our hotel.  It was the perfect place for us to eat - cheap, fast, and unlimited amounts of food.  I suspect we probably did a number on their inventory, particularly the dessert bar, which included a self-serve ice cream machine.  We are having a great Tour.  Glad to be feeling strong and healthy even after a tough day like today.  : )

Elevation profile of today's ride

Riding the highway rollers - rumble strips to keep you awake

This is how I roll

Today was a beautiful day to ride

Almost heaven . . . West Virginia . . .

The "Art" of Transcontinental Cycling

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

So close I can practically smell the ocean!