Jeremiah Watt

Promise you this will draw the entire ride across USA to a close. It is the information that some of you have been waiting for, and I guess some of you have been dreading would come............no matter what the case here it is.
Some fun stuff first then on to the contest winners, the numbers below represent averages and are not scientific by any means.
-The total trip was 3517 from Cayucos California to First Landing State Park in Virginia
-The average speed of my ride was 12.8 miles per hour
-The number of pedal stokes for the entire ride 1,846,425
-Total calories burned would be 140,680
-To make calories easier to understand I done a cowboy conversion and it would equal 410 PB&J for the ride
- Total Gatorade consumed was 1.5 swimming pools worth..............er, quite a bit
- Total photos taken is 3170 or an average of 44.2 per day
- Longest riding day was 96 miles
- Highest mountain pass was Loveland Pass at 12,000 feet
- Day with the most passes to ride over was back in Nevada at 6 passes over 6,000ft.
- WINNER of guess at longest ride in a day was Serge Monsanto who guessed 98
- WINNER of most frequent blog commentator was Darren Romahlo
- WINNER of the send a pie contest was Per Kronvold from Sweden
- WINNER of the Prayin'est Blogger is my good buddy Rob Schlosser,,,,,,,,,,,thanks buddy
- I will be sending out some things to folks who took the time to send along concise thoughts on the "PULSE QUESTIONS", for some reason some of the folks who answered these questions sent them directly to my home email address. Anyways sure appreciate all of you keeping me in your thoughts and Prayers.
- JW wieghed the night before he headed out and was 213 pounds with his work cloths and boots on
- JW wieghed in at 184 pounds when he reached Virgina Beach
- JW gained just over 2 inches in thigh diameter and .75 inches in calf diameter
- Total load at its heaviest point was 93.5 pounds.............Poochy Maggie too heavy
**** I sent back my Video Camera and its mount along with 3 batteries and 6 mini DVD tapes. Also I sent back my Laptop and 2 batteries for it along with a mess of cords to plug the rascal in with. I had a small belly gun and holster and decided to send it home along with a handful of shells............my shotgun and angry eyes.................the extra set of false teeth and monkey chow.................ah, my flip flops and beach pail.........that's about it I guess
- Giving you an honest miles per day ridden is tough, mainly because I feel that so much of my time was consumed in dealing with the BLOG and LIBRARY problems. So I just won't bother because the National LIbrary Association would be upset if I blamed them for my slow pace, and I sure can't be to blame for the slow pace............so who else is there???
THANKYOU AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE FOLLOWED AND ADDED TO THIS ADVENTURE.
From: Jeremiah Watt

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

SATURDAY OCT 29- My trip on the bike was over, and now I could relax and just go see the sights of Virginia for a few days before I got back on the plane and arrived home to the reality of running a business that I have neglected for the last 2.5 months.


I don’t really feel that it has been neglected, since I had my most able partner at home taking care of things, that being Colleen and my kids whom work so hard at keeping the shop going.


I had some time to kill before I could get on the plane, with that time I decided to take a drive and cross the famed Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The bridge is really a neat thing, since it crosses the Bay on what is both a Bridge and a tunnel. For most of the way you are on top the water, but on two occasions you drop down on to the Bays floor which then allows large ships unfettered access to the Bay and all the shipping that takes place within these ports.


Once across I drove up along the coast to Poconoke City on the Maryland State line. I turned and headed back south along the main road and stopped in Cape Charles which houses the oldest existing Court Records in these America’s. While in the Cape, I had a chance to visit with Dave who has been fisherman off the coast of the Atlantic for some 26 years now. It’s a love says Dave, it becomes a passion. You are obsessed with the catch, the size of the water, and the weather overhead……………it’s more like a dance than a job according to Dave.



The water across the Chesapeake was rough and very windy, blowing some 35 miles per hour, so Dave was sitting in the fishing harbor waiting for the wind to subside and his boat could then leave. The fishing has not been real good this season according to Dave, but you know the high’s and lows are all apart of the whole process of being a fisherman. So I got a lesson on fishing for Conck’s, and Skates, as well as the larger fare like Tuna and Mackeral. All in all, as bad as I am afraid of water, I am glad I like beef and stay on shore. The little town of Cape Charles is real picturesque but it was a Saturday so the old Court house was closed.


Back across the Bay Bridge, and I was hungry so I stopped at the Jewish Mother restaurant, now this is really a place too eat contrary to its funky looks on the outside. I would highly recommend it if you are on Virginia Beach, and by all means come hungry because the servings are a good size. And do not skip desert, I think that may be the best part of this place. Before I could head north much further I had too ship my bike from the UPS store.


Then with that done, I could head north and start the next day up in Yorktown. I drove as far as Oyster Bay, and found a place to stay that wasn’t too expensive……..trying to keep the costs down I have been gone so long from the shop. The Motel had a computer for guests too work on, but it was real poorly equipped with software, and so I got text only worked on that evening till about 10:30 pm.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUNDAY- October 30th I start the day with a little Continental Breakfast downstairs and work on the blog till 10:30 approx. Now I have to tell you all that I have been Praying for the chance to get to a dominantly Black Church for years, and I Prayed for the same this morning as well.


This is exactly how it turned out. I left the parking lot just after 10:30 and headed north on towards Yorktown, and after about 3 miles I saw a sign that said Colossians Baptist Church……….so I just turned in, I didn’t have much time too waste in looking. Indeed I knew s soon as I hit the parking lot that I had maybe hit the Church that I had wanted to hit for several years now. I guess out of fear, I sat near the very back of the Church………..I was not sure of what too expect nor was I sure of why I should be fearfull………..but I was. A young fellow, named Jamal came by, and said hello but also told me that I should move ahead and I would then be able to hear better as well.



I did just that and sat about midway up. Now I won’t get onto a soap box here and try to relate the entire Sermon to all of you………but I do want to stress just how great the music was. It was so deep and rich with melodies and the music accompaniments, so totally unlike anything that I had grown up with in Canada, nor even my home church in Coalinga for that matter………and we have a good Praise and Worship Team.

Then the Minister, Pastor Evans came out and it got even better, you talk about being uplifted and invigorated with the passion of Jesus………Pastor Evans goes into what I will call a chant for lack of knowing the real name for it, but some of these lasted for up to 40 minutes with the sweat just pouring off of him as he delivered the sermon. And all the time that this is going on, there is music crooning out in the background and then rising to a crescendo at times during a lull in the sermon.



Folks, it was fantastic, one of the neatest Services that I have had a chance to too attend, and a great finish to a bike trip like I had just done. I left the church after such a warm farewell from everyone, it was now 4pm
Onto Yorktown, a short ways down the road. I began with the Moore House in Yorktown, this is a building sight more than a actual house. And while I was taking pictures of this house I met with an 83 year old fellow Lou Williams.



What a neat fellow, as we talked about the current state of the elections, the current state of secularism in our schools, and the current state of imprisonment of the human spirit by the God Police. Lou has genuine concerns for the taking of our spiritual freedoms by way of the Court Bench and what may soon be a day when we do not have a State Religion, but rather a time when we have a NO RELIGION MANDATE.


The current crop of youth are completely dismantled spiritually says Lou, they have no real depth to there character nor their family lives and so have no real sense of what it is to be American and appreciate what has been bought and paid for by men of generations before them, I was in awe of how well worded he was. We prayed and I was on my way as was Lou.



On to Yorktown and the rest of the sights, to see the Commemorative put up by the Colonists to show gratitude for the Men of the Colonies whom had died in this War, and to the French who had been our sincere allies in the War. It got me to thinking that maybe what we had done during the second War was in fact just making us even for all the help the French had given us during our war of Independence, for surely as most Historians would tell you.

That these America’s would not have been victorious had it not been for French aid, troops and ships? I went on to Williamsburg and got a Motel room, even a little cheaper than last night, but one that had a computer in it so I could work on the blog site.

I bought some food at a deli, and ate in my room. I headed downstairs too work on the blog, but at about the same time a large group of teens came along and had a Pizza party in the same room as me. I got too visiting with the teachers or chaperons that were with them and found they were all from England. Well this turned into a 3 hour visit about what to see and where to go in England.

For you see next year, in the month of July we are headed too England as a family and see the sights, so how opportune it was to have this chance too visit with them about this subject. I worked till 3:35 am and had a wake up call for 6:45am because I did not want to miss any of Williamsburg that next day.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oct31st -Monday I had a small breakfast and headed out to take a walk in Williamsburg and then onto Jamestown I thought. But the sights of Williamsburg proved to be so splendid, that I was there till almost 4pm and still had not made it to Jamestown. So I headed out with a few groceries to make a sandwich and went to the newly opened Jamestown Museum. I ate a little and called home as I was eating……………SURPRISE……….my darling wife was flying in to meet me that night in Norfolk.

SO I took a quicker trip through the Museum than I would have normally so I would have time to drive back into Norfolk for Colleen. The Jamestown Museum is a very interactive type Museum, and the displays are just great, as is the information that they make known.

It’s about 9:45pm and my wife arrives at the Norfolk International to spend a few days with me, we can celebrate our achievement. Sorry but we had a night alone, I didn’t even bring the blog into the room, so don’t expect me to bring YOU into the room………..forget it, I will see you tomorrow!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Nov1st- Good morning.........and NO, don't even ask. It'sTuesday and we had driven back to Williamsburg so that Colleen could see the place as I had the day before, and the truth is that there is enough too see that it is easy to spend two days there and enjoy each moment of it. I was elated at having this chance to see my wife, the 72 day sojourn had taken its toll on me more from the mental standpoint than from the physical side of things.



We headed strait to Colonial Williamsburg from the Motel after a light euro-breakfast. Interestingly when you are in Williamsburg, it is difficult to determine when you are in the Colonial district and when you are in the day to day business district, as by laws must dictate that all business maintain a Colonial feel and spirit, anyways it all plays into giving you a great feeling.




The Colonial District encompasses a lot of acreage as well as a broad scope of crafts and business that reflect what took place back in the days of Colonial Williamsburg, so for a person interested in that sort of thing needless to say a lot of time can be spent learning. We participated in an evening Ghost Tour as a part of the Halloween Scene, this was really fun, we had a huge fellow in a Black Cape as our tour guide, and we went to 3 different buildings on the grounds of Colonial Williamsburg and story tellers would then relate either a historical account or a folk tale to us in candle lit rooms, with that dark atmosphere and story all playing into an intriguing evenings entertainment.




We walked for a while and talked about the night the business at home and it was time to us to go to our dinner reservations at the King’s Arm Tavern. This is a Tavern that specializes in serving the traditional dishes of the day, and serving them to you in the traditional manner of the day as well. We had Peanut Soup, just great. A steak of Shoat (pork) in rich red wine sauce, a Wild Game Pie served with red Current Jelly, Fricassee Rabbit, Oysters, Venison and Shoat Sausage, Colonial Ham Pate, and Sweet Potato Stew……….. wow what a great meal, served to you slowly allowing time to talk and reflect rather than all heaped on the table in a five minute course.



We finished off the meal with Virginia Rice & Custard Pudding in a Vanilla Sauce as well as Southern Pecan Pie. Our time was over at this point, the next day at 8:15am we were on the plane headed home to the hugs from my kids that I was missing so much. Of all the things that may have been perceived as being difficult to deal with on this trip, it was the lack of affection I could share with my kids that I found to be most difficult too deal with.
Opinion on Performance………keep in mind that this is my own opinion on how well I was served by certain items and Articles that I used while riding across America. My appraisal is my honest view, and not just a carte blanc endorsement of any one item.

BIKE USED- Merlin full Titanium was just great no complaints or suggestions required here. It was not a custom frame for me specifically but one I horse traded for and then had to make work.

COMPONENTRY- I used all Shimano Ultegra components and they performed with out any flaws nor complaints. Something that I did learn in all of this is that the Shimano Brand offers the widest selection of gearing configurations of any and all of the cycling component companies out there today. Younger riders may climb just fine in a 10x2 situation, but older riders may need some gearing advantages not offered unless you go to a Shimano setup

SADDLE SEAT- although many of you read about the teeth comment in regards to my saddle seat, and you must know that for approx 10 days I did switch seats. The truth is that I switched back to my Selle Anatomica Saddle seat made in all leather with a cutout, and I want to say that I think it is the best seat that I own and I do own quite a few. What really changed here was not the comfort of the seat, but rather the actual physical setup of the bike. What I did change was the overall height of my handlebars, then I changed the level of the handlebar setup, and lastly I changed the distance that the seat sits behind the handlebars of the bike. I found great comfort with these few changes.

BOB TRAILER- I never had any problem with the Bob, it always pulled very well and tracked cleanly behind my bike. The problem that I did have was in my inability to stand into a climb and thereby give my derriere somewhat of a break at times, all of this changes with just an elimination of excess weight being carried in the trailer. By the end of the trip I could stand easily, all because of reduction in trailer weight.

SADDLE BAGS, made by Trek. Now these do fail and you may be wondering how. Yes, the pockets and what not all hold your items, but the truth is that the bag keeps trying to fall off the rack………..not really fall off but rather sag its way off the rack. So in order to fix that I tied a tight strap around the entire bag to help hold it upright, which helped a great deal. The biggest failure of this product was that it is nowhere close to being water resistant never mind water proof. Any time you ride in the rain, you can count on all items inside of the saddle Bag System getting soaked completely. So I would fail this item for sure.

Mavic Elite Wheels, performed very well in all and every situation.

CELL PHONE SALVATION- I have found that my service from Cingular is completely unreliable. If it had come too a place where a life and death was at hand I am convinced that the Cell would leave me stranded. As poor as the actual coverage was, I would have been better off with two tin cans and a piece of string. The only place that my Cell Phone worked, was when I was in a large urban area, but even then it was not always a guarantee of having a connection. So I would rate it as very poor performance.

CYCLING CLOTHING – of course I had several brands like most folks, but I do want to say that of the brands the Pearl Izumi had served me very well. In truth nothing failed, it just didn’t wash up as easily nor maintain its elasticity in the legs and butt as well as did the Pearl brand.

FANNY PACKS- One other item that I would mention here, and you may wonder why………and that is the traditional Fanny Pack that many of us carry. I too started my trip with one on my waist carrying things more important to me. They are made to sling around the waist and most are carried against the lower back or against the stomach………..but consider where all the sweat goes even if all you are doing is simply walking around let alone exerting yourself. That’s right strait to the fanny pack………………..and I found it presented a problem with documents and cards I was carrying along with me. My cure was simple, and I think makes sense if any manufacturer is reading this, I inserted a homemade waterproof membrane made out of a piece of milk bottle plastic inside of each pocket and thus eliminated the sweat from permeating the pockets contents.

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I just couldn’t sleep with all the thoughts of having reached the coast but not put my foot into the ocean yet, and so I was up by 5 this morning of October 27th a Friday. The camp was packed up and rolled into the water proof bag so that I could leave it for the day.

It was dark enough that I felt best walking on the shoulder of the road rather than ride my bike and chance getting hit. I walked for the first 3-4 miles, taking in the varied sounds of the urban and city area that I was now in. At all times I am within probably a half mile of the coast yet I still had not seen it. And then finally there it was, as I climbed on my bike and rode over the last high bridge down onto Atlantic Avenue along the Virginia coast line I caught my first look at the Atlantic and my destination.

I had been wondering just what my emotions would be in having ridden this trip, I had heard from others that emotions run the gamut from extreme sadness to complete tearful breakdowns, to that of swearing to never do anything as foolish ever again. I rode in amongst the high rise Hotels that dwarf the beach front, and make my way out onto the Virginia Beach Boardwalk, and the sandy beaches that make up this portion of Coast.

I had promised to stick my foot into the Atlantic as a final culmination of this now 72 day trip, but I couldn’t because the ocean was frozen solid………..I am just kidding. I asked two elderly gals to handle the photo details for me, and with delight they did so. From the sand I headed back to the boardwalk, and then on up the coast to the end of this portion of the ride at First Landing State Park and the Lighthouses that at one time protected ships coming into to these harbors. There is the Fort Storey Army Base around the Lighthouses, and plenty of coast line to ride along and see things. It was a 19 mile plus jaunt up to that end of the park, and then I rode back down so that I could call home and let them know that I had made it. I stopped and had a huge pancake breakfast when I got back down to Virginia Beach boardwalk area, and called home to let everyone at my house know that I had made it. Then I headed off to the Library at Virginia Beach to work on my blog.

Once my two hours of Computer time for the day were done and I could stay no longer. But I did meet a very neat elderly man just as I was preparing to leave the confines of the Library. His name was Lyman Hall, and he was a WW2 vet whom had served on Wake Island and on the Yorktown just before she was sunk. Lyman is working on a book that takes in the accomplishments of the men who had served in the Pacific Theater.

What a great guy to talk too, he was so proud of the men, not of himself but of all the other men whom had served and many whom had died in that service. But more than any thing he was excited about someone taking time to visit with him about what had happened over in that area of the war. I can’t help but feel honored when I get a chance too visit with fella’s like Lyman, and I am thankful that when things got real bad back then, that we did have a generation of men like Lyman.

I rode on to the south and picked up a rental car and then decided to work on getting my bike ready to ship home. I bought some cleaners and a bag of rags and rubber gloves. I spent from about 4:30 till 9pm that evening getting my bike cleaned and dismantled, and my Bob trailer ready to carry home as a part of my luggage with me.
As for this ride well I am done. I have no regrets, nor tears, just elation at having made it the entire distance with no serious problems.

Do I have any relevant words of wisdom for the many whom will read this and then want to follow in my footsteps.........well yes I do as a matter of fact. Dreams can only be lived when we are out there engaged in the life that God has set before us. To sit on the sidelines of life will leave you feeling vacant and unfulfilled, in the end you will have nobody but yourself too blame if that is what life looks like. I didn't leave home to find myself, shoot I know darn well who I am thanks, but I did leave home to find out more about my relationship with Jesus Christ.

My own walk was a matter of making foot prints and thats all, I had not found a reason to get engaged in the matters of what Jesus wants for ME. Do I have a crystal clear picture today becasue of the ride.......shoot no. But I also do not believe that GOD wants to show me the whole view iether..............just draw close Jeremiah and we will walk a wonderful walk you and I. Ever find yourself wondering,,,,,,,,,,,I wonder what this or that piece of country looks like,,,,,,,,,,,,,,or maybe what this or that region of the country may live like? I cannot think of a better way for any of us to get too know the beautiful country that we live in better than getting out in it. I will get off my soap box now, as I do understand that God knocks at the door of every man's heart at different times and not at my time schedule.

I owe all of you a round of thanks for the constant comments to the blog site, within the comments there has been much encouragement and Prayer offered up by many. I humbly say thanks to you all, anyone of us would appear to have made it by our own strength when in truth we make by the strength on loan from others who encourage us. So I say THANKS to you all from this last day of the blog as it pertains to my actual trip across what I firmly believe is the greatest country on this the earth that God has made.

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Just yesterday I had called the Virginia Dept of Transport and asked for road directions around the heavier traffic of Norfolk, as well as a KOA Campground to shoot for that next night.

Armed with that information, I headed out the next morning to make my assault on the beaches of Virginia. I would ride over the north end of the Great Dismal Swamp first on what had been described as the most dangerous piece of road on my map so far, and so it was that I found it to be maybe one of the easiest. Now one thing here about bad luck, or bad karma, call it what you will, but I had the flat tires today like I had back in Missouri.

By 9am I had two flats on the back tire of my bike. By 5pm of this day I would be fixing my 6th flat of the day. The real culprit was a tiny piece of stone that had pierced my tire and rolled around undetected by me at each tire changing and then once the flat was fixed it would have rolled to a new position to flat in a new location. I was getting real tired of flats on the rear tire by the end of the day, let me tell you.

I rode in large loop around the outskirts of Norfolk, and a much larger loop than was needed when I look back on it all now. Really the worst piece of road came near the end of the day when I got onto Princess Anne Road around the south of Norfolk, this is where the real road rage idiots came into being. These guys were genuinely ignorant drivers on this little piece of road, non the less, bad enough to have me pull over to have a cup of coffee to cool off a little.

I as fixing my 6th flat of the day, and just about to enter Princess Anne road, when a lady stopped to see if I needed help with things. As it turned out, she too was a bike rider and had herself rode the entire USA when she turned 70 folks………………..yes, I did feel a little like the town weenie at this point. We had a good visit, and we exchanged cell phone numbers and promised that we would try to go for supper if I made it to the campground that night. That was enough impetus for me to get back on and get to pedaling up the highway to the KOA campground.

I finally made it to the camp ground at about 5:45 that evening, camped in the “PRIMITIVE SECTION” which means that for 20$ they will give you a flat spot to pitch your tent. I took a long shower, which was something that I really needed.

It was about 7pm, when the lights of the car pulled up beside my tent and Fran, the lady biker and her husband Fred pulled up as they had said they would and once introductions were over we headed out to get some Sea Food. We went to one of their favorite restaurants, and I ordered Crab Cakes, Fran had Salmon and I don’t remember what Fred ordered at the moment. The meal was fine, the food was great but the visit was the best part of it all. To be able to visit with another rider whom had suffered on some of the same hills, who had rode in some of the same heat, and who had struggled with the same rolling eastern terrain, now that was great……….and like I said Fran had done it all at 70.

Fred was an avid cyclist as well, just not as full throttle as Fran. This Fran, now 73 is a 8000 mile per year rider………..now that’s a fair serious rider in my books. Fran is a retired Virginia School teacher, loved her job, and the kids she taught but glad to be able to retire and enjoy other things as well. Fred on the other hand had retired from the Navy, he was a Submarine designer, as well as an active submariner as well when he was younger. In all they had many more years of cycling trips planned and being in a chair was not in Fran and Freds plans for several more years yet.

The biggest goal was to get the trip across Canada done. Fred & Fran many thanks for you kindness and hospitality, I wish you all the best when you make the trip. I was back in my tent that night by about 10 and sleep would not come easy till sometime after 11, because I was camped on the low altitude inbound lane of a squadron of Fighter jets training just a few miles to my west. Boy howdy, when they came in it would just rattle the screens on my little tent, and almost make your ears hurt when they rolled over head. But finally sleep came and I was out. What a great day, another one of the 70 plus milers and at a good speed to considering the wind and the traffic.

Good Night and God Bless

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:35 PM | Permalink

I am very close to being done with this bike trip, and now details begin to play into the whole process., things like what roads thru a city like Norfolk, where to ship my bike from etc. But anyways let’s not get ahead of ourselves with it all.

I was up and riding, cold but riding, its just before 8am, and I have all my cloths on and still my toes are a hurting from the damp cold of the Atlantic Coast. I ride for a few miles and come to the Hungry Bear quick Stop into which I head for coffee and a biscuit to aid in the warming process. It’s a very welcome break, the toes were really stinging, and yet I had had even colder mornings than this………..the difference must be the humidity.

From there I head further east and ride the narrow back roads of coastal Virginia, logging would seem to rule in this area and you have to be aware of the fast moving log trucks here.

I stopped in Stoney Creek to see if there was a Library to which the answer was NO, but I was welcome to make use of the computer set up behind the counter at this tiny Pharmacy. I thanked the fellow and jumped on to get some names of bike shops and campgrounds in and around Norfolk area , with that done I could head on down the road. I was just leaving and getting my bike turned around when Billy Towlin came along on his scooter.

Billy was heading in for some medication, his health not being the best, he started having heart problems back when he was 39. Has now had 4 strokes, and two by pass surgeries, but thanks to great Doctors and the Love of the Lord says Billy, I am still here today. There was no mistaking the thankful heart that Billy had for the Lord, we stopped and Prayed together and Billy commented on the greatest generation on earth, that being the group of veterans whom fought in the second world war, and what a loss will be felt in this country when the last one passes away.

Billy genuinely feels a sense of urgency for the country given the attitude shown by the youngest teens in the USA today. There is no way to know what will come about, and I feel that the best youngsters in the world today are without doubt US kids, they do have a much different attitude towards our country than did thier grandparents.
I rode on from there to Homefield, to be honest the country was now getting just a tad boring since it was so flat, with much more Pine trees now than ever before, and logging was the largest source of income for this region. At Homefield, I would turn south and head towards Courtland, but before I got there I would go thru Littleton and Sebrell on my way to Highway 58,

Smithfield Virgina, not that I am in that town, but one of my stops relates to that specific town which derives its fame from the delicious smoked Hams that they make there. I stopped at a road side Hog Sale, there were many trucks lined up, all carrying hogs to this tiny local marketplace. While I stood around watching what was going on, I talked to Moore, a fellow in charge of moving the hogs down the alleys at this sale barn, and he told me that the best end of these hogs would go to Smithfield to the smokers in the region. It was a fun stop, mainly because I found out just how famous the Smithfield Hams indeed were, and have been for a long time. But also for the noisy distraction that the hogs added to my ride.

I doubt there is anything that can attain the decibel level of that of a shrill squealing hog, being prodded down a barn alley or a sale barn. The place had a hog smell, and that alone made it time to move on before that smell got into all my clothing as well.

I rode on just down the road and there was a small Produce and BBQ stand on the side of the road. I decided to get some juice and maybe some fruit to eat. Now this particular stand had some unusual fruit. This is the sort of fruit that is grown as a specialty item. I bought two varieties of Apples, they being an Arkansas Black Twig not commercially grown for over 60 years, and also a Stayman variety. I ate the Black Twig first, it is a larger apple with a deep Red skin, the apple was very crisp and quite sweet……..I had concluded that this had to be the better of the two.

The Stayman has a very mottled skin color, not a real attractive appearance, but tin the end this was the apple that I thought had to be one of the best I had ever ate. With a belly full of apple, and some Gatorade it was time to hit the road to Courtland and then on into Suffolk.

I was a little lost in Courtland and stopped at a feed Mill to ask for some directions from two fellas standing outside the Mill. Now each of these fellas was older than I, and they were real puzzled looking when I stopped in front of them and pulled out a map to ask for directions. What the Sam%$$#@ ya doin with this here rig, says Art the older of the two. To which I replied I was just riding across America with it, and I am not sure of which roads to take at this point of my journey. Well *&%%$# says Art, you likely to get run plumb over on that road out there 58. Heck we ain’t looking for some idiot on no bicycle out on the road………ain’t no body rides no bike round these parts says Mort a helper at the Mill.

What ya wanna ride a fool bike across USA for anyway, this some kind’a money makin ride, asks Art. No, I try too assure them I am no soliciting funds for a Charity, I am just riding for the pure fun of it all a challenge to myself to see if I can make it. Well that is the &$#@dest thing says Art, to need to ride a bicycle a’crost America just to see if ya can. SO, I ask now that they have expressed their excitement over my ride, do you fellas know of a backroad that I can ride that will get me down to Suffolk and keep me out of the heavier traffic.. Well says Mort, they ain’t no real good road to take since the big ol swamp stops you comin from the south, and two rivers stop ya from the north, best ya kin do is ride out on the 58.

Where does ya sleep at night asks Mort? Well, I sleep each night out on the ground, I have a tent but we are on the ground I tell him. $#@@&% says Mort, ain’t that just a little cold? Well yes I tell him, but not unbearable cold, just a little chilly is all. Where does ya eat, asks Art? Ah, the eating, yes once again its not great but hey we do eat I tell them. Now its mostly noodles and soup but I do get fed I assure them. And you decided that ya wanted to do all of this here sufferin for fun, says Mort. Man I am sure glad I ain’t needin no challenge in my life………….they both had a good laugh and I felt that maybe my time was done here, no matter what I said I was not going to win them over to the sport of cycling.

So, I hit the road south and east on 58, it was a 4 lane road with about a 6 foot shoulder. I could really crank the tail out on this road with a good surface and someplace to ride. I was determined to make it as far as I could towards the city of Norfolk, and then pull over to camp for the night with just just one day ride left.

And so it was that at the junction of #13 and #58 I rode past a Church and made camp in the bushes right behind this church. There were no comforts like a Pavillion, just the sanctuary of the Church. I had ridden 75 plus miles at an average of 17.4 miles per hour for the day. I felt pretty good about it all, and was in a good position to be able to finish up the ride the following day.

Good Night and God Bless

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:33 PM | Permalink

I do agree, that a hat is just a hat……………but only when it is somebody else’s hat and not your hat. When it is too be your hat, it becomes very important that the hat reflect the character of the wearer and that it emphasizes the physical attributes of its wearer. The hat should have character, just like Jeremiah has character but honestly, sometimes shopping with Jeremiah is a real pain. Here is one coffee drinkin’ cowboy with no sense of style………….none.
Jeremiah and I headed into the local Walmart to find the hat for him too wear that would impart warmth for him at night………..finally I though, that just maybe I could have a little influence on Jeremiah at such an important junction in this trip. Style should have been my middle name, flamboyant could be my last………..now, too see if I can sway Jeremiah’s most utilitarian sense of fashion.


There is no doubt in muy mind that this was the best choice for Jeremiah, the fuzzy cap would have been both warm and stylish. And it done wonders for JW's skin tone........not too mention that faux furs are red hot this year..........you don't want to know what ol'utility fashion had to say about it!

This Black Beret would have gone miles in repairing our damaged international politcal integrity, the French may have actually have softened thier stance on this years Tour Winner, but no international integrity just doesn't play inot JW's choices....he has no sense of world good will...........none

Now, even I do not think that the Pink flop was right for Jeremiah, a little too warm and a little too MO-Town for a cowboy cyclist

Flops are in this year when it comes to the woven look, and the colors needed by a fellow with high cheek bones are the softer floral pastels. The cut of the hat is perrfect for JW, as he has sort of an egg head, this would have thickened his head a shape just a little..............the wording that killed the sale was "hey fat-head, try this one".

NOw this outfit was the killer approach for me to have a such a great ensemble in the cycling kit bag would make you the envie of the peloton I told JW, and the colors well there perfect they go with all the colors of the cycling clothing scene I assured him. Yes just great said Jeremiah, I will look just dandy doing a summersalt right into the ditch after that great long scarf gets all tangled up in my front wheel, won't I look smart then eh MR. STYLE MAVEN!!!!!!

Now after I had listened to his thoughts on the scarf outfit I had to agree, but at about the same time as his monolog on sensibull clothing I noticed the brown fur hat made of sableike fur.........YES I KNOW.........OKAY just button it for a minuet would ya buddy. Sableike's for your information, are critters that can only be found in old growth forests of artificial christmas trees..........if we don't trap in these forests how do you expect us too manintain viably sustainable artificial christmas tree groves........................HUH? Besides, if more Americans would expose themselves in fur, we may win Vladameer Putin over too our cause. But no, Jeremiah thinks it will get to stinkin whenit gets sweaty, and he thinks the fur will tickle his ears to much.

Okay Mr.Utility Fashion...........what is possibly wrong with this one I ask...........it's tight which is something you LYCRA KINGS like is it not. And it is just long enough to cover with out
flapping/popping/whistling/snapping/flopping/wrapping/twirling/ or any other ING words that you can think of for a negative.................what do you mean it looks to sissy for a fella like you, I protest.
After all of that intense effort, my advice was shunned for nothing more than a black Scotch Cap that came below the ears. Well that’s it, no more traveling with JW on these sorts of adventures when in the heat of decision making he opts to follow his own advice rather than mine any ways……………so clearly as far as JW is concerned fashion has no place where long distance cycling is concerned. Well if that’s how he feels, fine, I will remain at home………and we see who he calls on when there is a Tornado or another demonic Tangle’foot to deal with………then he will wish that he had taken time to pay heed to my counsel.

Good nIght Jeremiah, and may God Bless you!!

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:32 PM | Permalink

I spent the better part of this day just riding, I didn’t make any effort to find a Library. I did work with my new camera and some pic’s, I just hope that the photo thing all works out because it is not a very good camera as I had to start. It’s 25 degrees on the bike at 7am, and I can’t stop the tears from filling my eyes as I ride in this cold morning air.


My fingers and toes are trying to quit, and I pull over at the first quick-stop I hit that morning after an hour or so of riding. I have a great biscuit and sausage, and a couple cups of coffee. I made attempts to fire up a conversation with different folks but nothing really came about…………….they seem fairly suspicious of a grown man in LYCRA???? I did watch one very interesting customer.

idth="640" height="421" />

The fellow was a huge round built man, not that tall but of equal girth to height. He sat and nearly flattened a chair in doing so, and lit his first cigarette……..he seemed somewhat fidgety and careful about things like placement of the ashtray etc and it was fun to watch the antics that he went thru, with the pointing of his cigarette and the moving of either ashtray or lighter being a constant habit.



He now sat in front of me, oblivious that I was even in the room, and he lit a second cigarette before the first was even out, he seemed puzzled by which to set down. There came a point in which he was served his biscuits and gravy, and he at that point sat eating the meal before him, with a cigarette going in each hand. He sat and ate without ever setting his two different length cigarettes going with one in each hand………taking alternate puffs on each cigarette as he shoveled in the meal from the Styro tray. That may have been the highlight of quick stop choreography for my trip.



I am warm enough and start riding again, I am taking roads on what is known as Lee’s Retreat. This is the path that Lee & his Troops took while trying to get away from the Union Army. I rode on past a small barn being built and saw two fellows out working, one that caught my eye was peeling some logs. So I pulled in to visit with Dave and Tommy Nelson, they were in the midst of building a country style green house for a lady friend.



Both had grown up as Air Force brats, and traveled the country from base to base with their parents. Then they each done a stint in the Air Force and headed into civilian life. They liked the sense of accomplishment that they felt while being a part of the Service, they both thought that having given over a part of their own lives to service had been good for them both. Now however they found themselves having to hussle to make a living in any manner that they could, and log peeling and carpentry was what paid the bills.


I pedal on to the Nottaway Courthouse, another in a string of places and occasions that Lee visited with his Generals etc to decide the conclusion of the Civil War. The Nottoway Couthouse, was one such occasion in which Lee joined his Generals and received information from Union spies as to activities on the other side, the news was bad, the trap was about to close about them all. The road leads on then to Pamplin City, the scene of the best known Clay Pipe making center, and how important the pipes where to soldiers of both sides in this War.


The remains of the Kiln are now an historic site and thus preserved. Then on down the narrow back roads to Blackstone, which used to be a garment and textile district but now secures it’s lively hood from the Army & National Guard Bases that surround it. The evidence of what used to be a busy manufacturing district are abundant, now they stand idle and folks remain unemployed, but clothes are cheap at Wal-Mart etc so no one is too upset.

I eat at a real Restaurant today, the Farmers Café in downtown Blackstone. I have a Chicken Fried Steak, and a piece of pie that does not measure up to what I had a Frannies. The afternoon turned out sunny but very cool. The last few nights had been very cool, and so I took to Walmart as my savior and buy a couple of heavy weight work socks and a heavy wool scotch cap to wear at night. The whole matter of buying a hat is difficult, because you just have to find a hat that is YOU.

Then on down the road we go, the country is really flattening out now, the sides of the road have more and more standing water. The roads are narrow, the sky growing darker and McKinney is my next town to go thru. There isn’t much there and I just breeze thru, the primary source of income seems to be logging and farming Cotton in the region from Appamatox to here thus far. I need to look for a place to pull over and camp for the night, the ground is so wet in thru here that I would really like to find a high spot or a table to sleep on to help stay dry.

Not long after the Town of McKinney, I pass a private hunt club on the side of the road, they have a lodge or meeting building and many out buildings some look to be used for horses while others must surely be for dogs, and some of the others for storage. I considered sleeping under the roof of the Pavilion, and am about to do so when I notice that the door to a small storage room is actually open and not locked at all. Well, this is looking quite inviting with the coming night and how cool it is as well as the fog that I know will shroud the place by morning. So I enter into this building that is used to store such things as shooting targets and miscellaneous electrical and plumbing supplies.

Older chest freezers and tarps, but in amongst it all is something I really don’t like the look of, yes and there are 4 total, they are shed snake skins, large diameter solid black snake skins……………..but Poochie Maggie, take a look at that one………..that must have been a huge snake last year. I pull out the largest snake skin and it comes in two pieces it measures over 9 feet in length, the next skin I could get picked up comes in at just over 5 feet and another that would have been 6 feet. I had to think hard about sleeping here, but reasoned that with all the cool weather they would be denned up someplace by now……………….right…………I mean, surely they would not be out and about with me here tonight. I decided to NOT DISTURB the corners and what lay on the floor of the shed if possible………..no sense waking up unsavory sleeping partners. So I laid out one of the blue tarps underneath of my bag-o-sleep, and then threw my bed down on that. There was power into this room, so I set my useless cell phone to charging as well as my camera batteries. I woke up every few hours and changed my batteries for the camera, the cell phone takes a little longer to get a charge so I only charged 2 batteries for the cell phone over night.
Not such a bad day in all, I had 61 miles in travel, and got to see and meet quite a few folks. A decent supper of Tomato Soup and Noodles, and a dry place to sleep, can it get any better than that?

Good Night and God Bless

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:30 PM | Permalink

I am in Appamatox, this is the farming region in central Virginia that seen the signing of the end of the bloodiest War in America, the Civil War. It was on this ridge of high ground that seen the southern Confederacy succumb to the strength and strategic planning of the Union North.

Amidst farm roads and small farm houses was waged a bloody confrontation by the two sides, one in which casualties were high and the stakes even higher. A well laid plan by the Union Army to catch the Confederacy in a pincer type movement was well orchestrated bringing about the surrender of arms by the defeated south. It is from this battle field that the “beginning of a time of healing” would begin, and as history would show us………………….that time for healing would start even as the Confederate troops laid down their arms in surrender.


There are many written accounts of Union Officers demanding that the Union Troops show respect and even “Honor Them” with a salute was ordered, as the rag tag soldiers of the Confederacy laid down the arms they carried. I actually found the whole description of the events to be quite moving as you read excerpts from diaries etc of the men whom where there at the time from both sides of this civil conflict.

The battle fields and buildings are all quite well preserved and or restored, and you can really get a feel for what it must have been like.


It was a very cool day, and not a day without it’s problems by the way. My good old camera had finally died, or so I thought. I sat for several hours outside of a small store from who I was borrowing electricity to charge a camera battery………………but no matter what I done I could not make my camera come to life. And so, after several hours of that sort of waiting around, I bought a very cheap digital camera in order to finish up the trip with. I rode in to what is now downtown Appamatox, and met several folks of interest.


The first, a couple from Michigan whom had retired and sold everything to head out on the road and travel, travel where and as far as they wanted each day. They had now been on the road for 3 years and saw no end in sight, they still had places that they wanted to go.

So we visited about the many places that all of us had been, and about the places that all of us would like to some day see. We visited about what kids are missing in the teaching of History these days, and how a proper education with regards to history can lead to a sense of respect and reverence for a country and not one of disdane as we see so often today in the youth.


But even more fun was the next fellow whom I met as I walked across the street to what I though was an open European Style Bakery.

Sadly, the bakery was closed. If any of you have had the chance to visit a real European Bakery you would know why I might say it’s a sad day when you find it closed………..but we will not go into why JW thinks the euro-bakeries are so much better. I met John Selver an elderly, rotund fellow whom carried himself like one well educated , and having done well in life.

John was a lawyer by trade, and a Copy Right specialist by practice. His primary job from 1970 up until his retirement in the latter 90’s was to buy “technologies”, meaning the process and the patent for such applications. This was a fascinating conversation for me, because I had no idea that such an occupation even excisted. John traveled for long periods within mostly western Europe, but on occasion into the Eastern Block countries as well as into Japan and Korea.

The job entailed looking for cutting edge developments that as of yet had not hit the street, get them bought and then the process protected by copyrights etc. From this conversation sprang a discussion about what is missing within the youth coming up in the business cycle today.

And the primary ingredient would be passion, a passion to work, a passion to develop markets and ideas…………Collin Powell is often sighted as the one whom talked about “fire in the belly” for public service………….but in this case we are talking about having a desire to go and simply be productive and not look to the world as if for some reason that living is OWED to you. The largest contributor to poor scholastic performance thought John, was the sense of being owed by someone, rather than a sense of needing to generate for ones self.

And to top it off, the education in our sciences and computer technologies is leaving our youngsters behind at an alarming rate. Sadly many parents look at their children and make the assessment that their kids are quite adept on the computer because they are always on it playing games…………..but the truth is that kids in some third world countries are writing the code to play the games, while our kids simply play the games, says John.

I head out of Appamatox, and on towards Farmville. The sky is dark and heavy with pending rain……………..or maybe snow as it feels quite cold. We are headed almost due east towards the Atlantic now, and the country is flattening out into the great coastal plain, so the riding is getting a little easier in regards to hills etc.

The ride to Farmville was a fun ride, quite fast and with lots of pretty roads to ride. It was while I was riding thru downtown Farmville, that I came upon two older fellows unloading a rather heavy filing cabinet. They sort of gave me a strange look as I rode past them on the side of the street, and an even stranger look when I parked my bike and went over to give them a hand.

The filing cabinet was indeed a heavy old brute for a Law Office type, and as we made efforts to move it, another really big guy stopped and helped me get the job done. As it was the case was simply too heavy for the two older men, but with a little effort we got the cabinet over to the freight elevator, and once again I was on my way having done someone a good deed for the day.

My intention was to stay at a city park that night, but having stopped for coffee, and inquired as to the Park I found out it was once a gain a Park plagued by the drug deals of the town.

So I decided to hit the road and take my chances as I rode too find a good place to camp. I rode on another 10-12 miles and the night was coming on much too quick, so on this night it would be a ruff camp, setting my tent up on some sandy ground at the edge of a small clearing. I had some Tortellini & Mushroom Soup for supper………….it was such a cold night I ate quickly and headed into bed.

Good Night and God Bless

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:28 PM | Permalink

My camp was well enough placed on a very desolate road, but that doesn’t stop the roaming of a way ward hound at night. It was while I sat by the fire that evening that I thought I had company from some sort of critter just out beyond the glow of my fire’s light. I could here the steady rustle of feet upon the leaves on the forest floor, never too far from where I sat, but no close enough to see.


And as it turned out, it was a dog, sounded by growl and foot fall to be a fair sized one. He haunted my camp and tent all night long, I would be woke by his sniffing of my tent, and when I rolled over it would surprise him and cause a deep menacing growl to come forth in his surprise. He was there till the time I unfurled the front flap of my tent in the morning, then he departed like a wraith as I came out of my cocoon.


The morning was a wet and foggy one, I head out more or less lost, my maps certainly had not been the best guide to the position I now found myself. So, there is not much that can be done except get to pedaling. I am headed off the ridge, and down deeper into another holler, the shroud of fog conceals the brilliant leaves that form a canopy over my head, I can hear before I can see, a swift running creek somewhere below me in the holler.


The road really gets bad in spots and I opt to walk down certain sections. All totaled I rode for about 10 miles before I came to a spot that would reveal any houses, I crossed 4 single track wooden bridges over swift cold creeks, complete with very pretty waterfalls in one case. Finally I had rode enough and made enough turns that I thought I would eventually just screw myself into the surface of the Virginia landscape and remain lost forever………………but as it turned out I came to a larger road with no marking, not paved mind you, just larger so I took a hard right.


For almost three hours, I roamed in this area of heavy forest and stream, the fog gave way to a sullen sky, and what little color the trees could muster in the given light. I finally met up with a road that was paved and headed in a direction that I could find on the map. I took the turn that would take me to Lynchburg, I was in need of finding a Church for service on this day. The road is fairly hilly and with good shoulder, so I was able to make up a little time from the slower going of the morning.


The time was passing for my ability to get into a Church Service, when I seen a sign that claimed a Church within 6 miles but I felt that was to far to make it and I kept riding, but just a couple hundred yards and I seen the white Steeple for a church and made a U-turn and headed in to the Brookhill Weslayan Church. I was made welcome, and the service was one of gratitude for the Pastors whom had served. When the service was over they had a great meal sort of a Pot Luck affair. I was about to leave feeling guilty about not being a giver to this occasion but before I could escape from the parking lot, a tall gal named Barbara came over and informed me that I would be very welcome to join in the meal with the congregation. So that is what I did, the visit was great, the meal was even greater with many southern style dishes having been prepared.

By about 1pm, I was back on the bike and headed on towards Lynchburg, which was only another 15 or so miles down the road. I stopped when I hit town, because I was in need of a cup of coffee, but I also wanted to see if my Cingular would finally connect and I could make some calls, then, there was the need of another CF card as mine was almost full and I had been on a photo ration program as of the last 3 days. I finally found the Staples so that I could get a CF, and it was right across the road from a Mall and from there I could call my local Pastors son and have a quick visit.


I had all of the deeds for the day done, and it was time to hit #460 to the south towards a real famous American historical town called Appamatox. But before I could see any of the sites I would need to find a place to call camp tonight. Now that is a nice camp I thought as I rode my bike up the grade towards a small church on my right and it even has a nice pavillion to the back of it. So it is that I set up camp, a nice meal of YES you guessed it, soup and noodles and two cups of Tea.

Good Night and God Bless

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:26 PM | Permalink

To use an age old phrase, "you would have been hiding under a rock" in order to have never heard of the Blue Ridge Parkway....................which make up the bulk of todays ride. Ever find your self wondering as to the splendor of Gods Creation, well if ever you do, just take a short ride on this fabled piece of American HIghway and see for your self that we have a Glorious and Imaginative God working in our lives.

I had foiled old man cold thru last nights camping, I had as I said placed my camp inside of a ball diamond vendors hut and slept in a cool but not near as cold as it could have been night. For it was indeed a quite cool night. I rolled up camp and headed out to the nearest quick stop for coffee and a muffin to call breakfast. Then as soon as I could I got into the Buchanan Library to work on the blog once again. I worked strait from a few minutes prior to Nine, till exactly 5 minutes before 1pm. I went right across the street to a little town Cafe, of the sort that I have been missing so much on this trip, and I had a nice Chicken Fried Steak before I tackle Bear Wallow Gap.

The road that heads out of Buchanan to the top, is a rated climb of 9% with some steep sections in it. If my research is correct it is one of the 5 primary climbs out of many along the Blue Ridge that avid cyclists rave about for its difficulty. I found myself anxious, not in a fearsome way but rather in anticipation. I had parked my butt in a chair thru the morning and now find myself in one of the cleanest sunny days I have seen in few. They have a news type show out this way called " Catch the Color", and in this news report they rate from 1-10 the areas along the parkway in regards to the quality of fall color that will be seen..............and my destination and entire ride for that matter are rated a 9 out of a possible 10.

When you leave you follow and cross the James River several places, and feel the start of the climb within just a few short yards of Buchanan. I was ready, I had the right amount of groceriess in me, the right amount of wieght in the trailer I really felt good today. I just climbed, no hitches except for plenty of cars and no real shoulder to get off on. The shoulder is gravel which is firm but not real packed and it starts right at the white lined edge. There you are, climbing in amongst what feels like a painting in the works, you look ahead out on the road seeing the reflection of intense sunlight on the spiralling blacktop.................which gives way to resplendant color as you slowly make your way up the grade and on too the next bend in the road. The overarching camnopy of trees is made up of Beech, Oak, Maple, Ash, BUtternut etc.......so the colors are rich , glorious and in a wide array on the Master painters pallette today. I cannot say that I really had a day in which I have just wanted to quit.........but if you did this sort of day would give you inspiration to keep on going. WOW, what a beautiful day to ride a bike and know without fail that you are riding in Gods hands.

The climb up is stiff but even pulling a trailer I did not find it to be unbearable. The other thing is that I have been in constant practise trying to stand into a climb as I pull this trailer. And in the begining as you know I have stated that it is impossible, and indeed it was when the trailer was heavier. But I have reduced the trailer to some 30 plus pounds and I now find the climbing quite easy with the trailer. So as YOU would have already known the wieght does matter greatly.............I stood into the climb for a distance of 3.2 miles of the total 5.6 mile climb.............and I stood without stopping a single section. And on this grade you leave brilliant collor and climb into splendor at the top.

Almost that easily I was there at the top of a fabled piece of Americas road system the Blue Ridge Parkway, the entire piece of highway was constructed to do nothing but explore and appreciate the gifted hand of Gods creation and it runs for some 1000 plus miles. And do not make the mistake of thinking that once you have climbed to the top of the ridge that the climbing is over and a easy ride thus begins.............for it is not that way at all. There are plenty of climbs that are in the "grunt & fart" catagory. I took a left at the top out onto the Parkway from Hwy 43 that I had come up on. The road is constantly undulating and wending its way amidst the peaks of the Blue Ridge, my destination for the day was the Peaks of Otter area.

The down side of todays ride was the volume of vehicular traffic on the quite narrow roadway. In most cases the drivers were going quite slowly since they too were out to see the colors. But there was also a lack of careful attention on the part of the drivers and a alot of kids out driving way to fast for the weekend color watch that was in process. Given all of that, I found myself watching the color very little and really keeping an eye on traffic around me, by Peaks I was tired and needing a break. From my side of the trip, I can say that it was the beauty of it that proved to be the ruin of it..............the Peaks is such a beautiful area that the car and people count up there would rival that of LA, and so it was that finding a place to take a picture without ten thousand of my human brothers in the same pic was difficult. The traffic according to a Park Warden I talked to is heavy and more congested going north since many folks are returning that way towards the DC area making a weekend trip out of the "Catch the Color" weekend.

I made a decision to turn off the PArkway a little earlier and head down some backroads towards Lynchburg. And so it ws that I peeled of onto a steep downgrade and headed down towards road #634. The pitch down was much like the one I rode coming up, and I had to ride the breaks to keep from over running the corners. I turned left onto #634 and stopped at a family orchard to eat a few apples. The road is a narrow and winding affair that snakes it's way across the foothills of the Appalachin range and comes into Lynchburg from the north side. There are several intersections that I have to watch for and several turns that need to be made. As I ride the road is constantly deteriorating, getting narrower, no paint, no shoulder and soon enough no blacktop iether, I am down to a gravel road single track width. Very few folks or places to stop and ask as I ride. I met a lady out walking with her muzzled dog, and I stopped to ask for some directions................well the lady panicked and made gestures she was going to unmuzzle her dog on me. Now folks I dont want to be too harsh here, but really some folks could stand to watch a little less of Law&Disorder............and I know that there are bad folks out there. But really a man in spandex riding a fully loaded bike would hardly seem to be the best candidate for an axe murderer.........but this lady apparantley seen me as "Jeremiah the Ripper"...........so, no directions and a feeling that the lady could use an infusion of air pressure.

I rode on and down into a deep holler that was called Lister Mill Road. The grades were steep and all gravel, it was washed out in many of the corners and that forced me to get off and walk around the washed out areas........I was really beginning to wonder about the road I was on. It was almost dark when I finally pulled over and pitched camp amongst the trees on a ridge that I was riding down . I gatherd a few dry pieces of wood, and scrapped away a very deep layer of leaves exposing rich wet earth and started a fire to cook some sausage over. I sat by the fire and had a cuop of tea, headed for bed at about 10 after listening to both Coyote and Fox compete for air space in God's Amphi-theater. The sky was clear and stars were out in abundance, Owls hooted and dogs barked away the night time intrusions of the wild animal kingdom that haunt thier yards each night.

Good Night and God Bless

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

As Jeremiah's EGO, I have not been asked or better yet given much opportunity to speak of my own expieriences during this ride, it seems that what ever JW says is how it was. I remind you that it took ME to bring out the truth of the night in the Park in southern Colo, and don't forget that it was ME who had to lay out the details of the Tornado back in Canvas. So rest assured that when I speak, I will speak as a voice independant of that of JW and with a voice of clarity and reason..............I will not fall prey to the "excited tourist routine"!!!!

We would be fools to think that a cross country trip of this magnitude would go without a hitch or flaw of some sort, and old Tanglefoot was just such a hitch. You can't get chased by dangerous animals from one coast to the oterh and just by mere coincidence escape all comers..............yes indeed I do know how powerful Jeremiah's legs have become, lets be resonable though.

This incident happend in the worst of situations for a cyclist, and it happend just like I am about to describe. I would suggest a box of tissues and maybe something to drink before we get started it is not a story for the weak of heart. If your a hairy legged MALE type ( for my nephew Walker I have chosen leg hair not facial hair of which he has none, for the measure of a man) , if adventure includes a degree of dangers that go unseen in the day to day suburban world, then this account is just what you need before the Sunday Football game.

The road ahead is wending it way up a long series of inclines that lead to a peak of sorts over to the Buchanan side of a mountain range, the pitch is a 6-9 percent type. The colored autumn leaves have been flattened as colored pavers against the blacktop by last nights rainfall, now the sunshine gives them a renewed brilliance in thier last gasp of presence in this years life cycle. The grass along the edge of the road shows a brilliant green amidst the fall foliage of weeds and leaves, burrdock and ragweed abound. You could hear it before you could see it. I was aware but was he, was JW listening or simply lost in one of his "Oh, look at the color" days. You just never know with JW.

As I rode there with JW, I thought that I was the one aware and ready but I found that indeed I was the one a sleep at the switch so too speak. I seen it too, that moment in which ol'Tanglefoot's foot left the safe haven of the grassy road's edge..............and he entered himself upon the ROAD GLADIATORS COLLISEUM. I was prepared because I had heard the barking off to my right and my focus had shifted from leaves to the danger that my fine tuned radar had sensed. But I was not as ready as Jeremiah, indeed I was not. I mean ol'Tanglefoot had only placed but one paw onto the roads edge, his awesome long black claws scratching the surface of the blacktop making sparks fly. We had been caught on our cycle in a low slow gear at the pre-precipice of a steep incline ( thats an uphill for Walky and Duster ), the time left to react was but a nano-second since our enemy had approached without narry a bark. The barking we had heard was from another adversary in a different yard................Tanglefoot indeed understood the tactics of guerilla battle and administering lethal blows to his would be victims..................he had played his first move in this game of life-chess, with his desceptive practise of laying low within a ditch as an unwitting rider passes by.............ambushing his prey in guerilla fashion.

The speed of Jeremiahs one deft movement is still a blurr of amazement to me, and folks, I am not given over easliy to being impressed by any one least of all JW. HIs foot unclipped and his leg was over the burdensome saddle bag in one lightning movement, the second foot left the pedal just as the bike was laid over to its side. I found myself scrambling up off the ground in a rather hap-hazard fashion not being able to react near as fast as did JW. Like a cornered cat JW hit the defensive crouch stance.................

body low with legs wide set, the center of his immense gravity as close to the ground as it could be placed. Primordial man has been given an inherent desire to survive, in some men it runs strong and pure...and in others well its been all but bred out by the urban lifestyle, with JW the instinct to survive as the hunter gatherer that he is runs deep and strong. This may be a greater challenge for ol'Tangleffot that even he was prepared for.

The eyes were fiery red with anger, a throbbing and intense lust for the eating of his intended prey,........the claws dug deep into the roads hard surface as Tanglefoot's body lurched out onto the blacktop to face off with his now prepared assailant, his neck extended his, his back up his own crouch low in the expectant stance of a victor.........it was just another day of lunch in spandex for him. It was survival or burial for Jeremiah. I couldn't believe my eyes as I sat in the safety of a lower limb of a nearby tree........I don't want to mention my own family background and the Leakey Family side of things. The speed of Jeremiahs movements was like watching a grand master of Kung Poa a classic ballet of life and death...........leathal and fluid in one smooth move each counter offers his quarry a difficult tactical decsision to make....a game of chess for ones life...........one false move could could leave an opponent exposured to victoryor defeat. A mistake here would be painfull, and potentialy lethal. Boy Howdy, I was sure glad my side of the family was of the tuck tail and climb a tree type.

There it is, its the stunning blow, the one fient that would take ol'Tanglefoot off his strong right legged stance and leave him exposed to an attack counter move from the low left side.

You cannot know these sorts of things as JW does so instinctivly unless you have voluntarily placed yourself in dangerous situations....situations just like this or worse, say........... serving pancakes to a group of kids at AWANA's. It all happened so fast and with such deft movements that even Tanglefoot himself was caught up before he could open his mouth in retailiation to the move. HIs legs taken out from under him by a swift roll and grab move from JW, the roll came from under the menacing head and extended neck of Tanglefoot.

Being as how the point of purchase or grip was from so low around Tanglefoots body it renderd his jaws of little use. One last critical placement of body wieght for JW, and Tanglefoot found himself now unside down and of no harm to any passerby....................yes, you could see defeat written in this animal's eyes. He knew that he had been bested by a BEAST much fiercer than he had expected................the confidence of this silent "ditch attacker" was now shattered................he would forever be a changed animal after his encounter with my buddy, my ride partner, good ol Jeremiah

Uh, huh, huh...........hey, Jeremiah is it okay to come down now..............you not going to just turn him loose are you Jeremiah. This is what I so like about my buddy JW, you know what he said, man I am so touched. " No my friend, not till after you have had time to hide in the saddle bag, and then I will turn him loose in his ditch lair from which he arose. But don't be concerend for the next passerby, because as the famous war tactian Sun Shoe has said if you defeat an enemy physically he is defeated forever but retains respect...........defeat him Spiritually and he will remain an enemy forever without respect."

And so ends one of the most spectacular and dangerous encounters with that menace of the roads ways Tanglefoot of Botentourt County that I have ever witnessed..............and I think that all of america's cyclists will reap the benefits of this one episode by my buddy ol'JW. For they can now ride in complete safety within Botentourt County thanks to ME and Jeremiah.

For my children, Pine Winslow and Nevada Colleen.........whom I love!

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Well I did have a roof over my head at least the semblance of a roof. But the rain and wind beat me out this time and morning came both slow and cold for me. You know how it is when you are tenting in the rain and you know that you are slowly getting wet as the night goes by...........but there is really nothing that YOU can do about it. That was my night at the Blackwater Church. The wind came up just after I tucked in as did the quantity of rain that fell.

The wind to my misforune blew the rain in at a slant and over time filled my stairwell with rain up the bottom half of my sleeping bag,,,,,,,,,,,,,and from the waist up it just kept it moist instead of soaked. I did not notice in the darkenss, that when I laid my tent doen first that I had indeed covered a drain hole. Having done so meant the water that did trap was slow to leave...........it also assuered me of a steady supply of bugs to pick off thru the night.

I headed out just after 7 towards the actual town of Catawba, the map said 10 miles, and the ODO on the bike read 22.5 when I hit it. The wind this am is firece, I have not had a terrible time with wind for the most part but today was a struggle into the headwind.So it is I stopped at Catawba Store and bought a huge coffee to warm up with. I had 2 Fig Newt's and called her breakfast. The next town up the road is Fincastle and the road gets very narrow, untended and cloaked in heavy trees and a fair scattering of dissident dogs.

I finally took a sharp turn to the south at about the 10 mile mark adn this changed the wind to a left side wind for me and made pedallingh a little less burdensome. I was pooped by Fincastle, and pulled into a little roadside diner and had a Burger and Fries. It was a welcome addition to the Fig Newts that I had a while back, I think that the tum-tum apperciated it...............I know the legs did.

Fincastle is in Botentourt County, which by the way used to be of such an extent that it included Ill, INd, Va, Mich, Minn, Ohio and a part of Penn as its boundries. Assigned to Lord Botentourt of England back in 1762 I believe. And the locals pronounce the word os (Bot-en-Tot), I cannot tell you how bad the French must cringe when they hear us pronounce a name such as this.

The town of Fincastle resides on a steep hill,,,,,,,,,,a very steep hill that I had to push my bike up since I came to a stop sign at the bottom and was in the wrong gear to get on up the hill. At the top is a psectacualr Courthouse adn set of buildings dateing back to the latter 1700's as well as a Museum for the county.

The curator, Anne gave me a full and descriptive background on the importance of the area for coal, logging etc. In the end bad directions and hard to find signs would see me climb that darned hill back to the top a total of 3 times after the first push to the top...........I was really ready to leave the town by then.

I am headed due south towards Buchanan as my final days end but I had several miles of very narrow road adn many hills to pull in getting to that point. The overcast sky has given way to bright sun interspersed with scattered clouds, the vibrant colors of the overhanging trees makes the miles and hills slip by mostly un-noticed.........but nothing makes the dogs dissappear.

I was dogged good that day by at least a dozen. Adn thus it was after many miles of pedalling that I cam e to the easy portion of my trip, the last 8 miles inot BUchanan ar RIGHT along the rivers edge and thus they are also mostly flat.

NOw so that you do understand that MIRACLES do happen, and PRAYERS are indeed answered..............I heade strait to the town Library to wrok on the blog once again. And these sweet gals said......"why of course you can work on pics sweety, just let us know what you all need and we will help make it work for you" Excuse me I said but do you ladies actually work here"...................... Poochie Maggie, I couldn't believe my good fortune.

So, I got my junk off the bike and worked till 6pm, closing time and got several days worth of pics up in that time.I made an executive decision and decided that since they are open on Saturday from 9am till 1pm that I would work on the blog all that time. By the time the Library closed it was getting close to dark and I still had no groceries for the night nor a place to camp.

So I got directions and headed for the grocery store described by the towns folks as "third world", and they are not lying. I thought that I had maybe slipped thru a magic time portal and stepped out into the Russia that we visited last year. Boy Howdy, this was a bleak store to be real honest. So I bought some crackers and a block of cheese, along with some soap and what not for washing clothes.

I headed back to the other end of town right along the river banks and went to the local coin-op laundry. I washed everything, and dried everything including my tent. I pinned some of those smelly things you put in with drying clothes........to the inside of my unruly bag of sleep. I ate crackers and cheese while this all got done up. It was VERY dark and already very cold for 8:30pm, and the search for a camp spot had to start now.

SO it was at 8:30pm that night in Buchanan, while walking the streets and trying to figure out where to camp for the night that I met R.J Cash Jr..........actually I met his great looking car first then RJ. RJ, had his car parked out on the street under a glowing neon sign for the old timmey looking town Theatre which I thought looked very fitting given it was a 1938 Chevy. The car was a real beauty, done up by RJ when he was just 18 along with the help of his Grandfather.

Its the baby of RJ's life, and is kept inside and driven just on special occassions. I got to talking to RJ, and learned there is more to the man than just these hot rod cars...........in just a few words I found out that RJ is a devout Chiristian, and had lost the real love of his wife a few years back...............that being his wife. Tears streamed down his cheek just that quickly as we talked, and shared our stories of how and when we first gave our selves over to Christ. I came away with this, that all marriages would be better off, if we cared as deeply for our mates as a guy like RJ did for his................it made me ask myself if indeed i LOVED MY WIFE AS DEEPLY AND IF SO...............WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I TOLD HER SO!!!

I outwitted old man cold that night. I took a wallk down along the rivers edge, where I had seen a baseball diamond, and there I found one of those buildings where they sell hotdogs during the games that was not locked up tight. Yes, I went right in without asking permission so I could avoid a little cold. I threw my pad and bag out on the wood floor and slept quite well..............and without by the way any guilt.

Good Night and God Bless

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You know as any cyclist on a trip such a s this will tell you, you just never know whom or what you are going to meet on any given day. I never set about to make this trip in a given amount of time, jsut ride it, enjoy it, and record it. This day saw me packing up camp on the side of a holler above a fast flowing river, fog had moved