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Report 5: Road's End

Subj: Java Geno's Dream Team--One Last Report
Date: 96-09-26 01:31:13 EDT

The end of the road is in sight....Hilde, Rich, Dick, Eric, Maureen, and Gene are in Virginia, the last leg of their Grand Adventure.

In eastern Kentucky and western Virginia, the riders broke two records. They encountered more dogs, of the mangy variety, in one day in Kentucky than ever before in their cycling lives (or so it seemed). And they climbed more in one day in the Appalachians (approx 6,300') than in any day in the Cascades or Rockies.
Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

This region has its share of quaint names. The Team rode through towns like Dwarf, Bee, and Vesuvius. In Rural Retreat, Virginia, the home of the real Dr. Pepper, the group agreed that the soft drink tasted better at its source.

About this time, the Gang of Six were once more the beneficiaries of a kindness-of-strangers act. Back in North Dakota, Rich's $70 pump and Gene's Taj-Mahal chair had inadvertently escaped the van at a gas station. Realizing the loss miles later, the Gang called the gas station and asked to have the equipment shipped to the home of Eric's friend, Robin, in Michigan, to which they were en route. When they arrived at Robin's, they were not surprised to learn that the items hadn't been received. Last week, however, Robin e-mailed me with the good news, "What'll I do with this pump and chair??"
Jefferson's gardens at Monticello

In central Virginia, the Team started to encounter the classic, traditional, historical sites for which the state is known. In upscale Lexington, there were the red brick and white columns of buildings on the Washington and Lee College campus, and the burial sites of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. (Lexington is also the location of the Virginia Military Institute, in the news recently....) At Charlottesville on a break day, the group visited Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and the University of Virginia.

On the Virginia Creeper, a rails-to-trails route
In between, the riders enjoyed the scenic vistas of the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped off to see ... the Cookie Lady! The Cookie Lady in Afton, Virginia, is a fixture on the Adventure Cycling TransAm route. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of riders have made the requisite visit to partake of her hospitality and homemade cookies. In her farmhouse, there is a veritable shrine to cyclists. The walls are plastered with photos and postcards of those who have paid homage here. Among her memorabilia, the Cookie Lady shared photos of a dog who had made the cross-country trip (accompanied by human saggers on bikes), and noted that her oldest TransAm visitor was from Sacramento, though Gene didn't remember the name. She regaled the group with stories for a wonderful hour.
Visiting with June Curry, the Cookie Lady
JavaGeno's Dream Team is scheduled to reach Yorktown, their destination on the Atlantic Ocean, in two days. The group finds it difficult to believe that they are near the end of this magnificent journey. They are all still in fine form and spirits. But it's time to come home. Hilde and Maureen will return by air, while Rich, Eric, and Dick will drive the van back.
The Dream Team completes their journey at the Atlantic Ocean
Gene, however, is not ready to face the real world yet...so I will be flying to Virginia on Friday, and we'll tour that and the Carolinas and Georgia for ten days or so before flying home from Atlanta.
Heading home The Renaults, "official" airport greeters

I hope you've enjoyed tagging along on this trip vicariously as much as I've enjoyed sharing the stories. This way, at least, you avoid those saddle sores!

- - patti masuda
OR to MT --> MT to ND --> ND to MI --> MI to VA --> Road's End --> TransAm home