Day 8

Leaving Arlington a few days visit, I rode back out the W+OD trail to Purcellville. This part of the ride was improved because I had a riding companion for most of the trail. He was a pilot for USAir who was riding out to Purcelville and back. We were well matched even though my bike was a 40 lbs heavier than his <grin>, and we had a good time talking as we rode the trail. It was fun to hear him talk about the 'big hill' between Purcellville and the Shenandoah Valley.

My friend headed back towards DC when we got to Purcellville and I headed into the restaurant nearest the trail head for lunch. I didn't get any service so, after a little while, I headed on down the street to another place where I had an excellent lunch. This was the first time I encountered a 'bicyclists not welcome' attitude while touring. Ah well, the second restaurant was much better than the first anyway.

The ride up the big hill was hot, but otherwise uneventful and, even though it was Memorial Day weekend, traffic wasn't a problem. I even passed a couple of guys walking towards Berryville on the shoulder of 7. I think their car had broken down, but they were in good spirits and so was I. When I headed south on 340 traffic was more of a problem and the intersection of 340 and 17 was a bit tricky, but I managed. Riding wasn't fun now, because there was too much traffic, but it was tolerable. Riding conditions improved as I neared Front Royal and enjoyed that last part of my ride. I went back to the same cheap motel only to discover that it wasn't as cheap on Memorial Day weekend!

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