Today's ride was cut short by rain. I rode east on US 1 from Henderson to Middleburg. US 1 was actually pretty good
riding, but heading north on Jacksontown road which becomes US Bike 1 and, briefly, NC Bike 4, was much nicer. Things get really rural after the Kerr Dam area of Virginia when Bike 1 crosses US 58 and follows Virginia 676. The next 30 miles or so is VERY rural.Bike 1 follows roads that are little more than a single lane (or two very skinny lanes with no markings) of rough pavement. The Bike 1 signs direct the frequent road changes in this section and, with the possible exception that I ended up in the wrong town and they seem to be missing after Kenbridge, do a good job. Early on this section, I was offered a ride by a fellow driving a Jeep and pulling a trailer. It was sweet of him to offer, but the riding conditions were really too nice to take him up on it. There have been times when I would have.
It is a long way between services and I got quite hungry (although I did have a Snickers bar and some Fig Newtons - I wanted a hot meal!) and rather tired of little roads. When I arrived in Victoria VA, I was surprised, I expected to be in Kenbridge, but I was pleased to be somewhere that had a restaurant. I can see where I went wrong on my map, but I swear that I followed the Bike 1 signs at that intersection!
I ate a good lunch (corn beef, boiled cabbage, and boiled potatoes) and, when I started to leave, a thunderstorm cell was moving through the area where I would ride next. I went back into the restaurant and had desert and more coffee. A waitress at the restaurant was interested in my ride and gave me her address so that I could send her a postcard when I reached Nova Scotia. When I did ride east to Kenbridge and on to Blackstone, the road was wet and a light rain was still falling. 40 was OK with a shoulder until Kenbridge and light traffic. If I had stayed on route, I would have been directly in the path of that storm cell.
As I approached Blackstone the rain increased and, since it was 15 more very rural miles to Amelia, which probably doesn't have a motel, I decided to take a short day. I'm staying at an inexpensive motel, with noisy neighbors 8^(, so I'm not sure how things will be tonight. Tomorrow I should be able to get on the AC route north of Richmond and, weather permitting, I'll be in DC the following day.
