Breaks interstate park to Rosedale Virginia

 Breaks interstate park to Rosedale Virginia

Dispatches from the road by Bill Poindexter

April 27, made my way from the breaks interstate park to Rosedale Virginia and a bike hostel, Of elk garden United Methodist Church. These kind folks have been hosting people on the Trans Am trail for over 40 years. And this place is beautiful it’s their church and basically they open it up to traveling cyclist. And this place is a very very beautiful. I have to beaten path, there’s even a little picnic shelter outback with a Robin mother with some baby robins hunkering down for the night. I almost set my tent up outside but decided to sleep inside get down in the 30s tonight. Although I don’t mind it it’s nice to be warm and toasty too. The breaks interstate park was beautiful, I’d like to go back there sometime and spend some time there. The ride to here was only about 45 miles but took me about six hours, lots of hills and I took my time. I think I’m heading into Damascus Virginia tomorrow to have some bike repairs done. The road today was beautiful much of the time we spent paralleling a creek or river. And there were a few good climbs as well climbs there gonna be lots of climbs coming because once I did the big hill out of Council Virginia you really see the Appalachian mountains in Damascus is right on the Appalachian trail. But I don’t mind I prefer mountains over flatlands when touring there is some thing about climbing a mountain and just getting to the top and all the thinking you have to do to get you to the top and then the descent is always a fun way down. Some people asked me what I think about while I’m on the bike for 8 to 12 hours a day. And do I listen to music or audiobooks… No to those two, but I do sing a lot I think about stories that I’ve written and stories that I want to write I think about my cats at home and their stories, I think about the people that I pass in about the environment. I think about the universe/God and my place in it in my place on this earth. The whole bike ride itself is a VisionQuest of sorts. Much self reflection some good some not so good. Like yesterday in the rain on the side of a highway changing my tire, it was almost comical, and I was just I was laughing while I was doing it all and the people that came by may just must thought I was crazy. Who is the crazy guy on the side of the road changing his tire and laughing in them in a rainstorm that would be Bill Poindexter. Today was good though today was fine it was nice weather and I also met a few people on the road to German guys who I forgot to ask their names well that’s not true I asked one guys name not the other. They were very kind and we had a fun few moments together then I met Josefina from the Netherlands as well. She is heading to Missoula Montana and then heading up and to Canada to see her daughter while the Germans were heading across the United States on the Trans Am to Astoria Oregon and they’re going to be on the road about two months. It’s fun to see them and it also reminded me how much I miss not having a traveling companion. But at the same time if I didn’t have a traveling companion I probably wouldn’t speak to many people as I speak to you or have had some of the experiences I have had . Something to think about. OK well I am on the floor and ready for bed. I am grateful for this place tonight. No disclaimer I tend to write these dispatches either before or sometimes after I went to bed and in the middle of the night, with very minimal editing, so I’ll edit it when I turn it into a book but not until then so just enjoy the human mistakes of Bill Poindexter. Peace and love from the road, Bill