Day 15, 45 miles, Fort Chiswell to Chilhowie, VA
Day 14, 60 miles, Elliston to Fort Chiswell, VA
You have a lot of time to think when you’re cycling all day. Today, Day 15 of my 70-day xUS bike trip, my thoughts wandered back to childhood as I pulled off a busy highway and found myself on a wonderfully quiet, verdant County Road 76 in southwest Virginia.
This road twisted and turned through backwoods warrens, moss-covered rocks and thick trees crowding into the lane, quaint rivers and forgotten bridges. And almost no cars. It allowed me to zone out.
I recalled in detail the first time I rode a bike. Everybody remembers that moment, right? (Tell your story in comments.) For mine, three of my older siblings picked me up and placed me on top of a bike that was way too big for me, so I couldn’t reach the ground with my feet. I was probably 4 at the time. They gave me a shove down the front yard incline and I was riding, out of control but riding. Across the street, over to the elementary school parking lot, and around the school to the other side, where I ran into Rocky Carter (infamous town bully) and his gang. They either pushed me down or I stopped and fell. Either way, I went down because I couldn’t touch the ground. Rocky and his hoods hassled me as I sat there on the ground, humiliated and out of sight of my sibs. That’s all I remember.
That incident didn’t dampen the thrill of riding, though. After that I begged my mom to buy the rusty little bike we spotted at the local bike-junk shop (this was small-town Iowa circa 1966.) I remember it was $17.50, and she bought it for me. I rode that little bike all over town, and I can still vividly recall the sense of freedom I had tooling along those streets, way out to the edge of town, and through downtown, all over.
That’s the feeling I had again today as I rode along that country road. Just freedom. No boundaries, no limits. These moments are what I seek in adventure, the reason for going. Such moments are the best part of this trip.
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Another cool part of this trip is meeting fellow cyclists, especially those crossing the US like me. Today I met Viktor. He’s from Belgium. He was intending to ride across central Asia, and flew to Turkey in October to begin his trip. He got as far as Tajikistan then ran into visa problems. So he flew to NYC and embarked on a xUS tour instead, NYC to LA. Then he plans to fly to South America and cycle down to Patagonia! 
Viktor talked wistfully about cycling in Turkey, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and other countries of central Asia. He said how breathtaking the scenery is, and almost no cars! And he mentioned how friendly the people are, always inviting you in to stay in their homes and eat meals with them.
It’s already on my list for a future adventure.