{"id":155,"date":"2017-04-22T12:35:54","date_gmt":"2017-04-22T12:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/?p=155"},"modified":"2017-04-22T12:35:54","modified_gmt":"2017-04-22T12:35:54","slug":"day-ten-charlottesville-va","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/day-ten-charlottesville-va\/","title":{"rendered":"Day Ten &#8211; Charlottesville, VA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This morning I was on the road early. \u00a0Thunderstorms were once again a major concern. \u00a0To the north and west the sky was very dark but to the east the sunrise was shining brightly below an overhead overcast sky. \u00a0I lit right out with high hopes and without taking the time to put on any rain gear. \u00a0However, after having successfully done the old thrust and parry with Mother Nature for the past few days &#8211; today was a little different.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1SQMCzbMkCI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I needed to put some miles behind me today which meant that riding in the trough between the lines of storms was just going to take too long. \u00a0So, my plan was to duck my head and push through the leading wave. \u00a0With the clear sky to the east, I had grand designs on once again shooting the gap and getting through mostly dry. \u00a0Eh &#8211; not so much. \u00a0it wasn&#8217;t awful, but I did get pretty wet for about 30 miles. \u00a0The rain gear would have been nice but I figured it would be better to be 10 or 15 miles farther down the road than to be suited up.\u00a0 The only regret there is that my boots got wet &#8211; the good news is that I <strong>was<\/strong> able to push through the front line of storms and by the end of the day, everything (including my boots) dried out.<\/p>\n<p>I did have to pull over &amp; wait for a particularly nasty cell to cross Interstate 81 at a place called Seven Mile Ford. \u00a0I was hoping to hide at a gas station but none was in sight. \u00a0The parking lot I pulled into belonged to the Interstate Campground. \u00a0One of the camp hosts cam out and I was immediately directed to a rain shelter and told I could stay as long as I wanted. \u00a0That&#8217;s where I met Kurt Edsel. \u00a0I&#8217;m guessing he was sitting in his trailer and heard a motorcycle pull up and came out to see who was there. \u00a0Kurt is a motorcycle enthusiast and has even raced them professionally on the AMA circuit. \u00a0He still rides today but pushing 60, his racing days are behind him. \u00a0Needless to say, we had PLENTY to talk about. \u00a0I&#8217;m sure we could have talked for hours. \u00a0As it was, it was a GREAT way to spend 20 minutes while waiting for the weather to improve. \u00a0Thanks Kurt &#8211; pleasure to meet you, safe travels.<\/p>\n<p>Back on the slab I was getting pretty tired of the Interstate and after 275 miles, I decided to reward myself with some peaceful time and headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway. \u00a0With a watchful eye on the increasing clouds, I turned right at Lexington, VA and headed for some relaxing and more enjoyable time up on the Parkway. \u00a0At 45 mph and all the twists and turns, you aren&#8217;t going to put any serious miles behind you on this road but it is a great place to ride. <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-152\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-Bike.jpg?resize=584%2C438\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-Bike.jpg?w=800 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-Bike.jpg?resize=300%2C225 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-Bike.jpg?resize=768%2C576 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-Bike.jpg?resize=400%2C300 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/>\u00a0The Parkway travels along the ridge line of the\u00a0the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. \u00a0I didn&#8217;t have the road to myself but I often didn&#8217;t see another vehicle for several minutes. \u00a0Views are abundant both on the east and west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains and there are plenty of pull outs to take pictures.<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-153\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-View.jpg?resize=584%2C292\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-View.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-View.jpg?resize=300%2C150 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-View.jpg?resize=768%2C384 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-View.jpg?resize=1024%2C512 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Blue-Ridge-View.jpg?resize=500%2C250 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The clouds to the east were building and getting darker. \u00a0I sure didn&#8217;t want to end the day with wet boots, so I hopped off the Parkway and headed for civilization &#8211; UGH. \u00a0Traffic was NOT &#8220;Friday light&#8221; either. \u00a0I thought I might get as far as Richmond but that was just going to take too long with all the rush hour traffic, so my day ended here. \u00a0It&#8217;s not a bad place though, and the people are friendly enough; there&#8217;s just way too many of &#8217;em.<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-154\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Map.jpg?resize=584%2C234\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Map.jpg?w=794 794w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Map.jpg?resize=300%2C120 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Map.jpg?resize=768%2C308 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lennysride.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/10-Map.jpg?resize=500%2C200 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This morning I was on the road early. \u00a0Thunderstorms were once again a major concern. \u00a0To the north and west the sky was very dark but to the east the sunrise was shining brightly below an overhead overcast sky. \u00a0I &hellip; 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