Bikes, BBQ and the Dragon: May 29 - Wernersville, PA to Roanoke VA

May 29, 2010
Wernersville, PA to Roanoke, VA
We awoke early this morning to the smell of coffee perking in the kitchen, and while we weren't up and moving as early as the last couple of mornings, the thought of a good cup of joe was enough to dispell any concerns about schedule. After helping Paul and Amy drain two pots of coffee and a bowl of cereal for breakfast, we had our bikes loaded and ready to depart.

And a side note about American Coffee. I can say, now, without fear, that coffee here in the Great White North is far superior to anything you can buy South of the Border. The warm brown swill the other morning at the Super 8 in Bangor was nothing more than warm brown dishwater and the diner in Albany, while better was still crappy. And Dunkin' Donuts...you ain't got nothing on Tim Hortons. The coffee flowing in the Masciantonio Household was the best I'd had since I got up at home on Wednesday morning.

We bid our goodbyes to Amy and the kids and Paul took us for a ride around the local area. Larry and I were amazed by the lush green forests and how the trees seem to overhang every road. And the thickness of the underbrush is second to none. After taking some pics in the Mountains around Paul's house, we said Goodbye to BadLuck and struck out down the Pennsylvania Expressway towards Virginia.

The morning was cloudy and cool, but that didn't last long. Around noon we crossed the State line into Maryland and 20 minutes later we were in West "By God" Virginia. Another 20 minutes saw us in the Great State of Virginia. They say Virginia is for Lovers, but riding behind Larry...that was the last thing on my mind. We were now over the Mason Dixon line and were officially in the South.

We finally made our way off the "Slab" known as Interstate 78 and made our way for 10 miles onto Interstate 64 and made exit into the Town of Front Royal, Virgina and the Start of Skyline Drive, one of the South's most scenic Mountain Drives. After paying the $10 entry fee, we were now in for about 7 to 8 hours of 35 mph speed limits, tourists and scenic vistas...
Although we both live in the Annapolis Valley, surrounded by what we all call the North and South Mountain, our mountains are nothing like what we were seeing here in Virginia. The pictures don't even do it justice.

We continued on Skyline until about 1800 hours when the hunger got to us both and we were still a signifigant distance out of Roanoke, our stopping place for the night. We exited Skyline Drive and proceeded into "Town". Supper consisted of Pizza Hut...one of the few "chains" we ate at this trip and we quickly killed a Pepperoni Pizza, Breadsticks and Ceasar Salad...along with a couple of pitchers of water.

I called ADV Inmate Ed Teller, who's name I'd gotten from the Tent Space Sign up Thread and got directions and GPS coordinates to his house and we struck out on the slab for the second time today. About two hours and a fuel stop at a Pilot Truck Stop later, we pulled into Ed's driveway and met our host for the evening. Ed had plenty of Cold Beer, some entertaining conversation and a beautiful home. We pulled out our sleeping bags and stretched out on the couches in his Home Theatre Room downstairs and called it another day....