Biking

Earlier this week, on a beautiful sunny day, consort and I drove to Damascus, Virginia, to ride the Virginia Creeper Trail.  We rented bikes and were then shuttled, along with nine others, to the summit of Whitetop Mountain where we were dropped off at the trailhead.  The shuttle ride from Damascus to the peak of Whitetop Mountain is 17 miles which translates into 40 minutes of driving time.

The trail was moderately populated.  Most of the cyclists were families with little kids, although there were four quasi teenagers who zipped past us going down the mountain, then passed us again as they came back up the mountain, only to pass us yet again as they headed down the mountain.  When an opportunity presented itself, I hollered out to one of the kids as they flew past, Hey, didn't you already pass us once, to which he replied, We have to keep waiting for our parents.  

The ride itself was very easy with lots of coasting involved.  I was surprised at the end to find we only averaged about eight miles an hour over the course of the ride.  We made lots of stops for pictures and to examine the local flora and fauna.  There were rhododendron thickets throughout the woods and we also found a hedge of blackberry canes alongside the trail.  The top photo showcases a beaver's lodge we spotted.  The entire ride was very peaceful, serene even, with only the sounds of birds chirruping in the woods and the creek running over smooth stones for a soundtrack.

I could post hundreds of pictures of the vertical scenery here in Northeastern Tennessee.  It is a lush verdant forest with creeks and rivers throughout.  Our friends were recently in Belize and tell us what we are seeing here is very like the tropical rain forest they recently visited.  To avoid the risk of  overwhelming you with photos of scenery -- which never does it justice -- I'll just post a few of my favorites.

Once we finished our ride and turned in our bikes, we decided to drive about five miles south of Damascus to see the Backbone Rock Tunnel pictured below.  It is also known as the World's Shortest Highway Tunnel.  The tunnel is 75 feet high, but only a few feet wide.  The tunnel was made in 1901 by blasting a hole through the massive rock to accommodate a rail bed, then a lumber road, and now a highway.  The photo on the left is the south entrance; the photo on the right is the north entrance.