One other very nice thing about our stay with the the McDonough’s last night in Roanoke was that Kevin, an avid cyclist, knew some great local cycling routes.

We’ve been travelling on the Blue Ridge Parkway for several days now and while the views from the ridgeline are very nice, we thought it might be nice to see Virginia from the valley. Plus, as Kevin pointed out, the route he showed us has a lot less up and down. As much as I need to work on my climbing, this is probably not the time to be doing it, so we decided to take Kevin’s route suggestion. And, it was a great route! Thanks, Kevin!

The route was definitely not flat though. But half as much climbing as the Blue Ridge Parkway was a welcome change. We were on some lightly travelled country roads that were great riding. I think they had less traffic on them than even the Parkway, so even if they had as much climbing as the Parkway, this route would be better for cycling.

Here’s a few pictures of the route we took today.

We arrived in Lexington about noon. I was starting to feel some raindrops, so we decided the 50 miles we had come already was enough for today. We had a short spell of disorientation as we tried to locate a place to stay.

Lexington is a great town to visit! It’s a very historic town. Robert E. Lee is buried here as is his beloved horse, Traveller. It also has the grave of Stonewall Jackson and the only home that Stonewall Jackson ever owned. Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University both call Lexington home. If that isn’t enough, it also has a bicycle shop and at least four coffee shops! We’re seriously considering a rest day here to take in some of the sights.

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