Day 14: Damascus to Breaks (79.5 miles)

July 14th, mostly sunny all day

I woke up early again and started biking by 8am. It was cloudy in Damascus but once I left that area, the sun came out. The slopes were not too bad until I reached Hayters Gap, where I did spend some time walking my bike up the mountains.

After a couple beautiful downhill sections, I entered a small town Honaker. I've heard bikers mentioning bad people in that area but the two guys I talked to were very friendly.

There was another big climb after Honaker. After going up, I had a very enjoyable 17 miles ride within the Council Valley.

But the day didn't end in the Valley. There were three big hills that I needed to go over before I enter the Breaks Interstate Park. I guess the Council Valley gave me a break so I got enough energy to go over them. The following two pictures are both taken in the park.

Breaks is at the boundary of Virginia and Kentucky so it is an interstate park. The park and the campsites are both beautiful. When I registered for my campsite, the manager gave me a free bottle of soda! I made some noddles and soap for dinner. There was no light around. I took a very nice picture of the night sky in the basketball field near the campsite. Alright, there are too many trees around. But see, that's the Milky Way!

This is the longest day I did so far. Accroding to Ikenberry, this section actually takes 81 miles. I guess that includes the extra bit for getting to the campsite inside the state park. Anyway, I put 79.5 miles in my log by just adding up milage on the maps.