With registration complete this morning, we decided to wander around the West Jefferson and Jefferson area. First stop: Jumpinoff Rock, a look out up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The GPS had us wandering around before we stopped at an overlook nearby and found the path. The walk seems a bit longer than the half mile.
After the hike back down we drove into West Jefferson to check out the county library. No Wi-fi. We didn’t go in. But down the street was a little local coffe shop. We stopped in, had coffee, and had a pleasant conversation with the owner who actually sold the business the day before after twelve years. She summed up living in the town as terribly boring. West Jefferson’s population is around 1,500.
Later in the afternoon we headed back to registration to meet a friend that’s joining us so a ride. Him and I rode across Georgia back in 2009.
Back in West Jefferson we ate at a micro-brewery on the main strip in town, which was bustling this afternoon. The small town just about doubled in population today as there are just over 1000 cyclists on this ride. Our servers said they had never seen it this busy before.
Tomorrow starts the 500 mile journey at 7:30 in the morning. The temperature is forecast for 41 degrees at the start. We start in the mountains with 3,400 ft of climbing over 53 miles. Should be a beautiful day.