Day 17: Damascus, VA to Abingdon, VA (9 miles)

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

Today was Aaron's birthday, so we decided to take a rest day in Abingdon, 9 miles away, and celebrate with Aaron's birthday ritual of a Will Smith movie and Mexican food.

Damascus bicycle shop

"Hutch", bicycle mechanic and former AT hiker.

Hutch is the bicycle mechanic at the Damascus bike shop we went to. I was having trouble with my derailleurs, and Aaron was as well, so we stopped in this morning. Hutch didn't know how to work the new-fangled brake shifters on Aaron's bike, but we trusted him anyway. He gave us a useful lesson on adjusting derailleurs which we will take with us for the rest of our trip. Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for the rest of his life. I know, I'm cheesy. But it's true.

By the way, Hutch got his nickname from his Appalachian Trail (AT) hiking days. Everyone gets a name on the trail. Hutch said his was from Starsky & Hutch, so I'm guessing his life-partner Starsky was accompanying him back then. Another AT hiker we met, "M&M" (see below), got his name because he brought a huge 5 pound bag of the eponymous candy with him on his trip, and when he realized he shouldn't be carrying so much on his back he began handing it out to everyone willy-nilly.

After the bike shop we ate next door. We wanted to sit outside until a wasp nest attacked us and stung Aaron and Tony. I was wearing my yellow and black bike jersey: they thought I was one of their own and let me be.

Then it was off to the bike apparel store to buy more bike gloves. Tony and I only have 1 pair each; it's amazing how much they begin to stink by the end of the day. Unbearable. You wouldn't even want to eat with those hands. Having a second pair would ease the stress on our first pair, and regular washing should help tame the stench.

Now it's off to Abingdon to watch Hancock and chillax.

The quaint ice cream shoppe

"M&M", the AT hiker.