Day 5 - White Hall, Virginia to Love, Virginia

Monday April 25, 2016, 31 miles(49.9 km) 

Had a good early start.  The route was along country roads and started out hilly but not too steep or long of hills.  I passed through an area with several peach orchards.  Many of the orchards had a very untimely frost this spring and will have little if any crop.  I stopped at the one shown below, too early for any local fruit but I did get a couple apple cider donuts.  They were very good.

Peach Orchard

After leaving the orchard the route became much hillier with much more up than down.  Along the way I found a few clumps of the flowers pictured below on one hill, I had not seen any like them before or since along the route.

Wildflowers

After a long (about 3.5 miles) uphill climb I finally got to the top of Afton mountain and was on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Blue Ridge Parkway Entry Sign

Along the Parkway there are several overlooks allowing views of the valleys below.  Between each there would a saddle between mountains, thus my ride was a combination of slow 2.5-3.5 mph climb followed by a short exhilarating 30+ mph downhill run. 

Overview Sign

Valley View

At the Humpback Rocks Visitors Center, which was not open for the season yet, they had a very nice azalea pictured below.

Azaleas

Pictured below are more views along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

View

Balanced Rock

Overlook

View

Overlook Sign

Valley View

After cycling 16 miles along the Parkway I camped at Royal Oaks Cabins in Love, Virginia which offers camping spots cyclists and hikers. They have very nice cabins, a small store, and seasonal deli.  It was a very nice place to stay with a friendly owner but not so good of internet.