Or, if it's a lucky day, one of those 45-pound catfish native to the lake will hit. It's a good day to lie back and feel the warm sun filtering through the shadows of the trees overhead. In the protective seclusion of the lake, there are no interruptions. Time to pop a Mountain Dew, open a box of Little Debbies and wait for the fish to bite. Water bottles and patch kit.
Summer school is just a buzz on the horizon for somebody else to worry about.
Daniel Thorp, associate professor of history at Virginia Tech, heads out for his first ride of the summer. Before the day is over, he will ride 75 miles, following U.S. 460 from Blacksburg, turning onto Virginia 42 at Newport for a 1,000-foot climb over the Eastern Continental Divide. Cresting the divide, he will coast six miles down into Newcastle, at the bottom of the Craig Creek Valley and turn onto Virginia 311 for the long push home. For the next 10 miles, he will follow the road as it twists and turns, meandering through the valley, repeatedly crossing the creek. Then, passing over a low divide into the Catawba Valley, he will head home on Virginia 785, for the final afternoon sprint back to Blacksburg.