But scenic, remote stretches remain. Virginia 785 leads the biker from one weathered barn to another along green meadows where black cows graze on sun-splashed hillsides. There is a backdrop of mountains on both sides, and the natives are saying that the redbuds this spring are especially brilliant. But the most important element is the people. You are much more likely to get a wave on a road where there is no yellow line down the middle, he said.
Yellow lines tend to stimulate speed and formality.
Damico has seen only two others during his trip through Virginia. Damico misses the AT experience of hunkering with fellow travelers at day's end while adventures are recalled and shared. When Damico reaches Oregon, sometime he July, he anticipates, he will circle Washington and bike back to Montana to pick up the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which links the edge of Canada to the edge of Mexico. If every thing goes well, he will cover a total of 8,500 miles, ending the trip in Denton, Texas, at the Texas Woman's University in November.