Roanoak, VA —> Shipman, VA (100mi)
Cole:
By this point in the trip, our team had split into two bitterly opposed groups based on how to navigate during the day: a Google Maps side and a Komoot (a German cycle touring app that Anna found) side. Viscious shouting matches about which online cycling navigation service was superior had left our team cameraderie dangling by a fraying thread. OK, maybe the rivalry was slightly lower-key than I’m making it out to be, but it was time to decide the matter once and for all. Sean, a die-hard Google Maps follower had agreed to switch to Komoot for the day to see what he was missing. The Komoot route took us right along the spine of some of the highest Appalachian mountains for most of our 100 mile route, with views into breathtaking canyons on both sides and a twisting, wild looking ridge ahead. We dropped down from the highest point of the mountain in a hurtling, non-stop, five mile descent to the foothills below, and heard our loyal Komoot navigation voice tell us to make a right turn into a rushing river surrounded by dense forest just as the rain began to fall. We peered into the unrevealing trees off the road where Komoot wanted us to turn, then back out to the rain pounding the asphalt on the highway. I thought I saw something vaguely resembling an abandoned trail in the trees, and, half believing it was the right way, half just wanting shelter from the rain, plunged into the river and the forest on the other side. We eventually stumbled upon a network of trails in the forest, hiked along them to a gravel road, followed that to a highway and emerged from the trees just as the rain cleared. We resumed pedaling as the summer sun shined down on us and trusty old Komoot through the clouds above. Even Google Maps die-hard Sean admitted that Komoot wasn’t so bad (despite the bushwacking) after a route that gorgeous.