TransVirginia Day 2: Purcellville to Front Royal

Yikes this day turned out to be harder than expected.  After having ridden 99% on paved rails-to-trails the day before, Day 2 was all about gravel and gosh did it make for slow going.  The route was 54 miles with 3,223 feet of elevation gain and that's after having shortened the route to avoid some nasty traffic along Route 7 which is a 4-lane highway with fast moving traffic (the only part of the entire trip that had fast moving traffic).  

While planning the trip, there was a debate about whether to take the Sag Wagon or ride self-contained.  As it turned out, the logistics of getting to/from the route meant the Sag Wagon was much easier.  The downside was that we'd have to take turns driving the sag wagon.  In the end we were so happy to have the sag wagon.  It came in helpful in so many ways.    

This part of the route was deceivingly bucolic lulling us into peace and calm until it was time to take on the numerous steep climbs (12+% grades).  It turns out that on gravel it can be particularly hard to maintain traction the steeper it gets so many of the hills turned into hiker-biker events thus slowing our progress to only ~7 miles/hour.

That gave us all the justification in the world to thoroughly enjoy our stop at the farmer's market where the best cider doughnuts were consumed.  We ended the ride at the Shenandoah Golf Course where we met the Sag Wagon to transit to Front Royal.

  

Betsy found a sweet Airbnb in Front Royal with a sufficiently equipped kitchen that enabled Chef Pete to whip up another gourmet dinner -- lamb tagine.  It was excellent!!!

We were all pretty worn out on our first real day of gravel.  This one day gave us pause and made us wonder if it would be the one and only gravel experience.  Fortunately, we learned how to make the most of our gravel experience.