Ranger Bob's Bronco 'Moses' hauled all our bikes and gear. I nicknamed it Moses because of its advanced age 'serving me for 15 years and counting' and I expect it to carry me to the Promised Land of mine and Debbie's new cabin on Shoe Mountain, but I don't expect the Bronco to last long enough to live there with me.
We swam against the tide (literally, a tide of humanity) by biking uphill from Green Cove to White Top, two cute recreated railroad stations at the eastern end of the trail. After reaching the top, we turned around and coasted back to our vehicle. The vast majority of other bikers - and there were literally many hundreds, the most I have seen on any trail in any sport in my life- poured down the trail in the opposite direction. Everybody else did it the easy way, by hiring a shuttle to drive them to the top, so they essentially did no biking and got no exercise, and then coasting downhill to their shuttle driver, who picked them up at another station somewhere along the trail.
Our weather was nearly perfect, bright sunshine, little wind and a crisp fall nip to the temperature. At White Top railroad station we took our long break for lunch. Then we joined the tide and coasted back to Green Cove.
For the third part of our trip, we drove to Grayson Highland State Park, VA. We explored the camp ground, and drove to the Visitor Center. We hiked the trail from the center to the top of Big Pinnacle Mountain in the center of the Park. There we enjoyed the 360 degree, 50 mile view.
For the fourth part of our trip, we went to the Grayson Park picnic area and toured the restored log cabin and the recreated homestead. Then Moses carried us back to North Carolina for an enjoyable supper at Geno's Restaurant in West Jefferson.
