July 24th - Day 11 - Damascus, VA to Council, VA - 52 miles
So, yesterday's post was kind of irrelevant and I forgot to mention an important point. I stopped at a camp ground before going up a climb to get water and I talked to a man there about our ride. He was doing a cross-country adventure of his own, only is in a RV. The conversation started as I was failing to get the water pump to flow and he showed me how to do it properly. We discussed the details of our ride and WELL DONE's purpose. In our brief conversation he showed a lot of interest, so I gave him a sticker and directed him to find us online. This simple conversation seemed all the more poignant as we had started to talk because of a water well.
A relatively easy early morning ride led to a crazy climb through a mountain pass from one valley to the next near the town of Hayter's Gap. The climb was four miles long and 1500 vertical feet, nothing but switchback after switchback. I did the whole climb (45 minutes) in first or second gear, about 5 miles an hour. Ouch. It was easily the longest climb of that steepness that I've ever done.
We camped in William P. Harris Recreational Park in Council, an amazingly large and elaborate park for such a small town. Swimming in the pool in the park was a welcome break after another day of climbing.
Quality Water Means Quality Life
1.2 billion people do not have access to clean water. Help others avoid the choice between thirst or disease.
As we passed through the Ozark Mountains, among Missouri scenic rivers, we came to a gorgeous little spot called "Two Rivers." At this convergence of the Jacks Fork and Current rivers, the silt heavy rapids of the Current meet the clear calm of the Jacks Fork river and one can actually see the divide between the two. I couldn't help but think of the divide between our access to clean water and the lack thereof in the villages of rural Ghana.
Troy and I consume on average, about 12 to 20 (20 oz) bottles of water daily. That's 12 to 20 times per day that, unlike the people in rural Ghana, Troy and I avoid illness without even realizing it. Regardless of how many miles we ride, we have no doubt that stopping anywhere along the road for water will be easy and risk-free.
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