Fancy Gap - Day 1

Decided to take a quick small trip this fall since I had not really gone anywhere this year. Been taking a lot of local day trips but nothing where I was spending days on the bike (which I love). I knew I did not have a lot of time so I looked at my maps and decided to check out an area in Virginia.

The first thing I decided was to pick a base camp. I did not want to have to pack up every day and move to a new area. Instead, I picked a KOA campground in Fancy Gap, VA which is more centrally located to all the areas I wanted to ride. Because it is Fall and everyone wants to look at the leaves, I decided to NOT go over any weekend days. I did not want to deal with the traffic and all the people. So I picked a Monday-Friday trip and the campground was not full either (the weekend was a different story).

So on Monday, I packed and left just after lunch. It is only a 2.5 hour trip (no highways) getting to Fancy Gap. The good news is that the weather looked great all week. It is a bit cooler than normal but that just means I will not be sweating much. I left the house and by coincidence, the map just happened to take me thru Salisbury and that means I need to get a beverage at The Friendly Pub.

After the beer, I headed out to the mountains. The ride was uneventful. Since it was later in the afternoon, traffic was light. Through some of the towns, I was hitting the school zones (25mph) but as I got close to the border and the hills, the roads began to change from 2 lane straight roads to more sloping and winding. The last few miles, the elevation began to climb and the temperatures began to fall. I arrived at the KOA about 5pm.

As soon as I pulled up. someone from the office came out and asked if I was checking in. I told them my name and they handed me the key, the information brochure, and said they would show me to the cabin. I never had to get off the bike!

I decided on this trip I was not going to tent camp. I did not want to have to deal with the cold. With a cabin, I can ride all day, get wet, cold, or whatever but will always have a nice dry and warm room to come back to. It may be a little more expensive, but I did it anyway. At the cabin, I got off the bike and thanked her and went inside to start unpacking.

Typical KOA cabin, It has heat, A/C, toilet, and a sink. You need to use the bathhouse to shower, etc. Its exactly what I need for this trip. I did check out the tent area and it is nice as well. I will make note of which sites I like the best for the next trip up here.

Once settled in, I sat outside for a bit but the temperature was dropping quite quickly. Before I knew it, it was below 50. I made my dinner outside, made a drink, and ate inside the cabin. Once all cleaned up, I looked at my routes for tomorrow and read my book before going to bed.