Today's ride begins in the tiny riverside town of Fries. In the photo above you can see the New River is dammed. A textile mill, Washington Mills used the dam to power its early operations. The mill closed in 1989 but the dam still generates power.
It is early morning and mist still lingers over the river until air temperatures rise. The first mile of trail passes by the community. Then the trail crosses a paved road and enters the forest along the river.
On my way to the Shot Tower I pass two other dams. Both owned by Appalachian Power. This section of the river drops quickly as evidenced by the photo below. Also the reason for the dams being placed here.
A lot of rain fell yesterday and the side creeks and puddles are full. There was even a tree down across the trail so there may have been some wind associated with the rain. Most likely it was a cold front as temperatures stay low all day.
It seems every pair of Canadas has a newly hatched brood to look after. I see two in the trail and several more swimming in the river. As the day passed I saw more bicyclists but probably did not see any for the first 2 hours. Not long after that I encountered about 200 school kids out enjoying an outing on the trail.
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