There are secret routes in these high places known only to the natives. (And it’s not 80 miles).
According to Google Maps, it’s 82.8 miles with an average driving time of 1 hr. and 22 mins.
Your education about Virginia is incomplete, and hardly qualifies you “native” status. Ashland, Virginia is some 15 miles north of Richmond on interstate 95. I arrived in Virginia in 1956 and have been in every county in the state. I have only been away for two years.