Distance traveled: 45.44 miles
Total distance: 767.9 miles
Average speed: 8.4 miles/hr
Time on bike: 5 hrs and 21 min
We woke up this morning hoping to get on the road early to get most of our cycling done in the morning heat rather than the afternoon heat (it's hot all the time here). We saw some flashes of lightening and thought nothing of it until we checked the weather! We were expecting severe thunderstorms in the early morning and late afternoon, the best times to cycle!
We learned today the worst part of traveling is making decisions, especially with two indecisive people.... "Should we brave the rain? Should we wait it out? We are under a nice pavilion, should we really give that up? It's not raining right this second lets just go?" We finally decided to wait out the morning thunderstorms which turned out to be a good life choice. We then decided to only cycle the 45 miles or so to the next campground during the middle of the day to arrive right before the afternoon thundershowers! We were mostly successful.
Don't laugh, but we again got lost today. We ran into another pair of cyclist who started in Washington and are headed toward Virginia. After we stopped and chatted with them for a bit we were so excited we had met other cyclists that we totally missed our turn! I do need to vent here for a second... Sometimes when our maps give directions it will say "turn left onto unsigned 1132", well how the heck am I supposed to KNOW its 1132 if its unsigned!! NONE of the roads around here have signs, it doesn't even make sense! Okay, I'm done venting.
Anyway, we found a quick way to get back on route which at first was awesome because we passed by a grocery store and grabbed some lunch! We bought hamburger roles, cheese, baked chips, and chicken salad for Joe (no, I won't go that far, only chicken that's fried and in nugget form for me). After a few miles our ride became treacherous! The shoulders disappeared and was replaced with those annoying warning bumps again! The speed limit must have been 55 and there was tons of traffic! I was probably 3 feet away from a 18 wheeler going 60 miles an hour. Not my idea of a good time! Although this route did shave off about 5 miles...
We powered through the terrible road and made it safely to the campsite where we are hanging out under the porch waiting for the rain. We plan to camp under the pavilion tonight when the ranger leaves! Tonight for dinner is my famous Kraft mac and cheese with a can of Hormel (vegetarian) chili. If you haven't tried that yet I suggest you go make it right now because it is actually one of the best things on earth.
Mary and Joe
PS Mom, I'm still alive.
PPS Many of you may be wonder what our picture will be on day 21... I just want to warn you we have no idea so don't be expecting something really creative.
Total distance: 767.9 miles
Average speed: 8.4 miles/hr
Time on bike: 5 hrs and 21 min
We woke up this morning hoping to get on the road early to get most of our cycling done in the morning heat rather than the afternoon heat (it's hot all the time here). We saw some flashes of lightening and thought nothing of it until we checked the weather! We were expecting severe thunderstorms in the early morning and late afternoon, the best times to cycle!
We learned today the worst part of traveling is making decisions, especially with two indecisive people.... "Should we brave the rain? Should we wait it out? We are under a nice pavilion, should we really give that up? It's not raining right this second lets just go?" We finally decided to wait out the morning thunderstorms which turned out to be a good life choice. We then decided to only cycle the 45 miles or so to the next campground during the middle of the day to arrive right before the afternoon thundershowers! We were mostly successful.
Don't laugh, but we again got lost today. We ran into another pair of cyclist who started in Washington and are headed toward Virginia. After we stopped and chatted with them for a bit we were so excited we had met other cyclists that we totally missed our turn! I do need to vent here for a second... Sometimes when our maps give directions it will say "turn left onto unsigned 1132", well how the heck am I supposed to KNOW its 1132 if its unsigned!! NONE of the roads around here have signs, it doesn't even make sense! Okay, I'm done venting.
Anyway, we found a quick way to get back on route which at first was awesome because we passed by a grocery store and grabbed some lunch! We bought hamburger roles, cheese, baked chips, and chicken salad for Joe (no, I won't go that far, only chicken that's fried and in nugget form for me). After a few miles our ride became treacherous! The shoulders disappeared and was replaced with those annoying warning bumps again! The speed limit must have been 55 and there was tons of traffic! I was probably 3 feet away from a 18 wheeler going 60 miles an hour. Not my idea of a good time! Although this route did shave off about 5 miles...
We powered through the terrible road and made it safely to the campsite where we are hanging out under the porch waiting for the rain. We plan to camp under the pavilion tonight when the ranger leaves! Tonight for dinner is my famous Kraft mac and cheese with a can of Hormel (vegetarian) chili. If you haven't tried that yet I suggest you go make it right now because it is actually one of the best things on earth.
Mary and Joe
PS Mom, I'm still alive.
PPS Many of you may be wonder what our picture will be on day 21... I just want to warn you we have no idea so don't be expecting something really creative.