Aka uphill and into the wind.

Holy shit!

Today was a really long, difficult, and boring 73 miles. I netted about 300 feet of elevation gain but I must have climbed 100 hills today. I was over biking at mile 40 but still had another 30 to go — not a good feeling! It reminded me of the Fountainhead off-road half marathon I did with Catherine and Johan which was brutal.

Anyway I made it in the end and am only a day away from Raleigh. I used Galen’s advice for avoiding dog confrontations by getting off and walking my bike when three dogs came at me from different directions. I got off, walked slowly, and grabbed my mace. They stopped approaching me and their owner came out and called them over and assured me they wouldn’t bite. THANKS LADY! I think people should just get guard cats like this household…

I eventually made it to route 1 after about 30 miles and had a 40 mile journey on it to go. I made a pit stop at a gas station in McKenney where I ate a Snickers bar and a sausage (exciting stuff). I tried to check my iPhone for texts but it had died by noon. (Side note: Way to go Apple you’ve essentially bricked my phone with the iOS7 upgrade. Dicks)

Anyway, I eventually used my iPad to route the last 8 miles or so and it let me up a gravel road that went into peoples back yards who had, you guessed it, dogs barking at me. Ugh. I decided just to stay on 1 the whole way even though it was a little longer and eventually got to the Best Western in South Hill. This is what he majority of my day looked like.

Here is my bike on the South Hill sign

Finally, I biked past Butts and Butts law firm. Can only hope one of them is named Seymour… Heyooooo!

Tomorrow is 75 miles to Raleigh. Going to leave at 7:00 and keep my fingers crossed the hills aren’t as bad as today.

Today was supposed to be an easy 45-50 mile day and ended up being not that. I got into a dog chase, got a flat tire, was lost several times in Richmond, and ended up having to ride the last 5 miles after sunset. I made it to my destination but it wasn’t the best day for me. Ended up going 66 miles instead also. Woof

I left Ruther Glen this morning a little late so I would get to Richmond at noon for the Gator game. I planned on taking a pit stop at the weapons store to get some mace to fend off dogs that chase me and on the way there a dog chased me. Go figure. Anyway I picked up this stuff.

Hopefully this will help me in the event I can’t outrun the dog next time. On my way to Richmond I ran into several biking groups that were high fiving me and wishing me luck on my journey. In addition, when I got a flat and was fixing it on the side of the road 3 different people stopped and asked if I needed help. It was pretty awesome to experience strangers being nice. Props to you north Richmond area!

I made my way through to Richmond and went to the Gator bar there which had like 8 UF people at it. Ended up eating a ton of food and having two Miller Lites which got me pretty drunk. My tolerance is falling quick. After leaving the bar I got lost as hell following the confusing ECG directions which cost me 15 minutes or so. I still managed to get some pictures of the river though.

After finally getting out of Richmond I hot tailed it over to Chester to my final destination.

Tomorrow I go to South Hill then finally on to Raleigh on Monday. Can’t wait to be there.

This is me leaving in the morning from Joe’s. He wanted to make sure there was a final picture of me before I am murdered in the coming days. So here it is everyone! I’d also like to thank him for fixing my helmet and rigging my handle bar bag so it can display my cue sheets on it. Well played sir.

Today was a 68 mile trip from Woodbridge down to Ruther Glen which is about 12 miles north of Kings Dominion. I averaged a little over 12mph despite a bunch of brutal hills and a couple of demoralizing wrong turns. The picture below, for instance, was a downer.

Once again the weather was nice for riding despite the fact it was freezing out because it was sunny and not windy. I didn’t really plan in stopping anywhere and my real goal was just to make it to the hotel before sun down. I ended up getting here around 3:00 which was sooner than I expected and gives me confidence I can finish some of the 80 mile days that are coming up once I get to South Carolina and Georgia.

I got to ride through Fredericksburg which I had never been to before. The battlefield was pretty interesting and I’m a little upset I didn’t take some time to read the signs and be a bit more of a tourist. Since I now know I can churn out 70 miles in 5-6 hours I will make sure to do so moving forward.

I also stumbled upon Cork St and it made the ride worth it. I took an obligatory picture.

Finally when I got to my destination I went to a mom and pop BBQ place and destroyed these ribs.

Tomorrow I ride through Richmond where I will watch my beloved Gators get defiled by FSU at noon and then will continue through to Chester, VA.

Gators