Wow what a great day. I woke up on time in my King sized mattress and ate two of the Best Western Plus’ sausage egg and cheese biscuits and was on my way. My first stop was a donut shop called S&B Donuts in South Hill which the fine bartender Kristen at Applebee’s had suggested to me. I gave it a shot and their donuts were great, especially the old fashioneds. While I was there a couple older fellows asked me where I was headed and I told them my story and that I was headed to Raleigh for the day. I showed them my planned route and they laughed at me and told me dogs would be chasing me all day and told me just to take US1. Naturally I took this advice, because fuck dogs, and it worked out great. The whole ride was just me riding my bike and enjoying the scenes and perfect weather.

I crossed the Roanoke River his morning which was very pretty. Here is a picture of it…

I also finally got out of Virginia and it’s awful hills, wind, and back country.

I stopped at the KFC in Henderson, NC for a healthy lunch and saw this amazing billboard trying to get me to buy a trailer home. Tempting!

I eventually made it to North Raleigh after passing through Wake Forest but was here too early for my 6pm check in at the AirBNB so I decided to get some coffee and I’m very glad I did. Just a heads up Jabala Village Coffee is amazing… Great espresso and biscuits. On my way there I happened to see a bike shop called TLC Bikes which worked out perfect because the guys at Shitty City Bikes didn’t tune my derailleur after converting my bike into a triple and I needed to get my bike tuned up. I hung out with the guys and their Great Dane named Mystic for a bit (I don’t hate this dog) and am going to get my bike taken care of tomorrow morning.

Also on the way to the shop I ended up on a trail and saw some deer and nice scenery on the way.

Waiting for my AirBNB hosts to get home now but once they do I’m going to check in and take a cab into town and grab dinner and a beer at some college bar.

Final tally for the day 88 miles at a 12mph average. Tomorrow I am going to take my bike in to get tuned in the morning and then be a tourist for the day. I’ll grab my bike at 3 or so and head to South Raleigh which is maybe 20 miles

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.