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

Well I’m on my way! I left my comfortable abode in DC this morning and headed on a 40 mile ride to Joe’s place in Woodbridge for Thanksgiving. I made sure to fill my flask up with ambrosia before I left.

Here’s my bike before leaving…

It was a very cold but pleasant day to ride. My fingers and toes were freezing early on but my fingers warmed up after about 10 miles. Sadly my toes froze the whole way despite wearing two wool socks. Tomorrow I am going to put trash bags over my socks and hope that helps. I also need to figure out a way to mount my cue sheets so I don’t need to keep stopping to look at them. I’m not too worried though because I’m with the person (Joe) who I collaborated on the worlds worst collapsible beer pong table back in college. We will figure something out.

Here are some pictures on the route.

Tomorrow I head south to near Kings Dominion which will be about 70 miles.