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Josh

My mindset going into today's ride was that, relative to the rest of the ride, today and tomorrow are 'easy' days. Meaning, we had about 5500 feet of climbing and 'only' about 4-4:30h in the saddle.

The Meadows of Dan are way more beautiful than I anticipated. Sure, the gorgeous mountain top overlooks get all the glory, but these huge open meadows with a refreshing cooling breeze did not disappoint. George and I were kind of together for a bit since it was 'flat' enough that we could benefit from each others draft to get some rest. Eventually though, the road kicked up just a bit and we got separated. At that top of a more-painful-than-expected climb we were re-united at the most beautiful rest stop of all rest stops.. isn't it ironic, don't you think?...Chateau Morrisette.

 We sat outside under a shady umbrella while we were serenaded with live 'gypsy jazz' and sipped on flights of wine and ate cheese plates and BBQ sandwiches. Today felt more like a cycling vacation and less like an episode of 'I Shouldn't Be Alive.'

We finished with a few small hills and ended at the quaint Fancy Gap Campground where we had some take out pizza, salad, and smores over the fire.

Today by the numbers:

Wildlife: Deer, adult, 7. Squirrels, road killed, 3.

Calories: 2875 kcal

Food Consumed: Newtons, Fig, 4 (2 two packs). Pizza, leftover Ledo's, 2 (seriously this stuff lasts forever). Juice, pickle, 3.  Ruffles, mini bag, 1. Red-wine, 4 oz samples, 4. Sandwich, BBQ, 1. Plate, cheese and such, a bit of everything I reckon.

Fellow Cyclist: 3, all North Bound. One was on what appeared to be an elliptical on wheels and had no seat? 

Max Speed: 48.3 mph, average speed 15.9 mph

Ride Time: 4:16:22

Average revolutions: 81 RPM, total RPM 20, 736

License Plate Situation:

USA: Oregon was the sole new one today. 

Thus far we have seen: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, PA, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Texas, Kentucky, Montana,  Utah, California, Nevada, Alabama, Washington State, Washington DC, and Oregon. 

Canada had another strong showing today by adding Quebec, salut! That brings us to Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Quebec, eh?

The Swiss are killing it. We saw the same Swiss-Harley-Davidson couple at the start line today. They gave us a standard wave and smile that was oozing with neutrality as they set on down the road minding their own business, good on them!

George

The sag support crew made a request Josh and I couldn’t refuse… since today’s stage was shorter they wanted to sleep in.  I have to admit that it did feel good to stay in bed beyond 5:30, and then go down to the hotel lobby in Roanoke an hour later and enjoy a leisurely breakfast of do-em-yourself waffles and coffee.  However, the coffee wasn’t quite up to snuff so we had to hit Starbucks on the way out of town.  Yeah, guilty as charged- coffee snobs!

Today's stage had to be shortened by about 20 miles due to road construction beginning at mile 112 of the BRP.  As we rolled to the end of stage 2 on Friday we were met by a massive chain-link fence blocking the road.  Most of the BRP pavement had been in good shape up to that point, but the last few miles into Roanoke, and even today, were not quite as smooth.  Without getting too graphic, the toll of riding 20 hours in the last 3 days is being felt on the bum, and hitting cracks and potholes constantly doesn't exactly lift the old spirits.  But remember, we have 105 miles in the bank already as on Day 1 we tackled the entire length of Virginia's Skyline Drive.  Btw, talk about great pavement, Skyline drive is silky smooth on bike tires!

I kind of had a similar day to yesterday again.  I started out feeling good for the first third of the ride.  The scenery was much different.  Hardly any "I'm on top of the world" sweeping views but instead hay fields and pastures with cows galore.  Much of the terrain was more like a hilly ride back home in Raleigh.  But then came the middle, where a long climb, aggressive weekend motorists, and a stomachache combined to sink my spirits.  

However, at the top of the climb was our lunch spot- a winery called the Chateau Morrisette.  This place was beautiful, the wine was tasty, the bbq sandwich and candied bacon (thanks Danielle!) hit the spot, and the gypsy jazz band was soulful.  All 5 of us had a wonderful time just hanging out for an hour and a half or so.  It's a top moment of this trip for sure. With a more positive and energized outlook I set back off on the closing 30 miles.  I felt a ton better and finished relatively strong.  

These hard back to back efforts are causing some fatigue and discomfort, but as we're just a few miles from the mid-point of this challenge my confidence is growing that I can make it.  And since Monday is a rest day in West Jefferson, I have some river tubing to look forward too!  

Tomorrow we leave the Lovers state- Madeline thinks the state motto "Virginia is for Lovers" is strange- and roll into our home state of NC.  Thanks for reading and we'll give a stage 4 update tomorrow.