Trail Magic in Berea, close dog encounter, awesome new friends

Awaking this morning was misty, enough to dampen the tent overnight. I didn’t sleep very well. The weather matched how I felt in my brain, foggy. Brian and I split this morning. Much respect for Dragon Fly, as he did teach me many tips while bike touring. I’m looking to push mileage from here on out, but I anticipate I’ll see him again on the road someway or another. He’s a road warrior for sure, and I expect nothing less from him than to complete his long journey. God speed right back at you my friend, here’s to one last coffee cheers.

With mornings come my four packages of oatmeal; they hit the spot. Being I met some new riders, I decided to bike out of town with them. Jerry is rolling on a recumbent bike, and says it’s like riding in a lounge chair. The rig is impressive, and I couldn’t help but ask many questions regarding how it rides. Jerry is a retired Air Force member, and he shared several stories regarding his days of traveling. The first 15 miles flew by when the conversation got rolling. Kristen and Jeff rode for the first 8 or so miles with us, but they chose an alternative route to Berea to avoid narrow shoulders into town. Jerry and I continued on for 20 miles or so, and broke off on the hills. I spotted a DQ on the route, and decided coffee and journaling would happen here. I spent about 30 minutes finishing up the final touches of the overly detailed post, bottoms up’ed my coffee, and was back on the road. The hills today were much better than yesterday, and surprisingly I wasn’t terribly sore after yesterday’s push. One town I rode through was literally called Bighill, fortunately that name is more appropriate for eastbound cyclists, and was more of a downhill party for us. A really great song came on, I stood up on my pedals, let the wind fill up my clothes, and I suddenly became so overwhelmed with happiness that I started to cry. Not that type of whimper cry, it was the kind that you laugh out loud happy from being so filled with emotion that it leaks out. I kept thinking about all the time I’ve put into planning this and all the continued support from family and friends, that I just broke out in tears. Even writing this post chokes me up, but it shows how much you and the trip means to me. I won’t lecture hardcore, but for those with dreams, work your ass off, save money, and just do it. I consider myself overly fortunate to be in my position, and I don’t take it for granted, but I also know that I wasn’t handed this opportunity, I made it.

I conquered the last few rolling hills into the college town Berea, which reminds me of being back in Richmond. As I rolled into city limits, I had one last dog chase. Two young pups broke off of their chains right into the road and leaped at my bags with their canines. One of them actually got a piece, and the impact caused me to start falling off the bike. Fortunately I clipped out before I fell, and by that time the owner had ran over and shooed them away. She apologized a few times, but I was so done with dogs that I just shook it off and booked it to town. I immediately plopped on the lucious green grass outside the college, and chugged some water. I noticed a coffee shop close by, and decided to make home there for a few hours. A man and a younger woman walked into the coffee shop and we instantly made eye contact. The man introduces himself as Peter, then his student Evy, and politely asks if he could interview me regarding the trip as a demonstration for his student. Of course I accepted, and was totally enthused. He was extremely knowledgeable about the trail, and had some fun asking questions about every aspect of the tour. Where did I start, how many miles, how much do I spend, where I slept, why I’m doing it, etc. The conversation was a blast, and eventually Evy chimed in with more inquiries. Then Peter asked if I would like to join him and his class for dinner that night with Jeff and Kristen to answer more questions for their project. I enthusiastically accepted.

Kristen, Jeff and I sat in the center of about 20 students who asked a bazillion questions for their projects. These students are part of the EPG program, Entrepeneurship for the Public Good, which focuses on developing undergraduate entrepreneurs and leaders for their communities. The students were superb, and extremely impressive. Each one had a great head on their shoulders, and it’s programs like these that enhance their cultural understanding to therefore further help the broader community. So how did we fit into the mix? Their project was to design a map, similar to our Adventure Cycling Association maps, that offered services, towns, elevation, etc. for the trail they’re focusing on. In a nutshell, how can they make a map that will allow someone to know where to find anything they need or what they will experience while on the route. This project was fascinating, and I’m glad we could put our two cents in. While this is all happening though, I finished all but one slice of a 14-inch BBQ chicken pizza. One student said, “You just went to town on that pizza”. That I did my new friend, and unbeknownsted to that student, I finished the last slice an hour later. I would like to thank Dr. Hackbert, you just offered an incredible, unforgettable trail magic experience for three very appreciative cyclists. Berea will always hold a special place in my memories when recounting this trip. Thank you to all the students for your enthusiasm, and for those reading this, you are heading in the direction of success, and just like we say out here, just keep rolling.

After the class left, we brought ourselves back down from cloud 9 with a few IPAs. I was so incredibly happy after that all went down, that I think the IPA tasted just a bit better. We then rolled a mile or so to our home for the night, the Berea fire station. There, we set up our tents and laid in the grass as the warm day was coming to an end. Jerry and his wife showed up with his pups, and we relaxed even more knowing these dogs weren’t out to bite or chase us. Another night falling asleep smiling about how special memories of any trip always involve the people you meet.

Stats:

Total mileage: 745ish

Maps completed: 2/12

States completed: Virginia

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