When can I stop talking about hills?

Waking up in an igloo

I slept relatively well last night for a camping night. Waking up extremely early is normal, especially when it’s 45 degrees out. I put every piece of clothing on. Two pairs of socks, bike shorts, long tight pants, hiking pants, merino wool jersey, t-shirt, rain jacket, hoodless jacket, hand tight and fleece gloves, a ski mask, small green scarf thing, and a wool hat. I was still shivering, but my clothing pannier was empty so that was nice. We woke up before the sunrise, so we packed up and started the stove for Brian’s coffee and my oatmeal. I watched the sun peak over the horizon enjoying a warm bowl of breakfast. The sun is your friend on mornings like these. Eventually I’ll be wishing it was this cold again when we ride through blistering heat. We were out around 6AM, ready to roll, but quickly Brian noticed his first flat in 45 days. It was bound to happen. I should have timed him, he had the tube changed and replaced in no time. I was impressed, and took some notes.

Clear Skies

We had some amazing blue skies on our way out, and we were on our way to the map’s first convenience store 15 miles away. The hills were ruthless, they weren’t as long as the mountains, but they are rolling. Meaning you climb then fall, climb, fall, etc. it takes a toll on your lower back, so it’s important to stay within your ability and not push. After 15 miles we were beat and ready for a break. As we arrived to town, a local said we still had a mile to go. Two and a half miles later, we saw the store, and flew in like aircrafts. The kind lady welcomed us, allowed us to fill up water, and even gave me a free biscuit with sausage gravy. It was exactly what I need, and I scarfed that puppy down quicker than you can say, “I’m cheepin'”. We continued our morning break with more food on some benches, and noticed in the distance a hiker coming from the Appalachian Trail. We were both overly excited to converse about his travels. Chopstick was his trail name, and he was one cool dude. He sat with us for a while consuming as much as we just did. He’s been out for 2 months already, I can’t even imagine! Brian strapped on Chopstick’s large backpack and had aspirations of one day getting on the trail himself. It got us thinking what our Trail names would be. Early on I called Brian dragonfly, and recently he’s been calling me fritter, after the donut. Right now they’re loose names, but well hopefully something will catch on soon enough.

Christiansburg

We had 20 miles to a somewhat big town, with no plans of sleeping arrangements. The ride there was beautiful, warm enough to feel nice, but cold enough for a light jacket. We took a break 10 miles out, and just chatted about random topics. Eventually, after some nice hills, we made it to a library. It was absolutely perfect. Wifi, friendly faces, dollar coffee, outlets, and wind protection. We were able to get a lot done, it was such a nice pace for a change. I also faced two more donuts, which puts my count at 5. They sucked, but still a treat. We got busy calling the town for places to sleep. I ended up walking over to the fire department and they allowed us to camp right out back. In walking distance was a dollar general, I won’t even tell you what food I bought there. Lots of questionable canned stuff, but oh so good when starving. We sat for dinner, and we’re lucky enough to still have wifi where we were from the library, so blogging could be done. I was even able to see our family of 3 briefly, but poor connection squandered that. Quick story: Liz gave me a package before I left, and the instructions said not to open each one until every Sunday that passes. The first one was a picture in Seattle (Nancy if you’re reading this those smiles are from you!) There is a note on the back of the picture, but that’s for me to read. Always looking forward to Sundays now.

Map 1:

We finished map 1 of 12! 365 miles of trails, but more than that with off route riding. 11 more to go.

Stats

Start: Daleville, VA End: Christiansburg

Today’s mileage: 44 ish Total: 385ish

Donut count: 5, probs

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