distance: 69 mi
total distance: 211 mi
Waking up after a night of rainfall, I opened my eyes as the sun was about to rise. The target was standing tall and waiting for us- the Blue Ridge Mountains. At 3200 feet elevation, today's ride was going to be tough, I knew. But in reality, I didn't really know. It took nearly 5 hours to cover 20 miles of ground. When moving at 3 to 4 mph up a mountain, you continuously contemplate getting off the bike and just pushing the darn thing. I bet i can push a bike at 3 mph and not feel like my legs are going to pop off (slightly exaggerated, I admit.) But alas, I rode up and down, up and down, repeatedly for hours at a time. It was strenuous. I never got off to push my bike once and every so often, we were rewarded by an amazing view of the mountains in the distance.
What goes up must come down... something along those lines, no? It took 5 hours for us to go up, and a mere 5 minutes to descend. Have you ever smelt burned rubber while riding a bicycle? I did today, and it made me wonder how well my brakes are designed. Speeding down the hill at a good 37 mph, I was pushing down hard to slow down for curves and oncoming traffic. It was exhilarating and scary at the same time.
None of us had lunch today. All that was keeping us going was a small breakfast and a couple of Cliff Bars. We did stop at a farmer's stand where juicy tomatoes looked too appealing to pass off on. I bit right into mine. If you look carefully, you'll see that the farmer is wearing five finger shoes! Who would have thought those can be found so far outside the city. Wasn't me who sold them to him...
