First 80 mile day, new riding companions, a shower, and a juicy double burger. - Coast To Coast - CycleBlaze

First 80 mile day, new riding companions, a shower, and a juicy double burger.

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I woke up via alarm clock at 5 AM, and was extremely surprised realizing I slept through the whole night. Usually when I’m by myself stealth camping, I don’t sleep very well. Sleeping through the night like this told me my body is likely needing some more rest than I’ve gotten recently. I took my time packing up, and could already tell today was going to be a humid one. I was out by 6AM, and caught some nice views of a cloudy sunrise. I stopped at a convenience store, which back in the country almost always make breakfast/lunch items, and grabbed an egg and cheese biscuit sandwich for only $1.39. The biscuit was hella salty, but I’m not complaining. I crave these small convenience stores now, and haven’t been disappointed yet.
My ultimate goal for the day was push 80 miles to Utica, KY in hopes to catch up with some cool dudes. I was happy with settling with less if poor weather stopped me. I set out for Falls of the Rough, which would be 40 miles away from the starting point, putting me halfway to Utica. I figured I would stop for a couple hours, eat, rest, and journal while there. I decided to crank out some serious mileage, and about 25 miles in and only 2 hours into the day I felt great.

I was beginning to get pretty stoked for an upcoming county change, because it meant I was entering a new time zone! Certainly was neat watching my phone move back an hour, I congratulated myself with a second meal, technically it was breakfast time again. The hills through miles 20-30 were gentle, but rolling. I haven’t determined what I like better, rolling hills or climbing mountains. They both have their pros and cons. At one point I saw a lady driving a pickup with a skeleton figure in the passenger seat. I brushed it off, she definitely was just an anatomy teacher.

I found my way to a convenience, one of the few along this stretch. I bought a coffee, refilled my bottle, and ate the rest of my iced animal cracker snacks. I still can’t figure out this one animal though, it’s annoying me. I noticed a camper with touring bikes on the rack. I waved to the woman, and she came over and introduced herself as Lisa. Lisa and her husband (or brother, I’ve forgotten now) are completing the trip in segments, and their final segment is eastbound about 900 miles. I said my goodbyes, and was off for the races.

I made 40 miles in quick time, maybe 3:15 or 3:30 hours. I carefully planned out my rest stop in order to resupply water. I was approaching “town”, took my last gulp of water, and realized I somehow missed town 2 miles back and just cruised down a big hill. Do I push 15 more miles to the next town, or climb back up the hill to town? You know the answer. I pushed to town, no water, and straight up drenched in sweat. Not even music was helping me get through this one. I kept reassuring myself that I would be treating myself to a large lunch, and envisioned a nice milkshake. The milkshake thought got me to town, and I must say it was the first moment during the trip I felt almost defeated.

To my luck the small town had a diner. Usually it’s only convenience stores and gas stations. I must have looked like the swamp monster from Scooby Doo when I walked in. I was prompted to sit anywhere, I chose the cushioned seat in front of a fan. I ordered not one, not two, but three glasses of water. I was ready to order. “Could I have the triple stack pancakes with extr……” “No more breakfast”. Okay. “Could I get the double cheeseburger, light mayo, and the ice cream bowl” “We only have chocolate ice cream” Okay. “Can I get a slice of the coconut cream pie?” “We only have pecan pie” Okay, how about can I just have a break??

The double burger was delicious, and the pecan pie was decent too, although I don’t believe it was house made, the crust was too perfect. Anyway, after a failed attempt of retrieving the wifi password, I decided to move on. I went outside to getting riding, and suddenly I hear a light rumble. Thunder. I sat on the bench, belly full, and ended up falling half asleep sitting upright. I was shot.

Twenty minutes later, I assessed the situation, and decided to move when the rain lightened up. 5 minutes into the voyage, it began to rain, but the absolute worst part was that it was 1000% humidity, AND SUNNY AS CAN BE. My least favorite weather.

I said to myself, stop whining, you signed up for this. I put my head down, clipped in, and went to work. With about 10 more miles to go, I gave Liz a call. That seriously helped the time fly by, and without that conversation it would have felt like forever.

Alas, I see the fire department. Huge smile on my face after that crappy 80 mile day because I know I have caught up with two cool dudes. I walk in, greet Jim, and meet Keith. Two full of life dudes just crushing the Trans Am and having a great time. We all enjoyed chicken fingers, jalapeño poppers, cookies and Gatorade together, and talked each other’s ears off until bedtime. Oh, and by the way, this fire department had a shower, full kitchen, and laundry. My five day, four night shower hiatus has ended, and 4 days worth of sunscreen spiraled down the drain. I’m very happy to be alongside Keith and Jim, and am greatly looking forward to our day tomorrow. More to come on each one of them in later posts, but it’s time for a long, restful night of sleep for me.

Stats

Total Mileage: 990ish

States completed: Virginia

Donut count: 12

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