I was very fortunate to meet a guy last night at the house I stayed in who is also biking the TransAm. He is going to Oregon (back home) but we decided to ride together for a few days. He plans to take a rest day with some family in Charlottesville, and I will keep moving in. I'm sure we will see eachother again though.
He has done most of this route before and is a lot more experienced than I am. He is kicking my ass on some of these climbs. And by the way, biking up hill for over a mile should at least have a payoff of a nice descent on the other side, but not in Virginia. It seems like we just keep going up and then levelling off. Oh well. I guess that's what it's all about.
Meals today included some granola bars, two bananas, a PB&J Bagel, lots of water and even some Gatorade. I bought some rice to make tonight and for the next few nights. Nothing like plain white rice to reset the mind and body!
We are staying in a church tonight. It's pretty nice, too. The lady who lives next door (by the way, all churches in Va have a lady that lives next door and has keys to the church) let us in and turned the AC down to 68! We were able to do a little laundry (in the sink) and clean up (also in the sink) and I took the time for a much-needed shave. The plan is to get to bed early and hit the streets again at dawn.
We traveled over 70 miles today, which is more than I planned. By the time we got to Glendale, the plan was to sit and relax for an hour and then go the extra 20 miles to Mechanicsville, but after we sat there for a little while, we realized that 70 miles for the first day is pretty good and we were feeling it. Even though we are ending early today, we decided it's worth it to take advantage of this awesome church, recover, and get some serious sleep.
Tomorrow will be a long day. The goal is Charlottesville.
The least know Apostle.
Location:Glendale, Va
How many miles a day do you need to do in order to meet your goal? 70 seems like a lot, but of course I have only biked a mile!
ReplyDeleteIf I go between 60 and 70 on average, I should be able to keep to my goal. I am expecting to lose a lot of miles in the mountainous areas, but pick up a lot in the midwest. I did 80 the first day, 70 the second, and only 56 the third day. Part of the reason is that each day got progressively more hilly, but also because my body is still adjusting to this process. Tomorrow should be around 64, and then I get into serious mountains in Western Virginia. I just keep thinking of Kansas... one straight shot on a flat surface. I should be able to cover Kansas in 3-3.5 days!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, do I know you from anywhere?