Daily Mileage: 59.6
Total Mileage: 538.7
Daily Time: 6:04:37
Total Time: 2 days 3:19:04
Top Speed: 38.3
I fell asleep around 7pm to the sound of thunder and rain and woke up at 5:30am to a million bugs and unable to find my bug spray. I was FREAKING OUT with the amount of bites I received and the other 999,728 gnats hovering around me as I packed everything up. I need to get bug spray ASAP before another morning like that.
After wiping Jasper free of the rain drops, adding a little bit of lube to her chain and cleaning off her brake pads, I was ready to roll out of my own arm.
I was totally wrong about trying to "bogey" out of the park. I might have done just as much climbing as yesterday. I should have realized... I am on the Appalchian Trail after all. However today's giant hills didn't last as long as yesterday's and those lead right into big downhills. Downhill Chubby's if there was ever a day for it.
The lookouts continued to amaze me as I rolled past and stopped for few. I especially loved the overlook of the Wilderness "... Where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."
I even met a Vikings fan from Minnesota at one of them. That is the fun part about wearing my Green Bay bicycle jersey, I continued to get cheers and jeers all day.
Today was full mini wins. I stopped at one of the outlooks that had a cafe and got myself some chili cheese fries. They probably sucked... But they didn't to me. Just like the Gatorades, all fries are good.
Then I saw a bike just outside of my current campsite loaded with nice grey blue Ortleib bags (same as mine just a prettier color than yellow). The bike: Fiji Tourer. I met the woman inside, Susan, by spotting her handlebar bag (also same as mine) and introduced myself. Just like me, she is used to answering all the questions rather than asking them, so she stayed relatively quiet... Also I'm sure she was tired from her long climb into Shenandoah. There was a few awkward silences, but I jumped in with the same questions everyone is curious about.
Susan left on June 2nd from Bristol, RI and is heading to New Mexico by way of the TransAmerica Trail with no time table. She looked to be at least 60. I have a ton of respect for what she is doing. Sure, I'm doing the same thing, but at 26 I feel invincible whereas at her age, I can image its quite different. In fact she left the lodge where we met to head to the campgrounds (uphill of course) 5 minutes before I did. I caught up with her in no time. It just shows her tenacity for taking on such a trip. You go Susan!
The final win... A $6.19 juice box of Cabernet Sauvignon that I am enjoying by the fire! It's not an ice cold Budweiser, but I am currently half way through (3 x 5.6 oz servings) and I feel FANTASTIC! The only thing better would be a lower body message.
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