Today was not an easy day. I'm not complaining, mind you, but it was hard work almost from the opening bell. With a weather forecast last night of only a small chance of rain I packed away my rain jacket only to open the curtains this morning to watch the rain drops pelting the parking lot. We do get up pretty early and fortunately by the time we actually were ready to leave, i.e. 7:45 the streets were still pretty wet but the rain had turned into a fine mist. However, a little front came in last night and it was 51 degrees when we left the hotel. The rain jacket went on immediately as windbreaker and never came off. Once we got out of
Pocomoke we pretty much had the roads to ourselves. Traffic was light all day even on four-
laners that we had for part of the trip. We had a bit of a tail wind early but very soon learned that we were not going to be so blessed for long a maybe 8 or 10 miles in we made a couple of turns and started heading south for the day and our wind became a very strong cross/head wind for the rest of the day. I'm guessing it averaged 15 to 20 knots and gusts up to 25 or so - easily the toughest of the trip. And to add to the fun the last 4o miles or so were on a chip and seal type road (mix of gravel and tar, supposed to be hardened and flattened by car traffic) that is bumpy and produces constant pounding and vibration for the bike and rider. We had six riders in our group and set up a kind of jury rigged pace line with each of us taking a turn of a mile in the lead and it helped a little but in the end it was just a matter of persistence and trying to keep the pedals moving. The country was pretty much farm country from beginning to end but with quite a variety of crops. We saw our first couple of cotton fields today along with the very familiar corn and soybeans. There were also a number of large chicken farms, a sweet potato farm, and several tomato farms with what I would estimate were 4o to 60 acres worth of tomato plants - never have I seen so many. And miles and miles of very poor looking houses, tiny structures close to the road, some frame, lots of mobile homes. The photo of the church was taken in the midst of one of these poor areas. They had allowed our SAG to set up there while services were going on inside. The sign outside said "The oldest continuous Sunday School in the USA". We did 77 miles today on the bike and then another 20 miles by van. We had to cross the Chesapeake bay and, of course, bikes are not permitted so the support folks shuttled us across and under the water. It is one long bridge that at two points goes underwater in a tunnel mode to allow for shipping to get through. It was the first time I had crossed and I found it most interesting. It must have been quite a lengthy project and must have cost many fortunes. And did I mention we crossed another state line - almost a daily
occurrence. Tomorrow we head for Kill Devil Hills NC, the spot where the Wright brothers changed the world with the first flight of an aircraft. And, to end for tonight, it is worth noting that the Wright brothers were bicycle mechanics and salesman.
Today was not an easy day. I'm not complaining, mind you, but it was hard work almost from the opening bell. With a weather forecast last night of only a small chance of rain I packed away my rain jacket only to open the curtains this morning to watch the rain drops pelting the parking lot. We do get up pretty early and fortunately by the time we actually were ready to leave, i.e. 7:45 the streets were still pretty wet but the rain had turned into a fine mist. However, a little front came in last night and it was 51 degrees when we left the hotel. The rain jacket went on immediately as windbreaker and never came off. Once we got out of Pocomoke we pretty much had the roads to ourselves. Traffic was light all day even on four-laners that we had for part of the trip. We had a bit of a tail wind early but very soon learned that we were not going to be so blessed for long a maybe 8 or 10 miles in we made a couple of turns and started heading south for the day and our wind became a very strong cross/head wind for the rest of the day. I'm guessing it averaged 15 to 20 knots and gusts up to 25 or so - easily the toughest of the trip. And to add to the fun the last 4o miles or so were on a chip and seal type road (mix of gravel and tar, supposed to be hardened and flattened by car traffic) that is bumpy and produces constant pounding and vibration for the bike and rider. We had six riders in our group and set up a kind of jury rigged pace line with each of us taking a turn of a mile in the lead and it helped a little but in the end it was just a matter of persistence and trying to keep the pedals moving. The country was pretty much farm country from beginning to end but with quite a variety of crops. We saw our first couple of cotton fields today along with the very familiar corn and soybeans. There were also a number of large chicken farms, a sweet potato farm, and several tomato farms with what I would estimate were 4o to 60 acres worth of tomato plants - never have I seen so many. And miles and miles of very poor looking houses, tiny structures close to the road, some frame, lots of mobile homes. The photo of the church was taken in the midst of one of these poor areas. They had allowed our SAG to set up there while services were going on inside. The sign outside said "The oldest continuous Sunday School in the USA". We did 77 miles today on the bike and then another 20 miles by van. We had to cross the Chesapeake bay and, of course, bikes are not permitted so the support folks shuttled us across and under the water. It is one long bridge that at two points goes underwater in a tunnel mode to allow for shipping to get through. It was the first time I had crossed and I found it most interesting. It must have been quite a lengthy project and must have cost many fortunes. And did I mention we crossed another state line - almost a daily occurrence. Tomorrow we head for Kill Devil Hills NC, the spot where the Wright brothers changed the world with the first flight of an aircraft. And, to end for tonight, it is worth noting that the Wright brothers were bicycle mechanics and salesman.
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