Heat of the Moment (Day Thirty-four)

I’m trying to get through a few days of intense heat in Virginia. The Weather Channel says tomorrow could break a record. I was in Ashland last night, and due to a lack of services coming up, I only went as far as Richmond today. Not even 20 miles. I wish I could have enjoyed Richmond a little more. I know it’s a fabulous city, with a lot to see. Not on this trip, unfortunately.

I had a good ride this morning, and met a lot of bikers who all waved and said hi. I had a bagel for breakfast, but I was hungry again, so I stopped at a convenience store and hung out there for a while, talking on the phone. Traffic wasn’t bad at all this morning. 

I arrived in Richmond around noon. I had reserved a cheap hotel room, but it wasn’t ready. I sat for a while and got into a conversation with a nice man in the lobby who said he was about to be homeless. I went upstairs to the bathroom, and noticed that there were people sleeping on all the couches in the lobby. I went to a place called Kitchen 64 across the street for lunch. It was packed, for good reason. The food was really good. I watched golf on TV while I ate my shrimp and grits. When I came back to the hotel, all the people were gone, and I wondered if they had been asked to leave. It was so hot out, and the man I had been talking to said the shelters were all full. 

I got settled and decided to go out and check out the neighborhood, but that turned out to be a bad idea. It was just too hot, and I walked about 6 blocks without finding anything interesting. I tried to get some water at a gas station, but they were closed. I ended up back at Kitchen 64. I got a salad to go, and had it for dinner. It was not the Richmond experience I had hoped for, but I’m sure I’ll be back.

I’m a little nervous about the next couple of days. I’m camping tomorrow, and I think I have about 40 miles to ride, so I’ll get an early start. Monday’s supposed to be really hot as well, and I’ll need to ride over 50 miles. I don’t like the lack of services coming up, but it is what it is. Stay cool everyone.