Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Day Thirty-three)

As challenging as this is, I think the thing that’s been the hardest for me is riding into a new town, wanting to talk to people and hear their stories and share mine, and not being able to engage anyone. I told the bartender at the Iron Horse in Ashland that I was doing a cross-country bike ride, and he was like “Yeah, whatever...” I guess you’ll have that. 

The opposite situation occurred at Hooter’s, of all places, in Fredericksburg on my day off yesterday. I sat down at the bar and ordered some food. When I said I’d like blue cheese dressing with my chicken sandwich, the man next to me said “Oh, you just ruined it...” That’s all it took. We got into a conversation, he told his friends next to him about my ride, the bartender (Natacia) got into the conversation, and when I left I felt like I had a bunch of new friends in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was a really good day off, and a hot and humid one, so I was grateful to be indoors and not on my bike. 

Apparently it helped because my ride today was pretty perfect. And I was smart! Go figure! I bought a few Dasani’s and froze them as much as I could. I left the hotel at 6:00 and had breakfast at Waffle House (so cheap and so good!). I rode the first 20 miles towards Ashland, and it was actually pretty cool out. The first part of the ride was a little dicey, with the morning traffic (last day for school buses) and no shoulders. A couple of times, I’ve chosen to ride on sidewalks/paths to get out of the way of the cars...only to have them end abruptly. I mean like in the middle of nowhere with no way to get to the street! I don’t get it.

Things got better after that. The traffic disappeared and the riding was beautiful. Very few climbs. At one point, a deer had to prove that he could outrun me, but I enjoyed the challenge of trying to keep up with him. I saw a turtle cross the road too. I passed by some tobacco fields, as well as lots of corn fields. I was tempted to listen to my music, since there were so few cars, but it still wouldn’t have been safe.

I was close to Ashland, when a voice behind me said “Hi, how are you?” Another biker joined me for a while (I didn’t get his name) and it was so nice to have some company and chat while we rode. He stayed with me all the way into town, and then we parted ways. Ashland is a lovely town. There’s a strawberry festival going on tomorrow, but I think I’ll have to miss it. I need to get to Richmond before the really hot part of the day hits. 

I’ve been struggling with the decision of whether or not to take the Outer Banks Alternate Route. As much as I would love to see the Outer Banks, it adds an extra expense to my trip that I just can’t afford. I’ll put it on my list of places to visit someday. I’m looking forward to seeing Richmond. My friend Michele spent a lot of time there, and she loves it. We had a nice conversation on the phone yesterday. 54 miles today. Life is good.