It is now 10:10 P.M. I am just now sitting down to type up the post for the day’s ride. Currently the hotel’s WIFI is not working so I may have to wait until tomorrow to actually make the post.

So, the first day of riding is a done deal. At one point today I thought I was going to be a done deal. Overall, it was a fantastic day of riding, cold at times. The low temps were in the 40s but it was dry so no one here is complaining. Our journey began around mid morning in Waynesboro VA, which is the northern-most portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway, henceforth BRP.  Mike and I rode a total of 85.9 miles and climbed a total of 8681 vertical feet. Rhonda covered much more than that as she drove back and forth as sag support throughout the day. Yay Rhonda.

…I am trying to figure out how to begin to cover the day’s events; there is a lot of worthy material to start with. Trying to determine where to begin, in addition to simply being fatigued, is causing me to simply stare at my screen at the moment.

Of the day’s notable events, one specifically sticks out in my mind. It was watching Rhonda being pulled over by a Park Ranger. Yes, you read that correctly. Rhonda was pulled over by a Parkway Ranger just past the James River Bridge on the parkway. Several miles prior to the bridge Mike and I were coming out of a descent and had several miles of relatively flat ground. I mentioned to Mike that Rhonda was doing a great job of sagging and wondered aloud if she might also be willing to motor-pace. For you non-cyclists let me explain. Motor pacing is when the car driving support drives in front of you instead of behind you. The benefit is that with a car leading the way you don’t have to exert as much energy cutting into the wind and the riding is faster and easier. Rhonda, being the trooper she is, agreed. She did this for several miles and Mike, being the faster rider, was able to keep right on her bumper. It was fun simply to watch. I however didn’t have the legs to hang on and I slowly drifted further back. That is when I noticed a park ranger come from the other direction and then do an immediate u-turn. The ranger then caught up to Rhonda and Mike and pulled them over.  Apparently, motor pacing on the parkway is frowned upon, boo Park Ranger rules. It took me about a minute to reach their location and did so right about the time the ranger got back into her car and Rhonda drove off. I caught Mike and asked how it went. (Honestly I was a little afraid to ask.) I did ask him if the ranger gave Rhonda a ticket. He said the ranger verbally chastised Rhonda for impeding traffic. Funny thing is, WE were the traffic. At least we didn’t see much other traffic besides ourselves. At any rate, it was exciting to watch.

Overall the riding today was fairly challenging. It grew especially tough at Mile Marker 64 when Mike and I began climbing Thunder Ridge on the ascent to Apple Orchard Lookout. I was a daunting 13 mile climb that seemed to go on and on and on and…

As our legs grew fatigued Mike actually became surprisingly animated . In fact, at mile marker 74 (still on the climb) Mike belted out what sounded like a cross between a war cry and cry for help. That is all I heard. I didn't see or hear the cannon from which he was then shot but Mike took off. I tried to catch but my legs were spent. Whether he felt sorry for me or the efficacy of the war cry faded, Mike slowed down and I caught him a mile or two later. For the remainder of today’s ride we both suffered and counted the remaining distance in feet not miles until we finally reached our destination at Peaks of Otter.

Tired as I am I have to say today has been a blast. I am looking forward to riding again tomorrow, after a good night’s rest, and some more food. Pictures to come, although those may have to wait till our rest day to be downloaded.