Country Road

West Virginia! This was ... so far ... my favorite state to ride in. Sure we climbed some 3,900ft mountains. Sure we got poured on a couple mornings in a row. But wow, what a beautiful state to ride through. On our ride to Parsons, WV we experienced hours of pretty chilly rain and lots of fog. But what's a cross country trip without some bad weather. At one point I got super chilly, and made the best purchase of the trip. A half pound block of fudge. That kept the fire going inside me, and the skies cleared to make for some sweet riding. We climbed up really close to some huge wind turbines, and after cresting the mountain we cruised down 3.5 miles of downhill. Yeah!

During our second day of rain in the morning we got shelter by a really generous woman and her 3 kids. 15 of us crammed into her garage and she brought us towels and snacks. So nice. With our spirits high, and clothes partially dry we cruised on through WV. At the end of the day it got really warm. We asked some lifeguards at local pool if we could take a dip. They said sure and even got us in the town newspaper.

So far the trip has passed all of my expectations. The build days are extremely rejuvenating. Not only for the legs, since we get to rest, but it's just amazing to see how much of us the 32 of us get done at a build site. We recently put together a string of three 80 mile days. Doing it alone would be near impossible. With the other riders to kind of pull you along, and keep you moving, this trip has been a blast, and such an amazing experience.