Day 3: Central Virginia is Like a Rollercoaster, Baby Baby

Mineral, VA to Charlottesville, VA

Stats!

Miles biked: 40.4

Total miles biked: 158.6

Max speed: 30.5 mph

# of total emotional meltdowns: 1

# of crying jags: 2

# of hills climbed: lost count

# of downhills: too few

# of roads named "Three Chopt": 5

# of weird triangular purple things in trees: 6

Today was a short day. We had originally mapped out a 54 mile route to Charlottesville, but when we hit the intersection with 250 (the road we had intended to take to Charlottesville in my 70 miles per day dream world), we decided to take that road instead, cutting 15 miles off our route. Yay!

We got to C-ville early (about 2:30 p.m.), which was great, since today was essentially half a rest day. But the first (non-rest) half of the day was filled with hills, hills, hills. It was really tough. Early on I lost it on a hill. It was steep, I was exhausted, and I snapped. We stopped, I ate a granola bar, we got back on the road, but I was still kind of a mess. I pulled it together pretty quickly, though.

This trip is really fantastic, and really tough. I like watching the Biggest Loser on TV, and the contestants are forever having emotional breakdowns. Today, I got it. Three back to back days of grueling physical activity with no end in sight, and you snap pretty quick. At least I get to eat barbecue sandwiches.

We saw a ton of weird big purple triangle things in the trees today (and yesterday, and the day before). We keep seeing them. What are they?

Today also saw our first near-death experience. Charlottesville is full of terrible drivers who see bicyclists as expendable objects rather than people with lives. Lots of cars determined to go 70 mph past us, while oncoming traffic fast approaches. Now we know why our map didn't take us down 250.

When we arrived to Charlottesville, my friends Teri and Alex who live here took off work early to meet us! Very, very nice. We got to hang with baby Brandon and eat lots of food, which we always enjoy. :) And tonight we get a bed which is super great, and Teri and Alex are always super fun.

Sadly, no photos today. I only took one during the day, which I may choose to post another day. But there wasn't much exciting scenery, the ride was short, and so was my fuse. ;)

I am actually really worried about tomorrow, when we hit "the big one." Afton mountain. The hill that broke my spirit was maybe a 250 ft increase in elevation. Tomorrow we go up 2000 ft. Let's be honest, probably less. We're going to do what we can do, and we'll have a support vehicle with us (thanks, mom and dad!). The goal is to make it to Love, VA, but if we don't, we don't. Right now we're just doing what we can and getting accustomed to daily hard biking.

Thanks for all the comments so far. We love them!