Day 4
The night before, Bob and I had looked on the map and computer to find the quickest way to me next destination. I have not been real concerned with fallowing the rout on my maps exactly. Basically if I can find a shot cut I will take it. Most of the time there is not one, but there are days that I save 10 or 20 miles because of this. At any rate, I left very early because I new that even with my shortcut it would take a long time to get to Charlottesville VA from Richmond VA.
The day went mostly without incident. Half way through it I rode into a gas station to fill my bottles up with water. I hit the gravel with my front tire and my bike went right out from under me. I didn’t hit the ground but my bike did. The only real damage was my cleat. That’s the piece that attaches to the bottom of the shoe and to the peddle. I nearly ripped it in half. This was a problem. I limped the rest of the way into town, about 30 miles and then began looking for some where to replace the part.
I was headed to the bike shop when I am drove up beside me in a car and asked me where I was going. I told him out of town for the night. Then he asked me where I was going long term. I said “Oregon”. Then I asked him if he new where the bike shop I was looking for was. And he, being the nice man he was told me he would drive there and that I could fallow him. To make a long story short the bike shop did not have what I needed. I was very disappointed, that meant that I had to go biking all over town to find a piece that is not very common and was probably not carried in any of the bike shops. This may not sound like a real big deal, but because Charlottesville is so hilly I didn’t want to bike anywhere after peddling about 70 miles already that day and it was rush hour.
The man who drove in front of me to the bike shop looked and me and seeing that I was distraught told me that he would drive me around to the bike shops if it was ok with me, and it was. His name was Wayne. He drove me to every bike shop in town before I gave up and was about to buy completely new peddles, about 100.00 worth of equipment because I couldn’t go over the Blue Mountains on a broken cleat. Before I bought the new peddles Wayne stopped me and said we could go to his place and he could see if he had anything that might help me. As it turned out he did. He had an extra set of peddles that he had not used in a few years and he didn’t think he would be using them any more so he gave them to me. They were worth about 125.00 dollars. I couldn’t believe it. I as shocked. Then he drove me to the edge of town and dropped me off where my map said I was to head out and he said he may get his bike and catch up to me. And he did. He rode all the way to Whitehall with me and found a place for me to sleep behind a church for me because we couldn’t find the camp ground marked on the map for me. Then he gave me one more gift as a “going a way” present as he put it. It was a converter for my tiers so I could pump them up at gas stations from now on instead of using my hand pump.
Wayne was one of the necest and most unexpected people I have ever met in my life. Without him I would ether be 100.00 dollars more pour or still in Charlottesville VA right now.
That day I rode 92.5 miles at 12.17 mph for 7:35 with a max speed of 35.6 mph.
The night before, Bob and I had looked on the map and computer to find the quickest way to me next destination. I have not been real concerned with fallowing the rout on my maps exactly. Basically if I can find a shot cut I will take it. Most of the time there is not one, but there are days that I save 10 or 20 miles because of this. At any rate, I left very early because I new that even with my shortcut it would take a long time to get to Charlottesville VA from Richmond VA.
The day went mostly without incident. Half way through it I rode into a gas station to fill my bottles up with water. I hit the gravel with my front tire and my bike went right out from under me. I didn’t hit the ground but my bike did. The only real damage was my cleat. That’s the piece that attaches to the bottom of the shoe and to the peddle. I nearly ripped it in half. This was a problem. I limped the rest of the way into town, about 30 miles and then began looking for some where to replace the part.
I was headed to the bike shop when I am drove up beside me in a car and asked me where I was going. I told him out of town for the night. Then he asked me where I was going long term. I said “Oregon”. Then I asked him if he new where the bike shop I was looking for was. And he, being the nice man he was told me he would drive there and that I could fallow him. To make a long story short the bike shop did not have what I needed. I was very disappointed, that meant that I had to go biking all over town to find a piece that is not very common and was probably not carried in any of the bike shops. This may not sound like a real big deal, but because Charlottesville is so hilly I didn’t want to bike anywhere after peddling about 70 miles already that day and it was rush hour.
The man who drove in front of me to the bike shop looked and me and seeing that I was distraught told me that he would drive me around to the bike shops if it was ok with me, and it was. His name was Wayne. He drove me to every bike shop in town before I gave up and was about to buy completely new peddles, about 100.00 worth of equipment because I couldn’t go over the Blue Mountains on a broken cleat. Before I bought the new peddles Wayne stopped me and said we could go to his place and he could see if he had anything that might help me. As it turned out he did. He had an extra set of peddles that he had not used in a few years and he didn’t think he would be using them any more so he gave them to me. They were worth about 125.00 dollars. I couldn’t believe it. I as shocked. Then he drove me to the edge of town and dropped me off where my map said I was to head out and he said he may get his bike and catch up to me. And he did. He rode all the way to Whitehall with me and found a place for me to sleep behind a church for me because we couldn’t find the camp ground marked on the map for me. Then he gave me one more gift as a “going a way” present as he put it. It was a converter for my tiers so I could pump them up at gas stations from now on instead of using my hand pump.
Wayne was one of the necest and most unexpected people I have ever met in my life. Without him I would ether be 100.00 dollars more pour or still in Charlottesville VA right now.
That day I rode 92.5 miles at 12.17 mph for 7:35 with a max speed of 35.6 mph.
1 comment:
See? God moves in mysterious ways.
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