Lazy winding roads

Pictures coming soon(trademark)

So today is what I pictured cycling through Virginia would be like. Nice slow winding roads with forests, creeks, and the occasional horse farm. No traffic worth mentioning just me cruising along a nice gentle pace. The temperature was a perfect sunny spring morning in the mid 60s with a slight breeze. Not enough to slow me down but enough to cool things off. With all the tree throwing intermittent shadows it really was something straight out of a tour Virginia commercial.

I'm trying to get another 50 miles in today but I'm sore from yesterday. There isn't much choice as there isn't anywhere listed to sleep after that for another 50 miles. So it's either 50 miles today or 60+ tomorrow. The soreness is the good kind, the kind where every time I flex my quads there is a gentle reminder from my body about the strain I put on them. After a half hour that pain goes away and its easy cruising on beautiful empty road.

Thankfully the anti chafing treatment I've been using has worked perfectly. That was a concern of mine coming into the trip. I'm using the same anti chafing that I use while hiking and I was unsure if it would be up to the task. I think as long as I'm diligent in the application there will be no issues. Chafing is similar to blisters while hiking, everyone gets them and can be a show stopper until it heals. Thankfully both can be prevented with proper preparation and paying attention to the warning signs.

The ride went smoothly until I reached the lake Anna nuclear plant. I thought there was a tour of the plant available so I took a detour down to the visitor center to sign up. Unfortunately there was no tour, just a nice air conditioned information center that seemed to be aimed at middle schoolers. After the tour there was a dilemma I either continue riding at what is now the hottest part of the day, or take a 3 mile detour downhill to the lake to wait out the heat on a beach. I think I made the wrong choice and kept going. Hindsight says waiting at the beach had to have been better than riding during the hottest part of the day. I went from cruising along at 12 mph in the morning to crawling around 8 mph. Now that mighta been the slight headwind or it coulda been the majority uphill but I'm blaming it on the heat.

Since I pushed on through I made it to my destination only to find out the nice quiet little firehouse I had planned on sleeping at was having a spring fair. There were carnival rides, games, and even a beauty contest. Unfortunately that meant there was nowhere for me to setup camp. Now the whole reason I pushed on through the hottest part of the day was to avoid rush hour traffic. Now I had to bike 5 more miles over to the next town in rush hour. I definitely want to avoid riding during rush hour. The heat was uncomfortable but the cars during rush hour is so stressful. All the enjoyment from this morning's ride disappeared in 30 minutes of traffic.