The First Few Days

It’s taken a while for me to update my trip as I’ve been getting used to the schedule of biking everyday. We’ve also hit a few spots with no wifi or cell service (ehem West Virginia). Anyway I’ll attempt at updating this with my trip so far. As of this post I am situated in Summersville, West Virginia. Leaving for Charles Town, WV tomorrow.

After two days in Yorktown, VA spent gearing up for the trip and getting to know my fellow riders, we set off on our long journey. We rode down to the beach to do the customary wheel dip in the Atlantic where my parents, brother and buddy Mark were waiting to see me off. Here are some pics from the event:

with the fam-

it got real rainy…

My buddy Mark

The crew (we roll deep)-

After the wheel dip our trek officially began, armed with our turn-by-turn cue sheets, water bottles, snacks, and water bladders full. Oh..and rain jackets on. Because not long after we set off the skies opened up… like monsoon style. It was pretty intense downpour for a while but it was actually a lot of fun to ride in. It was one of those “is it even possible to rain this hard??” moments. But hey, getting rid of the rain early right? Not really. It rained on us on and off for the first 3 days or so; it was nice when we finally didn’t have to begin the day with our rain jackets on.

That being said the trip has been absolutely phenomenal so far. Its been really cool going from the flat vastness of the coast and piedmont to the Appalachian Mountains! We’re also taking back roads for the most part (not the quickest but definitely the most beautiful way to go). We’ve ridden through endless wheat fields, historical site like Colonial James Town, and the high rolling mountains of the good ol’ Blue Ridge which I was fortunate enough to grow up in. The flatter areas have been great because you can travel fast without the hills, but I was really excited to get into the mountains. They are not disappointing! Our first real day in the mountains was a big one- 90 miles, 9000 vertical feet gain, in temperatures nears 90 degrees. It was a day full of 9’s and 0’s. But so much fun. The views were spectacular, the climbs long and steep and the downhills a superb rush. The past couple days have been pretty consistent at around 75 miles and just over 5000 feet of gain. Loving it. Here are some more pics from the east.

Getting into the Appalachian Mointains!!-

Art exhibit in Charlottesville, VA