What a day! The day started out smooth enough. We decided that since we were running short on time that we would take the main highways for a bit and make up some time. Wow...4 and 6 lane highways can be nerve wracking. The first half hour is the worst, but after that somehow you just block out the traffic and pedal on. You just have to believe that you will not be hit, because if you give in to the fear, you're in real trouble. That's when the mistakes happen and that's when you get hurt. Plus, the grades on those roads are SO much better than back country roads and they have a much wider shoulder. We went through downtown Raleigh and I promise you there are no shoulders there at all, but the weather was beautiful and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! What a beautiful city!
It's funny how things work out. About the time I think, "What am I doing? How am I going to do this? I can't possibly turn the crank on this bike one...more...time." something amazing happens... A car will pass with people clapping...someone will pass by ringing a cow bell and yelling encouraging words...someone honks their horn and waves...and once we passed a bus stop where 5 women erupted into cheering and clapping and woohoo'ing. It immediately brings a smile to my face and gives me that little bit of whatever I need to crank that pedal one more time. I'm forever grateful for those moments.
Once out of the city the terrain really wasn't bad at all. There were hills, and while the grades were manageable, they seemed to go on for miles! At one point we passed a motorcycle for sale and I thought, "Sold! Where do I sign?" We finally hit the flat lands and it really was nice.
We ended up getting off of Hwy. 401 and onto or Hwy. 210. That was a pleasant of enough ride as well. The cars scare me to death, not because I'm afraid that they are going to hit us...instead, I'm afraid they are going to have a head on collision trying to avoid us!
We have been really good about taking breaks. Every 10 miles or every hour, we pull off the road and take 5 or 10 minutes. Dad was ahead of me climbing a hill. I saw him pull off the road and then I saw the bike flip. He is on a recumbent tricycle and that really isn't supposed to happen! I didn't see him get up...my heart stopped and a million horrible thoughts went through my head. Well, you have never seen anyone climb a hill so fast in your life as I did to get to him! When I got to the top of the hill I asked if he was ok. He said he was, and I asked what happened. He said he just decided to lay down and take a break. Then he said...take a picture! So I did. He was fine. We had a terrible time getting his face to stop bleeding, but it was not stitches worthy.
The rest of the day was more of the same. Long stretches of flat land, followed by LONG stretches of incline. Sometimes I even felt like I was making better time on the incline! We rolled through Fort Brag and stopped for dinner. The hotel was about 7 miles away and we finally got there around 8:30. We were both exhausted and sunburned, but we did it!
Tomorrow is a shorter day.
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