Day Six - Charles City to West Union

Okay, 63 miles. Bring it on!!

There are a lot of bike club teams here. They all wore the same or similar outfits. And when they rode so close to one another it was quite a sight to see, especially because they were fast!  The funniest thing was when we passed one team going downhill - the leader shouted “Hey!” We all laughed. We go so fast downhill, sometimes I have to close my eyes! But we go slow going uphill and they whizz by! Many teams had their own bus that they came in.  The buses were converted school buses complete with beds, a kitchen area and a bathroom - oh and many of  the buses had the same design as their outfits! Pretty cool.

We decided to stop at Chris Cakes (pancakes!) They were set up at a fire station. Longest line ever but totally worth it!

                           More puppy travelers!

Dimetridon man 😄

One town had this game to hit a nail into a huge slice of the trunk of a tree with the smaller end of a sledgehammer. Greg got it in three tries and got to pick a prize. He picked a “dew rag” - the sun beats down so you get the rag wet with ice cold water and put it on your head under your helmet- keeps you cool and protects you  from the sun’s rays. 

         Steel drum band serenaded as we all went by

The Air Force had a team of bike riders and they helped everyone in need - they were great! If a bicyclist had an issue with their bike, the thing to do was turn it upside down and as soon as the airmen approached, they pulled over to help.

And whenever we stopped to take a break and they were riding by they always checked to make sure we were okay (many cyclists did that too). 

At one town we had stopped for breakfast burritos and two airmen came over and wanted to know about our bicycle. Greg gave them the tour of all the modifications he made on it. In fact many riders and town folk were curious too!  He “macgyvered” so many things - water bottle mounts, mister for me (as I overheat!), cooler mount, lock setup and hiking poles to keep the bike standing when we’re not riding!

Met a lady selling refreshing slushies to fundraise for “The Chosen” tv show.  She was one of the extras for the sermon on the mount scene!

Twister team! I remember playing twister as a kid!

There were calls you shouted out to warn other cyclists - a car approaching in the other lane was “car up”, a car coming from behind that had to pass was “car back”,  if you were passing someone you shouted “on your left”, if there were rumble strips in the road you made a motion with your hand, I’d describe it as come see come sah or so-so.

On all the highways and byways, state troopers kept the roads and traffic safe for us. Sometimes they were blasting great music. Everyone would wave and thank them. And in the towns the local police kept us safe too.  It was really great.