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DAY 11

Katrina is affecting us too

DAY'S OVERVIEW: Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot...that about says it all today.  The temperatures were in the mid 80s but the humidity was pretty wet today.  The other challenge was the winds.  Katrina punched us in the face all day, but if you ask me, the winds were the only thing that made it bearable.  It did have a cooling affect and even felt good at times even thought it kept our speed in check all day.

We set out fairly early after a good breakfast at the motel.  Everyone was a little draggy today from all the tourist things they did yesterday.  Hey gang!  It's time to ride our bikes again...we're not getting any closer to St Augustine sitting here.  At right, Tom and Margaret stopped by to say hello to George W. on their way out of town. 

Our route today took us out of DC across the Memorial Bridge to the North Vernon bike trail southward.  From there we meandered toward historic Fredericksburg through rolling countryside and finally along Virginia Bike Route 1.  I spent the day on the bike starting at the back and working my way toward the upper middle of the group.  I can never catch the front runners since they get about 2 hours on me by lunch while I check on folks and do the office calls, etc.  I haven't ridden this distance too often this year so I was looking forward to pushing the pace a little as the day wore on.  As it worked out, the heat and humidity got to me by the time I got to town.  I stopped at the local bike shop and by the time I left there, I was starting to cramp before I got to the motel.  When I arrived, I downed an energy drink and about a liter of water before I started to feel better...and I'm used to this kind of heat when I'm home.  It looks like the next few days won't be as hot and the humidity should dry out a little too...that would be a welcomed event if it materializes.

The ride is going fine and all are doing reasonably well considering the difficulty of the terrain and the heat, but there are more concerns that are on the horizon.  It seems that a gas crisis may be looming in front of us as we venture farther south.  We've gotten wind that stations are closing and the ones that are open are rationing...we may not be able to get fuel.  Now that won't affect the bicycles, but the support may end up dead in the water...do they need their luggage?  What ever happens, we'll take it a day at a time and hope for the best.  I've got my eyes on St Augustine...I sure hope we can get there.

All problems aside, we head for Mechanicsville tomorrow through some of the most hard fought areas during the Civil War...Cold Harbor, Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, and Petersburg just to mention a few.  It's hard to believe all that carnage went on during the 1860s as the land now is quiet with houses standing where men trod across the land and cannon blasts pummeled the landscape.

Well, we got them all in safely one more time...now it's time to go night night.  I'll see you again tomorrow so tune in to see how we are doing.    

DUH! OF THE DAY:  Tore, Tore, Tore!  Not the attack on Pearl Harbor, but our own Tore N. did a trifecta today.  Seems he did a good job of filling his water bottles when he checked into the SAG but he goofed up when he forgot to put them on his bike when he rode off.  Never fear, there's always a convenient store along the route around here...he just thought he'd stop and buy some water and no one would be the wiser.  He picked out two nice waters at the local 7/11 but when he went to check out, he had no money!  Jill, Judy, and Tom came to the rescue again spotting him a fiver to pay for the water.  Whew...back on track.  The trifecta came when Tore decided to take his first drink...he couldn't get the bottles open.  Good thing the J-birds were around...they're always good at opening things.

SECOND DUH TODAY:  We decided the planned lunch was a bit too far out today so we moved it about 13 miles closer.  Barbara and Lee did a great job finding a good place to set up and took the time to spray paint the road with ample paint to alert the riders that they were coming up on lunch.  Plus, they parked in plain sight of the road...like about 20 feet from the road right in the open in front of a church...plus, there were about 20 riders standing around eating lunch.  Well, Bill B. rode right by lunch and when he got about 8 miles past it, decided he was getting a bit hungry.  With no way of Bill riding backwards through the route, our mechanic Jim fixed him a lunch and took it up the road. 

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