Day 5

 Day 5 - Expectations Exceeded 

We drifted off to sleep last night with a bit of dread.  The forecast was for 100% chance of rain totaling over an inch.  It’s amazing how short-sighted one can be when packing.  This is Darrell writing today and speaking for myself…I didn’t pack any rain gear.  And speaking for the rest of the Rishels…neither did they.  Except Ladina and Grandpa…they’re the wise ones.

We departed camp at 6:12 under thick clouds.  But no rain.  So we rode.  No rain.  Two plus hours.  Then breakfast. God determined to water the earth with showers of blessings in a BIG way last night, but gave the bike riders a beautiful cool riding morning with only an occasional drizzle.  It felt really good.  Thank you Father.  And we had 63 easy miles by noon with a tailwind.  Lots of new pavement in NC.  After a roadside lunch, We were at our campground by 2:30, ending in a steady but warm rain.  Now we’re cooped in the coop. 

Stats:  83 total miles. 14.2 MPH.  Via Routes 13 & 17 from Suffolk, Virginia to Williamston, North Carolina

Quotes:  Today went a lot better than I expected.

-Grandpa Dave

Other quotes:  i’m looking forward to sitting on something wide enough for my bottom to fit.

-Not sayin’

Interesting stuff:  The coop stopped at what looked like a closed/or abandon convenience store parking lot and set up for lunch. The irate property owner wanted to shoe us away. But after we talked, everything was OK. He was right… We should’ve asked to park there first before setting up.  Lesson learned.

Darrell’s Observation:  The drivers of 18 wheelers seem to be the most courteous drivers.

The cleanest shoulders are in North Carolina. Delaware Maryland next and so far Virginia is last, but still not bad. I didn’t say Pennsylvania because on the route we took there weren’t any shoulders in PA.

In addition to the snapping turtle we saw on break, we discovered a new species of turtle.  Its scientific name is flatiasa pancakius.

Thank you for following the blog.  We greatly enjoy your comments (although some are coming through as anonymous)

By: Darrell

4 states down, 4 to go. That’s halfway right?

Wet lunch stop. 

Cooped in the coop.