This is a picture of the map I'm using. The yellow line shows where I traveled today.
What a great day, y'all! Fifty one and a half miles between 1:00 and 6:00, over very hilly Appalachian terrain; not what I would have chosen as a Day I, but there simply was no camping or motel until I got here. I'll know tomorrow morning when I wake up whether it was too much. A note for future cyclists: it's not the calves that scream, it's the thighs.
But what a great day. Beautiful weather, the Appalachians are very, well, scenic, the flowers and flowering trees are beginning to bloom, the quiet is awesome. I started the day with hot oatmeal and brown sugar, made by my Aunt Rosalie. And now I've got a hot shower behind me and a steak in my stomach. And the NCAA final begins in a half hour.
I'm ensconced at a Super8 Motel a couple of miles south of Marion, North Carolina. It's already been a beautiful trip, but tomorrow should get better as I go up into the Pisgah National Forest. My goal tomorrow night is a place called Little Switzerland. Sounds great, doesn't it?
Pictures
You know youÌre in the South when...
Hi Ruth!! Thinking of you.
EXTRA CREDIT alert!!! Ok, U.S. students. The first five students who can tell me in writing (send an email to: graham@route99.org) what we already learned about Stoneman will start the 4th quarter with 10 extra credit points.
And 10 pts. Extra credit for the NEXT five students who can tell me in writing (send an email to: graham@route99.org) what this sign means.
The flowers are pretty, but itÌs that red dirt you need to see. 5 extra credit points to the first student who can tell me (send an email to: graham@route99.org) where the second-best farming soil in the United States is.