Thursday, May 14. The Adventures of Ted, Day 3

Ted setting up his tent in Mineral, Va. behind the fire station.

The three of us made it just in time, cause later that night, there were heavy rain, thunder and lightning. Our stuff held out, we all stayed dry.

Lisa all set up and ready for the showers.

I liked this little water mill. I've seen pictures of these and even have a picture of one hanging in my house some place. But this is the first one I've seen in person.

A snap shot back from the saddle of my bike. I took this while resting. So no risk was involved.

On road repairs are common on a trip like this. Fabian tightening some loose spokes before catastrophic results.

Little dwellings and farms like these are abundant in this area.

The three of us taking a short break on the side of the road before moving on.

We stopped on this bridge. I thought it was pretty cool.

Biker Ted. Head mechanic, Tran s America crossing, 2009.

May 14, Day 3. Mechanicsville to Mineral, Va. 63 mi. 160.2 total.

It was great last night having all the conveniences of a hotel with all the comforts of home. I was able to update the post and recharge the computer and itouch. A bit of bad news though. I realized that I had left my camera bag along with six 4GB. High speed SD cards, remote shutter release, lens cleaning kit, and spare battery for my Nikon. That really hurt, about $200.00 to replace. Thank The Lord though, the battery charger was kept separate, and I am still able to recharge the one battery I have, when needed. I just need to up load the images daily to clear the card so that I don’t get all the days mixed up for posting on this blog.

We left the Hampton Hotel at a little after 8:30AM. It was over cast, and I thought it was going to rain for sure. We headed directly toward what seemed to be the darkest part of the sky. The morning news reported a killer tornado that had ravished parts of Oklahoma killing 13 people. Although our route does not take us through Oklahoma, we will be crossing the tornado belt during tornado season.

As we mad our way along back country roads, the sky’s cleared up a little, even showing signs of sun shine now and then. Just when it looked like we might be out of it, another dark and gloomy system headed toward us. At no time though out the day, were we absolutely sure that we were in the clear from the rain. Thank The Lord that the weather held out, and we made it to Mineral without a drop being shed.

Today’s ride was mostly uneventful. There were no close calls, no killer climbs, and nothing to really get excited about. In fact, I took very few pictures today. Partly because I thought it might rain at any moment, and the lack of interesting subjects. The terrain here is mostly rolling hills that are thickly forested, and dozens and dozens of small farms. The drivers were very courteous, always making sure that we had plenty of room before attempting to pass. At one point, a big UPS van followed us for almost ten minutes on a winding road, full of blind turns, and only passed us when visibility was safe enough. And then, he waved to us as he passed. I told Lisa that if this was Molokai, we would get run off the road. Jokingly of course.

We saw our first herd of cows today. We were wondering when we were going to see them/ This type of land would be perfect for them. We stopped every five to ten miles to take a break and refuel. All of the local people I talked to were very, very friendly, and were amazed that people would even think about such a journey. And when I told them where Lisa and I were from, they were even more amazed. I told them that we were riding our bikes all the way to Oregon, and to build up our arms, we were paddling a canoe all the way to Hawaii. But only after I made sure that the timing was right. The last thing I want folks to know is that people from Molokai are crazy. In the end though, they wished us well, and told us to be safe. There is still hope for humanity.

Tonight we are staying at the Mineral All Volunteer Fire Department. They allow cyclists to pitch their tents in the fair ground right next to the fire station, and use their shower and restroom facilities. A thunder storm is fore cast for tonight, so I made sure everything is buttoned up. We put the bikes and the trailers inside their kitchen facility to keep it out of the weather. Great folks these people. Aloha to them all.

Well getting late, tomorrow we start tackling some hills. Aloha, Ted.