Day 9...Wet n' Windy

 

Rain Gear!

We woke up at 7 a.m. to the sound of rain hitting the RV. It was a rainy, cold (high 40's) and noticeably windy morning. This was not the best way to get pumped up for the 70+ mile ride we had ahead of us, especially on these tired legs. We hit the road around 8:30 a.m and pushed hard for 2 miles uphill, into 25mph head wind and chilled to the bone. And that's when our ride came to a halting stop.

We approached a bridge crossing and as we got closer were stopped by a construction worker. "Sorry, there's NO bridge today folks, and no pedestrian walkway". He told us to take a "detour". We tried to explain to him our map system and that a detour at this junction was not really a viable option. Plus we had traveled 500+ miles from NY and were attempting to get across the country by bike! Please reconsider! 

Bridge Closed?!

Crossing Creek

The fear in our eyes and an urgency in our voices must have softened this man and after a few minutes he said "follow me". He told us we could try to cross the creek but we had to climb down a steep, muddy ditch (about 25 feet down) to the river bed, cross the running water and trek back up the other side to do so. No problem! A bit of a challenge, yes, but much better than trying to reroute onto a major highway! 



Today we traveled from Lorton ,VA to Guinea, VA. A total of 71 tough miles in the saddle and 590 miles since leaving Montauk Point. Stretch, shower, eat, sleep.