Day 34

Wholly unexpectedly, today was a euphoric day. We rode about 110 miles through flat country side, covered with our usual companions, the cornfields. I think my good spirits were created by the fact that we had almost reached the end of our longest, seven-day stretch between rest days and a nice tailwind. Whatever the reason, I felt free to really push myself. I loved releasing tension by riding fast and pushing my limits. It was awesome!

The day did not start out too good, however. At mile 9, I missed a turn and found myself lost in some town about 3 miles off route. It sucks to miss a turn early on in the day, because all I wanted to do was get going and make some good time early on.

Still, once I found the route again, there was a nice 18 mile stretch that ended at a T-crossing. Without the risk of missing my turn, I got into a nice rhythm and zoomed along for about an hour or so.

Once we got to camp, a former rider named Larry threw us a big party, including a whole pig-on-a-stake. The meat tasted great and a couple of cold beers allowed us to blow off some steam and get away from biking for a night.

We've come a long way and it feels like the ride is entering its last phase: we've got three more sections to go before we reach Washington DC. I can't wait to find out how we will feel once we roll down Constitution Ave and ride our final mile!