Not the most auspicious of nights. There was a stain on the bed sheet and a vague smell of urine. I guess you get what you pay for. Note this was my second-choice motel. My original choice suffered fire damage just before the ride and I had to look for an alternative at short notice.
I woke early morning with sneezing and
sniffles, took two Panadol and got off to sleep. I woke around 5.30am in a
similar condition and again took the Panadol.
I had already begin to realise that today
would have to be in survival mode, given the hard ride yesterday, my general
malaise and the expected hills near the beginning of the ride.
The first 8 miles on US211 were pretty much
the same as yesterday, four lanes and traffic pulling over when they overtook
me. But then the fun and games began when I turned south on US340, my road for
the rest of the day. There seemed to be every kind of road condition, with
various permutations of rumble strip, adequate shoulder, no shoulder, a
rideable white line and steep uphills. Suffice to say, I pushed the bike
whenever I encountered a steep/ long hill with minimal/zero shoulder. There
were quite a lot of those and I'm not ashamed to say I would almost certainly
have wobbled dangerously had I tried to ride.
My first rest stop was at the 7-11 store in
Shenandoah and there I saw Tom Benim’s email saying that he had just failed a
Covid RAT. I'd been socialising with Tom just two days prior and I wondered if
there might be any consequences for me.
Lunch was taken in Elkton and after around
1,700 ascent to there and cycling started to get a little easier. It was
nevertheless a daunting thought, that I still had 30+ miles to cover. I got a
cheerful wave from a roadie as I exited Elkton, and a little later from a guy
on a trike, pulling a trailer.
After a drinks stop at MP 41 (ascent to here
2,281 ‘) the last 18 miles were pretty much standard bike touring, except that
I rode a narrow strip of bitumen inside the white line and the rumble strip for
much of the time.
Once ensconced in the motel, fatigue overcame
me. I was hot yet shivering, so I quickly took a hot shower and crawled into
bed, where I lay completely motionless for at least 90 minutes. My greatest
fear was that I was succumbing to a Covid infection. I got fantastic support in
dealing with this, both from my dear wife, Eve, and cycling buddy Bruce Day. He
even offered to make the 8-hour drive from Hendersonville, to rescue me if
needed.
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