Biking through Virginia a bunch

Pop Quiz!
You bike for 15 miles uphill at 5 mph, then another 15 miles downhill at 15 mph. What is your average speed. (Answer at the end)

We're up to days 4, 5 and 6 I think. Right? Okay.

Day 4:
This was a great day. Lots of rolling hills, not too difficult if I remember right.

Besides being gravel, this is the perfect type of road.

I made it through Lexington, VA, where I saw different races for the first time on my trip. There were black people and asian people and some hispanic people too! I think it's because there are some colleges there, because the rest of Virginia is almost as whitewashed as Vermont. Anyways, lots of kids were dressed up in military uniforms (Virginia Military Institute students) and I was dressed up in my stinky biking get up that I still haven't washed and I ate ice cream with them in a local shop.

I had done quite a bit of biking and after the ice cream I was ready to call it quits for the day. The nearest campground was 12 miles away and cost 30 dollars (in the words of a poet: ain't that some shit?!) so I checked out the local motel. The guy running it was an Indian guy (another race!) who recently came to the US, so I namaste'd him and chatted him up about India. Then I tried to haggle on the $40 price, but he wasn't budging. Oh well.

So I biked 2 miles down the road, saw a big ol' church with an empty pavilion and decided to stealth camp there.

A free place to sleep!

And a free shower!

Day 5: A nice, fairly routine day. Very difficult. Lots and lots of hills. Free-camped in the backyard of the Catawba general store (thanks guys!)

I don't know what's prettier, the landscape or my face. Probably the landscape actually.

Day 6:
Stuck with the routine, which basically entails the following: Wake up around 8, slowly get my stuff packed, stop at the first place that will give me infinite coffee and some food, then hit the road. While biking, I stop every 20-30 mins for a 1 minute water break and every hour or two (depending on hills and sun) for some food and/or soda.

At about 2:00 I stopped for a soda, but noticed that this restaurant also had 20oz Sierra Nevadas for $2.80. Somehow I was able to limit myself to only one, but hoo-boy does one beer really do a number on you after a bunch of biking! I had a stupid smile on my face for the next hour or so.

At 4:00 on day 6 I stopped at a bike shop in Radford to buy a helmet mirror and to dissuade my derailleurs of the notion that they are in control of what gear I'm in. I asked the guy if there was a good place to camp in the area and he offered me his backyard! Cool!

Day 7: today
I rode parallel to I-81 today, which doesn't sound like it should be scary but is. Every single 18 wheeler that drives by on the highway sounds like it's about to run me over. I actually swerved out of the way for a truck that wasn't even on the same road as me.

Oh! Did you know it's shadier to do this trip eastbound then westbound? It is. Riding west, the sun is low in your sky on the left. Since trees don't grow in the road and I am all the way to the right, this means no shade. Sad. I spent a good portion of my day looking with envy on the shady eastbound shoulder today. Okay, this has taken too long and I should keep moving. I will end with a pretty picture.

This is where I ate lunch yesterday.

Quiz Solution!
Did you think the answer was 10 mph? I wish. It is not. It turns out the average speed in that situation is a measly 7.5 mph (3hrs spent at 5mph, then another 1 at 15mph means 30 miles per 4 hours). The practical application of this? I do not go as far as I would like on any given day. Someone should call up Math and get those rules changed around.