DAY 5: Clarksville, VA to Raleigh, NC (67 miles)
Today ended up being a tough day. Things started off well enough as both Erin and I were excited to cross the state line into North Carolina.
We also had a good lunch in Oxford, NC before booking a place in Raleigh for the night. Erin had started feeling a little uncomfortable in the saddle, but she thought she felt good enough to make it to Raleigh (especially with a Steak-n-Shake on the horizon). So, we plugged on. And really, we did well all the way until Google maps put us on U.S. highway 1 for the 10 remaining miles to Steak-n-Shake. Though we were headed into the city rather than out around the 5pm rush hour, route 1 was a major thoroughfare and very busy. We stayed on it long enough for Erin to discover her first Dairy Queen (which I'm very sure she'll note in one of her blog entries), but I wasn't comfortable with us continuing on this road, even tho it was the most direct route. While Erin enjoyed a Blizzard, I worked on an alternate route. I estimated that it would add another two miles on to our journey, but in the end it was probably 3.5 miles as well as some additional hills. As our mileage on the day reached 60, Erin was ready for the day to end, feeling tired, hungry, and quite uncomfortable on the saddle. Though I felt fine, I could relate to how Erin was feeling from past experiences. Unfortunately, there wasn't much else to do but soldier on. Eventually, tho, we reached Steak-n-Shake. Some food did Erin wonders -- you wouldn't have seen the below image before we ate.
We then have just 2.5 miles to reach our lodging for the evening at a Best Western just off the interstate. At 67 miles on the day, it is our longest ride of the trip, but we summon up enough energy to do laundry before retiring for the night. We may take a day off tomorrow, but having clean bike shorts and tops will be very nice whenever our ride resumes.
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