Nothing is Hell-ier than Hellier, Kentucky

But seriously the last bit of Virginia we rode through today and the first part of Kentucky that we've seen have been pretty rough. Coal mining territory. Sad places. Businesses shut down, lots of poverty, and lots of annoying freaking dogs that chase you as you ride by! But also lots of extremely beautiful country. Quick look back at yesterday: Wytheville to Meadowview, 71 miles. Two big climbs with really great downhills. We met a really chill couple in Damascus, Sam and lisa, headed west too. They were super cute in their matching neon. Then we camped behind a general store. Michael woke up early today to beat the heat of the day, that never came, (it was hazy and overcast all day). We planned to stay in Elkhorn city tonight but it was sketch, so we went about 14 more miles to Lookout. We're at a baptist community center thing, with showers and such. Rita or "red Riding Hood" is the host and she cooked us some good pinto beans and corn bread and chicken casserole. We played a little b-ball and did a little swinging on the swingset. Now Virginia, the longest routed state, is now over, and I'm excited for what lies ahead, but I hope we get out of this dismal area soon. Roadkill count: 127. (We hit the three digits yesterday coming into Meadowview, after seeing 30 in a day, because Thomas jinxed the 10 a day average.)

"Just Wait til I Hit Puberty."

Says Michael. In reference to what, you ask? Probably everything. Anyways, today was a great day! Last night we had a phenomenal dinner and Thomas' farm was stellar as were his parents, and then I got a bed for the second night in a row so that was restful and glorious. This morning we took it slow: ate a supa breakfast cooked by Thomas' pop and then we went to church, and then went to Thomas' bike shop to get Michael his kickstand bolt and we finally got on the road by about 12:45. We're now in Wytheville, Va after a shorter 45mile ride, to promote the restful vibes of the day. It was hot, but good, and the ride was hilly but pleasant. Today was the first day that my first gear was really struggling though; my bike isn't geared as low as theirs since it's just a roadie, but I just pushed through it and Addie made it here just fine, being the loyal steed she is. We're camping on a stage thing tonight, right by a pretty little creek which I just washed myself in.and Thomas brought a solar-powered/crank radio which I think I shall play some jams on soon and do some performing on the afore-mentioned stage;) We also met a great couple going east, Abbi and Evan, who started in Illinois and were from Colorado. They offered me a place to stay when I come through their area which apparently I will, so that was nice; thanks, y'all! Annnnd that's that. Onto somewhere tomorrow. Still excited for Kentucky, though now I'm scared because Abbi and Evan warned us about a pack of crazy city dogs who chased 'em--yikes. Roadkill count: 71 (72 if you count the discarded Barbie, poor Barbie, sometimes people just can't help but hate you because you're beautiful. I would know)

Remember that time when I thought the parkway would be the hardest part?

Yeah, me too. Well, it's not. And of it weren't for the fact that we get to stay at Thomas' house tonight and ate great lasagna made by his grandma today, I would throw this day to the dogs. But we still have a lot of climbing to do. I'm tired and not in the mood to blog. Read Michael's. Roadkill count: 52.

The Sun Never Sets in Ohio

They also don't have Shoney's, their bears look like cows, and chic-fil-a is a new thing. ITS MICHAELS BIRTHDAY TODAY. And he has been cracking Thomas and I up. He'd never been called a Yankee before today, but we made a big change outta that. He saw a brown cow drinking in a stream and told Thomas to quiet down ad he approached because he thought it was a bear. He also ate about ten shrimp with their skins on at Shoneys seafood buffet tonight. Anyways, the ride was good and we went on some rollers that got us going FAST. It was awesome and I kinda think it's my favorite thing to do. We left Vesuvius and Gertie's store at about 9:30 this morning and arrived in Troutville this evening; a 65 mile trip. Bringing our total to 346. Tomorrow we're waded to Thomas' house in Dublin, Virginia, right outside Christiansburg or something. Thanks to my dear friend Virginia Rose, we got a sweet deal on a comfort inn tonight so we'll be rested up and clean for the ride tomorrow. Speaking of clean: in 5 days of all day, sweaty riding, I've worn the same pair of shorts for four of them, only two pairs of socks, and two different tanks. I've showered twice now, as of tonight. Things are looking good;) (are ya proud, mom?) I would apologize for my grime, but what do y'all expect? A few funny things that have happened so far that I have et to mention: 1) "littering is illegal" sign--three shotgun holes through the middle. Pretty sure shooting signs is illegal, too, but in Central Virginia, the law don't matter. 2)we stopped right on the outskirts of Lexington to meet Thomas' coworker's grandparents, and they were the cutest, and they had portraits of Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson above their fireplace mantle. It rocked. Something to aspire to. 3)I got lost riding solo today, but not really lost, just passed our turn and rode down a great hill about 3/4 of a mile, then came back. No biggie. Roadkill count: 36 (mostly from the sharp peak we experienced in the period coming in and going out of Lexington) Now I am stuffed beyond comfort and want to sleep. Night.

"Best apple, best donut, best sandwich, best spaghetti"

BEST DAY EVERRRR! [the above quote is from my riding buddy Thomas Hash] But seriously. I have been dreading this day since the day I officially decided I was going cross country. Crossing the blue ridge mountains was a scary prospect, but I am VICTORIOUS! The climb was hard, but honestly it was still so enjoyable. Views aplenty. And the downhills were BOMB, especially the 3-mile straight downhill coming into Vesuvius where we have camp for the night. I almost flew off the mountain a couple times, and had to stop in the middle to let my wheel cool down from the brakes' friction. Insanity. Anyways, what I thought would be the worst day ever was the best so far of this trip, if not MY LIFE. There is nothing like cruising down the blue ridge parkway going at ultra high speeds downhill with the wind on your body and just a little aluminum under you. Now, for a few side notes explaining why I love bike touring so much (so far): 1. You see so much! Not only just land and farms you would never see otherwise, but every flower and view and animal and bug you pass is noticed. For instance, many of you may have driven on the blue ridge parkway before, but did you know there are centipedes ALL OVER it, creepin and crawling or squishes into the asphalt? Well, there are, and I saw'em. 2. You eat so much (great) food. Since I've begun I have eaten two special k protein bars, a nature valley bar, 3 fiber one bars (;)gotta stay regular), so much candy, a mega slim Jim, a whole bag of goldfish, some other power bar, a whole pizza, a milkshake, an Archer from Arch's in cville, a Gus burger and fries,a huge plate of spaghetti with about 8 meatballs and four large pieces of garlic bread, a ham and egg bagel from Bodo's, a pink lady apple and apple cider donut from a farm in Crozet, a pastrami and ham sandwich and BBQ chips at a "deli" in Love, a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar, and probably more but that's all I remember now. 3. You get so much time just to think and be calm and pray, (especially when you can't keep up with your group) Roadkill count: 26 (now I must mention, several of these have been snakes, which don't seem as valid as other roadkill, but see my criteria below and you will understand where I'm coming from.) Criteria for roadkill categorization: the subject in question for roadkill classification must either A) have the form of an identifiable animal, or B) smell so bad and be covered in flies that even if it is indistinguishable you know it must have at one time been alive. Bugs do not count. and neither do banana peels. On to Troutville tomorrow, nighty night

Storiez of Sore kneez

So. Two in one post today. Yesterday was killer we rode 92 miles through some rolling hills or should I say stop-you-from-rolling hills and when I got to our campsite behind the fire station in Mineral I literally just wanted to eat and sleep. Luckily, a storm was coming through so I would have just enough lightening and thunder to sing me to sleep.. But actually, after my heavenly peanut butter caramel cookie dough milk shake and pineapple pizza I slept soundly in my tent through the frightful weather. We rode through Ashland which was probably my favorite place on the trip so far though it was such a quick pass through. And in Ashland we met an interesting character, Andrew, who was headed to Maine and then planning on taking the northern tier west. Wow. He was traveling with a ukulele--respect I rode the second half of yesterday by my lonesome because the boys were setting a faster pace than I could keep/wanted to keep. On a break I met a fellow cyclist who was headed to Vermont: quite the handsome chap, by the name of kevin. Kevin, if you read this, hit me up. And then I arrived in Mineral about a half hour after Michael and Thomas. Onto today. We set out from Mineral at about 9:45am to go to charlottesville. Overall it was pretty uneventful; didnt get lost until the city of Charlottesville. Saw a lot of prettiness and glimpsed the mountain for the first time. Palmyra was where we took our lunch break and the super clean gas station impressed me. As we arrived in C-ville we tried to stop in at Monticello for a tour but the next one wasn't til 5, and it was 3. Finally after a few killer hills we reached our destination of the Fiji frat house offered to us as a place to stay by OJJ (from day one) because he is a brother. And we spent the evening eating burgers with fried egg atop and walking around downtown and finishing with some great froyo at Arch's. Now I want to sleep. We hit the mountains tomorrow........... Peace love and knee pain, Abi. Roadkill count: 18 (with 3 preventions by Thomas "the turtle saver" Hash!)

Transamerica Twenty-Twelve

Today I began my trek across the country on my bike with two fine gentleman whom I only met this morning. My parents dropped me off in Yorktown, and my aunt met us there to see me off, and all six of us ate breakfast then Michael, Thomas and I dipped our back tires in the York River and were off! We missed a turn within the first two minutes, but this was no bad omen; the rest of the day went swimmingly and even though I haven't ridden seriously in a whole and only slept four hours last night I felt great on the road. In total we only made one more wrong turn for the day, bringing us to two small map-reading mistakes, we saw three turtles (one dead)and two groundhogs, and we've met a whole lot of great people already! OJJ or Orange jersey John or Dirty Jersey John rode with us for a while after meeting us at our first bathroom break, and "Frederick" from Frederick, Maryland (actually AJ) passed us early on but we are now staying at the same place for the night (Willis united Methodist church). There are three Netherlandish people at the church tonight, too, one couple Danielle and Stan and coincidentally Elaine rolled in hours later unknowing of her fellow country men. The church is great, I get to sleep on a couch for the first night and embrace a dry, warm, safe place to begin the journey smoothly. Anyways, I took zero pictures today because I was always too lazy to get my camera out and I am quite sunburned on my back (shoulda listened to ya momma), but hopefully I pick up my game and do better in the days to come. Honestly I'm pretty surprised at myself that I actually wrote this little thing up, so if you're reading it, consider yourself lucky;) Thomas and I had a few good singing while riding seshes, and now "good morning" from Singing in the Rain is stuck in my head, but for now I shall say Good Night. Abi Roadkill count:2