Day 7: Charlottesville, VA to Afton, VA.

Miles today: 31. Total miles: 401. Avg. speed today: 10.2. Went for one last ride to downtown Charlottesville to buy Matt a birthday present (which, Matt, the shopkeeper informs me you will be receiving on Wednesday), then headed out of town. And climbed. And climbed. We eventually came upon an oasis in the form of a peach orchard and stopped for fresh peaches, cider, and peach ice cream. As we were sitting there devouring, two cyclists rode up with loaded bikes! Aaron and Saz are siblings from New York on their way to Seattle, and were planning on stopping for the night at a Trans-America legend: The Cookie Lady's House. June Curry is a sweet elderly lady who has been hosting cyclists since the Bikecentennial ride which started it all in 1976. She has a whole house that has memorabilia dating back to that ride, and a huge following of bikers who have stayed there over the years. The four of us spent a while talking to her on her porch, listening to stories and watching the neighbor's rooster and peacock (you read that right: peacock) stroll through the yard. We went to check out the Bike House and three more people showed up. Kyle and Chris graduated from Salisbury last year and had met Aaron and Saz a few nights earlier at a fire station where they all spent a night. Dave is eastbound, almost done with his trip, and we squeezed some useful information out of him on what we'll be encountering. Showers and plentiful food (hooray!) and now sitting out on the picnic table enjoying the first conversation with other Trans-Am cyclists we've been able to come by. Super excited to meet other people following the same route, and a great day in spite of the constant hills. This will give me something to think about to keep my mind off the brutality I'll be subjecting my body to tomorrow. Appalachians: prepare to be dominated. Or at least rode over.