Day 3 Troutman to Asheboro
08 October 2013 | Asheboro, NC
Devi
Greetings from Asheboro, the heart of NC. First let me tell you my horoscope from the local paper in Troutman: "Be alert and on your toes. The pace is likely to be faster than you thought. Don't allow aggravations and stress to defeat your spirit". I thought that was especially relevant considering what was in store for us on the bike ride today.
Last night the Troutman Fairgrounds sponsored free entertainment. There was a hot air balloon offering short rides, a small petting zoo with a camel, llama, alpaca and several goats and one goat with four horns. There was an excellent bluegrass band that we enjoyed from our sleeping bag. The town was so hospitable.
Today we rode 81.5 hilly miles through the piedmont of the heart of the state. The day was long and the weather was excellent. A bit about what happens on the road...Hunter and I ride together and sometimes we draft each other. This morning I was in the lead and keeping a pretty fast pace (for an old lady) and behind Hunter was a group of eight guys drafting me. We stopped to put on our sunglasses and the group thanked me as they passed. There are big groups of about 15 from various cycling clubs that come biking by, passing on the left as a blob, spilling into the left lane. You can tell I am not very fond of peddling in large groups. My favorite situation is a country road with little traffic, with Hunter and I peddling our pace enjoying the scenery. There were many of those today. Two funnies--- someone had placed a beer can in a dead possum hands. Two dogs, a hound and a mixed mutt were sitting in the shade guarding a dead skunk. I am sure they had already rolled in the skunk. You see a lot going 15 miles per hour.
A few stats about the ride---the oldest woman is 84, the youngest girl is about 9 riding tandem with her Dad. Yes, We had the pbj rest stop and I bagged one for later and really appreciated it near the end of the day. Yes, on the root beer floats. It is all down hill from here, except for the uphills.