Day 13
Mechanicsville, Virginia to Emporia, Virginia
91 miles 2,285' climbing
We started off the morning riding through the Cold Harbor Civil War Battlefield. We, again, felt like it was disrespectful to just go whizzing by.
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| Civil War Cemetery |
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The battle lines at Cold Harbor stretched nearly seven miles.This was the center of the Confederate position.
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We passed the half-way mark today. We are half-way between Maine and Florida. Hard to believe we are actually doing this.
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| Are we there yet? |
Last night as we were at rap (I think I mentioned that's when we go over the next day's ride---what to watch out for, where the SAG stops are, where the Dairy Queen is, anything tricky) Shane mentioned that we would go over a drawbridge. I was hoping we'd get to see it doing it's thing, and ta-duh! we did.
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What you can't see behind the photographer is lined up traffic. We went straight to the front of the line.
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| Here comes the boat that needs to go under the bridge. I know, doesn't really look that big. |
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Here you can actually see that the bridge is drawn. It didn't open up like an upside-down "v" like I was expecting. It had a level platform that elevated straight up to let the boat through.
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| Civil War convenience store? |
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| Taking a short-cut through a tobacco field. |
Mike now leads the race with the most flat tires---three. Also, we are being warned about a couple of things. We have been told to take our bikes with us into the convenience stores in certain towns, and that the dogs are mean, run loose, and chase cyclists in North and South Carolina. If you have a good strategy for fending off dogs while you're on a bike please comment. It is a nightly discussion. Also, please leave a comment anyway. It's fun to know who's reading this.
Wasp spray? It's pretty damaging and can spray 30 feet. Let me know if it really works.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're having the time of your lives, interspersed with a few "journal-enhancing" experiences!
Tazer gun/cattle prod, bazooka, laser beam mounted to your bike, dog seeking missiles or a dog whistle... I personally think the bazooka might be rather effective. I'll keep thinking.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are awesome! Seems like you're having a great time. I always through my scriptures at the dogs on my mission but I don't know if you'll be armed with scriptures...
ReplyDeleteTay
threaten the dogs with surgery:)
ReplyDeletethis is a fun read. keep updating!
my dad ran into a 150 lb dog while riding early this year. he's still hurting from it. hmmm... that wasn't very encouraging. so my advice is ride fast and don't hit one. also maybe try the bazooka.
ReplyDeleteTry squirting them with your water bottle, you probably already have but it worked for us in Hawaiiwhen we had 5 big black dogs come out at us!
ReplyDeleteYour trip sounds awesome!
Rhonda