Today was miserable.
Charlottesville, Virginia
Miserable, Horrid. Not only did a I VOLTUNARILY do this, but I am PAYING to do it. We did 72 miles today and it rained all the time. ALL the time except for a brief period when we went inside a cafe in Palmyra, did the rain stop briefly, and then promptly began again when we got back on our bikes.
My spirits were just flagging but by this time I knew I was at most ten miles away. I had to wait for a freight train when guide Philip came up from behind riding sweep.
Phil and Chris take turns each day, one driving the van, and the other riding their bike behind the rest of us in case there's a breakdown.
In my mind I had missed even the sweep because of the two times I had missed a turn along the route. Seeing Phil was a great morale boost particularly when he commiserated that the rain just made things miserable and horrible.
Camp tonight was a mud pit. Grateful beyond measure that I brought my hammock and rain fly so I could be off the ground. Eight of the group crammed into a cabin that I think fits four, so it was just Norm (Virginia, Retired Air Force/NASA), Phil (Guide. San Francisco) and I out in the elements. Once holed up like an overgrown caterpillar in my cocoon of hammock and sleeping bag I was warm, snug, and happy.