Day 5: Louisa, VA to Charlottesville, VA (61 miles)

Today we departed the Rebel Motel with a small breakfast of Honey Bunches of Oats. We are documenting what we eat because food is such an important part of our trip. Riding our bike 6 hours we burn 3500-4000 calories! So we have to eat at least twice as much as normal. Luckily we are all foodies, but it's hard to stuff our faces so much. We eat whilst riding. We are virtual eating machines. A day hasn't passed where we didn't eat ice cream. We originally planned to eat Snickers dipped in Nutella on this trip, but that hasn't materialized yet, not sure why. We have eaten a gross amount of Andy Capp Hot Fries though.

Our rest stop in Louisa was actually 6 miles out of the way, so we backtracked those 6 miles in the morning back to Mineral, VA. We were up early... on the road by 6:50. Actually, it was pretty damn chilly in the morning. On this day the cars were driving faster than normal past us. This was true for the entire day. On one road, while we were pulled over for a break, a lady slowed down next to us and told us to watch out on this road: "This one's a baddie!" It's true that the cars were driving fast and there was no shoulder, but we're pretty used to this treatment now. No fear. I think we're prepared to ride on virtually any road now. City, rural, even interstate. In fact, the interstate may even be safer. Cars on rural roads drive as fast as on the Interstates, and at least the interstate has a wide shoulder.

The first half of the trip was kind to us. While going up a hill, an enormous bug flew into Aaron's open mouth and into his throat. We could hear him coughing it up from a distance. I took the picture of the bug on my camera's "Cuisine" setting. I (Guillermo) fell when trying to get going after a rest break. These bikes, fully loaded, weigh almost 100 lbs or so. They take some getting used to. The weight shifted unexpectedly and I fell over with my feet clipped in to the pedals. Embarrassing! Not as bad as later in the day though. The second half of the trip was much hillier than the first, and Anna sometimes struggles with the hills. Especially when tired. She actually fell over to the LEFT while going up a hill, while a car was driving behind her. Luckily the car was going very very slowly while waiting for a chance to go around her. Still though, it was scary. That sort of thing is an anomaly though, so don't worry too much. Our legs get stronger every day.

On our way to Charlottesville we passed Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, and the incredibly overshadowed Ash Lawn, home of James Monroe. We didn't go into either of them because we were too focused on getting to Charlottesville. Besides, the hill up to the entrance of Monticello was KILLER, and there was a very windy hill at the entrance to visit the place. We were in no condition to go up that hill (think Lombard St, but worse). Anna and Tony were almost crying from the hills, and we hadn't even hit the hill into Charlottesville proper. That one caught us by surprise. Charlottesville is very VERY hilly, and the entrance hill was the worst of the trip. It makes the Mormon Temple hill in DC near my mom's house look like a mole hill. Our thighs were on FIRE after that one, and Anna had to walk up it, bless her soul. It's good training though, because in 2 days we will be crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge might be the worst hills of the trip - worse than the Rockies! One hill in particular makes the Charlottesville hill look like a speed bump. I want my mommy.

Tony says: "Remember the Titans."

Over a late lunch at an Italian restaurant in the outside Charlottesville mall, a very butch lady walked up to us with a menacing look saying "Are you those bikers who were riding on the road near Monticello earlier today?!?!" She sounded menacing, and could probably take on any of us. We all thought she was a driver who was going to bitch us out for riding on the road. Turns out she was one of the bicyclists who passed by us. She commended us for climbing that hill with loaded bikes, and said she used us for inspiration. "When I was going up that hill, all I thought about was 'At least I'm not carrying all of those bags.'" She's an experienced cyclist who's biked through many states, but never a cross-country trip. She recommended SportsLeg, a pill you take to "increase your lactic acid threshold." Supposed to reduce leg burn on those monstrous hills. I think that recommendation will go the way of Anti-Monkey Butt. That one was recommended to me by an ex-coworker for the inevitable chafing we will experience. It's not that it was a bad recommendation, it's just that it's a powder, and I don't really want the cottage cheese build-up in my nether-regions on a hot sweaty day. We ride commando under those bike shorts you know.



Tonight we stayed at the Budget Inn, next to UVa. It was $70 for a double room. Cheaper and much nicer than the Rebel Motel, which cost $100 out in bumfuck nowhere. Maybe they charge so much there because they know the drug dealers can afford it.

Tomorrow we ride 40 or so miles to Afton, VA. We hope to stay with the Cookie Lady. She's an 85 year old lady named June Curry who has been hosting cyclists at her house for 30 years, since this Trans-America trail opened in 1976. She lives at the top of a monstrous hill, and she puts out ice water and bakes cookies for the bicyclists who make it up. She even lets people stay over her house if they need to. She's a Trans-Am institution and we are excited about meeting her.