Trans American Bicycle Trip - Wolfenberg

     We would like to thank all of you for all your support, well wishes, love sent our way, and most of all, your prayers.  Without your prayers, things would've undoubtedly gone worse than it did.  We are so beyond grateful that we had so many people praying for us!  Every prayer counted and meant so much to us!  Thank you all!  We appreciate it!      To all the warm shower hosts, and Trans Am volunteers.  We can't imagine how different our journey would've been without your generosity and attentiveness to what we needed.  We enjoyed getting to know all of you and hearing your stories of wild adventures and problems that rivaled our own.  Your hospitality and generosity helped us get a different perspective of how deep hospitality goes, and seeing that has changed us and our way of thinking about hosting others in the future.        To all of the people we've never met but we know have followed along with the blogs and videos, thank you so much!   Thank you for the me

City To City: Toano - York Town Miles: 25 Miles Total: 4,289 Flats: 13 Video:  https://youtu.be/Kxhg-w2BD3Q? si=avTXUWFmtaEtLqDA On The Road Riding In Unplanned Formation Matt And My Dad Mark And Henry Riding On New Cement Along The Ocean Waiting For Henry To Set Up The GoPro Sandy Tires Mark Washing The Sand Off Seeing The Freedom Monument Walking Towards The End Of The Journey (And Down The Beach Front)       After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage, and juicy cantaloupe.  We chatted around the breakfast table, waiting for Matt to return from Mass.  Since we only had twenty- five miles to go, and it was our last day of biking, we were in a relaxed mood.   Since Matt and Mark were going to stay with Kim and Ron another night, they unloaded their packs and were able to travel light.        All during the ride it was bitterswee

City To City: Richmond - Toano Miles: 67 Miles Total: 4,264 Flats: 13 Video:  https://youtu.be/5kYCkEmxKF4? si=p2-1z7wI_OAptQT7 Over The Bridge And Through The Woods Caution Tape Stuck On The Bike Building Chairs      We left Pat and Steve's house after a filling breakfast.  With only sixty-six miles to go, and most of the way being on a bike path, it was a relatively easy and relaxing day.  Along the bike path, passed a bicyclist who had stopped on the side of the bike trail.  The biker, Ashley, quickly started up again but was very patient and too polite to pass us.  So, I invited her to ride with us.  While all the men were in the front, Ashley and I biked behind them chatting.  Ashley is a person who is confident, upbeat, and optimistic, and has a heavy job working for Virginia's governor.  All the while we're chatting, Matt, Mark, Henry and my dad are occasionally glancing furtively in their mirrors, watching the conversation happen

City To City: Charlottesville - Richmond Miles: 83 Miles Total: 4,197 Flats: 13 Video:  https://youtu.be/frcGJ-8_n4I? si=hbbXG6iOrJuvJqf0      We asked David last night which was the fastest route to Richmond without zig-zagging like the Trans am map told us.  David didn't know, so we risked it and decided instead of going around one hundred and fifteen miles, we were going to cut off about thirty miles.  But the price we had to pay was more traffic.  On the way, Mark found a hammer and picked it up.  Once we stopped, Mark, opened his bag up and put the hammer in there.  So, along a highway, we kept weaving left and right of the main highway that would take us to Richmond.  I guess my dad got tired of that so, instead of taking another side road, we ended up going along the highway.  The good thing was that once we got away from the towns, there wasn't a lot of traffic.        To celebrate and to get us motivated to stay moving in the hot sun, at the end of the ride

City To City: Lexington - Charlottesville Miles: 81 Miles Total: 4,114 Flats: 13 Snacks At The Top A Blue Ridge Parkway Lookout Up The Mountain, Matt Nochalantly Eating An Apple On The Way Up Henry And Mark In The Lead Up The Second Peak View At The Top      My dad woke Henry and me up before the sun had risen because we had the steepest mountain yet to climb.  It was only four miles but it was a steep four miles.  Luckily we only had twenty-four miles before the steep climbing happened.      But that mountain was the biggest burner.  The beginning was the steepest.  The first two miles were straight out relentlessly eighteen percent grade.  The last two miles, it started to flatten out.  I was struggling behind Matt for the first two miles, debating whether to gun it to get close to Henry and Mark so I could take some pictures.  This went on for five minutes, and finally, I decided I was going to do it.  So, I sho

City To City: Troutville - Lexington Miles: 45 Miles Total: 4,033 Flats: 13 Video: Unavailable Lunch Touring VMI (Virginia Military Institute )campus Henry and Mark Our Hotel Room     Today was a short day.  In the morning my  dad looked up the campsite for our destination for the day.  It was closed, so we decided to go a shorter distance than planned and stay in another hotel.  So, with a short day planned, we decided it would be our rest day and go to a small restaurant that someone had highly recommended to us.   When my dad woke up around 5, an older woman was walking on a small paved trail around the park.  Well, when we leave, she's still there!  We asked her what her goal was, and she replied, "Five hours.  But since today is hot, I probably won't make my goal." We then asked her why so many hours, and she replied, "Because I want to live as long as I can and do it as healthily as possible." That woman

City To City: Draper - Troutville Miles: 74 Miles Total: 3,988 Flats: 13 Video:  https://youtu.be/diUEy4mxKE8? si=vOSVOK9fWkgpjvXE Eating Ice Cream Before Dinner (A Bad Habit!)      That morning, we had a wonderful breakfast: bagels, breakfast bars, and cereal.  Curtis and Jenny gave us a bottle of wine, and we soon left.  Henry left ahead of us so we didn't have to wait as long while Henry was getting his phone screen fixed. My dad had told Matt and Mark to meet up at 8 am.  Well, we weren't ready at the time.  So, we were hustling, and Matt and Mark went to get some coffee while they waited for us.  So, things got off to a rough start.  My dad thought Matt and Mark were ahead, but then we got a text from them saying that they were at the park and for us to let them know when we were ready.  But, we were already on the road ahead of them!  So, we waited until they caught up, and my dad offered to cut off eight miles.       Then Mark's front shifter on his bike

City To City: Damascus - Draper Miles: 84 Miles Total: 3,914 Flats: 13 Video:  https://youtu.be/gUkXvyKd7b4? si=VIIruBJT38MLMJhO A Delicious Dinner With Curtis And Jenny The Baseball Game Us In Box Seats      That morning, we had a filling breakfast.  But it was raining.  Our bikes were in the rain because the bike rack wasn't under a shelter.  Also, bikes weren't allowed in the hotel room, and since there were cameras, we took them back out.  So, our bikes were wet, and we pulled them under the shelter so we didn't have to stand in the rain packing everything up.  All morning it rained.  We got our second dog attack along the road, and the two dogs weren't fazed by it.  Once again, Mark, in the front, squeezed by, and the middle people got some more holes in their panniers.  Since I was the last, I went right through with no problem.      Later, we stopped for a snack under a church pavilion.  Then I went to use the restroom at the D

City To City: Council - Damascus Miles: 51 Miles Total: 3,830 Flats: 13 Video: Unavailable Riding through Appalachia Mark Steaming In His Rain Jacket Chris Fixing My Dad's Clip-In Shoes The Warning Sign      It was chilly in the morning, and some of us decided to put on rain jackets and take them off later.  Well, Mark decided not to take his off, and on the second hill, he was pouring buckets and was happy to take it off at the top.      The ride through the mountains was beautiful.  Mountains faded into gray in the distance.  A light fog clung to the mountaintops.  The sun's rays poked through the fog in a golden glow on the earth.  Birds chirped, and crickets chatted.  The stillness of the morning was quiet except for our tires and an occasional car.     Along the way, we saw a sign someone had put in their front yard for all to see.  It said, "I'd turn back if I were you."  We laughed, and of course, we didn'

City To City: Wheelwright - Council Miles: 68 Miles Total: 3,779 Flats: 13 Video:  https://youtu.be/B7SmDLTdaTg? si=G4c_BF4QKStYTxkc Hanging Out With Norma With Food Piled On Our Plates In the morning, my dad immediately told Henry to take Advil. Henry was feeling it but felt like he could do it, so he got on his bike and rode almost seventy miles. Mark returned to the store early and got some eggs for French toast. We ate that and finished it all. We ate some leftover cookies from the night before, too. We took it slower for the day, and the morning flew by. We stopped for lunch at a grocery store and ate lunch at an employee table just outside the back door. They had a sign that said EMPLOYEES ONLY TABLE, but all the employees who came in and out of the back door nodded to us and were never bothered by us using their table. We got to the Virginia border, and Matt asked, "Where's the white dog all the cyclists talk about?" We had seen a white dog maybe a mile

City To City: Hazard - Wheelwright Miles: 54 Miles Total: 3,711 Flats: 13 Video:  https://youtu.be/wWtHqd3loKA? si=1T5IF97iUowWxEL3 Henry's Front Wheel Justin Bending The Wheel Henry After His Stitches      When we woke up, thankfully, nothing was stolen.  We ate cold pizza and dessert for breakfast plus the fruit we had bought for breakfast.  Then we mounted our bikes and hit the road.  While on the road, I noticed Matt's shirt hanging off the back of his bike but didn't say anything.  I thought, "Well, that's an interesting way to dry his shirt." So, we continued, and a little later, I noticed his shirt was gone further down the road!  It had fallen off, but luckily, Matt only returned half a mile and found it.  Then we had our Oreo cupcakes from the people who had given us food.  Right as we were leaving, my dad got a flat.  So, with everyone's help, we changed it quickly, and within five minutes, we were riding again

City To City: Berea - Hazard Miles: 100 Miles Total: 3,657 Flats: 12 Video:  https://youtu.be/wP-Rdg7mnN0? si=3O5CAxBOH2dRNs6c Eating Blueberry Lemon Bread Lunch Popsicles From Jamie Riding By An Active Coal Mine      The hotel's breakfast was delicious and filling! We fueled up before heading out and saying goodbye to our family. Then Henry got another flat tire, so my family saw how we changed our tires firsthand. When we got back on the road, we were supposed to swing by the fire department, where Matt and Mark stayed for the night. We thought there was no way they'd be there and would probably be a few miles ahead of us. Well, we were right in a way. They weren't at the fire department but hadn't gone far. We found them asking a woman for directions and a store for groceries.      The woman, Liz, was on summer break but attended college in Berea. She owned a motorcycle. Once she heard about what we were doing, she said