What goes up, must come down

Day 6: Greenville to Wake Forest, NC (84 miles)
This was our longest day so far, and also the first time on the trip that we really enjoyed the thrill of hills. Some of them were big, but every time it was amazing that when your legs didn't want to pedal anymore, you could still make them go around one more time, and then another, and then another...

En route to Wake Forest, we detoured to the Rose Garden in Wilson. It did not fail to live up to its promise of large, beautifuly, plentifold, sweet-smelling roses! Mmm.. anything for a whiff of them! On our way back to the route, we got lost and stopped at a Cadillac car dealership, where the owner was so blown away by our mission (i.e., to bike to the Pacific for affordable housing), that he got his co-workers to come out and take a picture. Included in that excitement was this amazing little dog, which sang and told us, "Arrr ruuv uuu" (translation: "I love you"). Yes, it was crazy, and no, I don't believe I will ever again come across a dog that can talk!


Day 7: Wake Forest to Chapel Hill, NC (40 miles)
Today I rode "sweep." Sweep is assigned to two riders each day, and they are responsible for riding behind everyone else and coming in last to our destination. It's important because they can pick up things (if someone drops something) or help out (if someone has a flat or such). And mentally, it's good because if you're the last in a group, it helps a lot to know that you're not the last one. It turned out to be a good day for me to ride sweep because I was able to take the big hills nice and slow and ease the muscles a bit. At the end of our ride was the promise of the big hill part of Chapel Hill, which everyone kept hyping up! I was so scared that it was going to be HUGE that when I got there, it really wasn't too bad. (It's all in your head!)