DAily Page 14

Hi Everyone--we're in Beckley, West Virginia tonight and are planning to stay over here tomorrow night also. I did pedal 59.5 today but it was a struggle to find the miles that were "pedalable" if there is such a word.

The morning was ideal from Huntington to Charleston and we made really good time. Then the mountains started and the roads were so busy and little or no shoulders so we were in and out of the van many times trying to find places to ride that we wouldn't get killed.

And speaking of that, after I wrote about the garbage truck episode last night, and read it to Gabriel and Tony, it really hit me hard. I thought I was going to die and went to bed crying. I had gotten so scared and all the emotion was bottled up. I realize if I'm going to die on the road, it probably won't be as dramatic as being catapulted into a ravine by a garbage truck! Anyway, I woke up feeling better this morning and was raring to go.

None of us realized how serious the "Hill Billy" situation is here in West Virginia too. We had a miscommunication and I got stranded on the side of the road by myself for half an hour. The guys finally found me and I surely was glad to see the van with all the stars on it pull up. We were talking to a couple of gals who had lived here for seven years and they had seen me and wondered why I was alone. They said you don't do that around here. Maw may pick me up, take me home and say" Hey Paw, look what I found for you". That should scare all of us to be more careful! It's been a long day--Love, Patricia

PS I finally got to read comments--thank you for taking the time to share--you are all helping my spirits! With today's total, we have ridden 831 miles and have 569 to go. We just keep asking questions where we can ride and sounds like we better stay here for two days and get in our mileage before we drive into the REAL mountains.