James Days 39, 40, and 41 - Blacksburg, Roanoke, and Charlottesville

So I've been a bit slack in updating my progress, but I am back in familiar territory and the end is in sight. The past 3 days have been somewhat surreal because I've been biking through places that I know well, or have biked before. It feels a lot more like the training trips I did in the spring than the end of the trip. I've also had three nights inside with a bed and a shower, which is amazing.

The ride to Blacksburg was interesting. I was woken up at 4:00am by people driving into the park. I don't know why they were hanging out in a park 2 hours before the sunrise, but one of them drove off in the car down the walking path. It wasn't made for cars. One of them decided to take a nap on another picnic table in the shelter I was in. I was a little concerned. Thankfully I didn't get stabbed/robbed/touched in weird ways by them, and several hours later I left small country Virginia in the fog. The day was nice to ride in, it stayed cloudy for a long time so it never got too hot.

In Blacksburg I stayed with my friend Matt. He had to work that night, so I took a shower and then went and chilled at Red Robin until he finished. It's about as interesting as it sounds, so Ben (who was also working that night) let me borrow his book by Anthony Bourdain, which was actually really good. I'm thinking about buying it when I get back. Katherine came down from Roanoke and we all went out. The one thing I like about bars in Blacksburg is the 32oz beers you can order. Finally, I don't have to get up quite as soon to refill. While the night was fun for me, it probably wouldn't be as much fun to read about, so I'll spare you the details. It did end with taquitos from 7-eleven though, so you know it's good.

The ride to Roanoke is essentially downhill, so the next day was a pretty easy ride. There were a good number of construction projects that were new since the last time I was in town, so it was a nice day. Getting home felt really weird, because it was a combination of relaxing from the biking and doing chores around the house. That night I went to eat with my mom and grandma at the Homeplace. If you have never been there, you are missing out. The last time I ate there was before I took the MCAT, and I'm pretty sure it was the only reason I did well. It's family style dining, so you sit at a table and they bring the food to you. They have fried chicken, ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits and apple butter, green beans, coleslaw, fried apples, baked beans, and to wash it all down pitchers of iced tea and lemonade. The best part is it's all you can eat, so if you run out of something they will bring you more. I was in heaven.

It was hard to get up the next morning, but I had to get to Charlottesville. I took the Blue Ridge Parkway most of the way there, and it was probably one of the most beautiful parts of the trip. The temperature was perfect, and even though there was a lot of uphills, I think it was one of my favorite days of biking. Charlottesville was packed full of people I haven't seen in a while, so it was a blast to come back. Doug was kind enough to let me stay at his place, which worked out well because it was on the way out of town for Richmond. We all went out to Boylan that night for flip the dealer and table shuffleboard. It used to be that you flipped a coin, and if you guessed right draft beers cost 25 cents. Unfortunately, it's now $1 if you win the flip instead. I felt a little cheated. After I had had enough 'carbo loading' at the bar, we made the obligatory trip to Little Johns for subs. As per usual I ordered the largest sub there, but was only able to finish half of it because my eyes are bigger than my stomach. The good news is that I then could finish it for breakfast in the morning, along with the stale chips. Only two more days left!