Day 39 - Smell that Salty Air! Maybe... Yeaddis, KY to Abingdon, VIRGINIA

The long-awaited posts are back and will be coming at your face throughout the next while until we're done. We aren't quitters, gol!!

Distance - 103 miles

We awoke in the luxury of the fellowship hall of the Cutshin Bible Church at the abysmal hour of 5:30 so we could make it to Abingdon in plenty of time for lake fun. Also we wanted a taste of our future lives as domestic adults and Good Housekeeping cover boys (you're going down Jbros).

Oh geeaz.

So we cooked some eggs and sausage in a cast-iron pan and crafted us some seriously serious English muffins. Also featured was cream and sugar with a dash of coffee and a 2 liter of dragon which didn't last long due to our ravenous addiction. After getting loaded on sugar and dragon power, we said goodbye to our shelter and we once again truly thankful for such unwarranted kindness of strangers.

We then hit the road which immediately started uphill for several miles and changed its mind into a sick downhill. Finally being in the Appalachians meant some nasty, merciless ups but some of the most fun and fast downward runs we'd had on the entire excursion. I highly recommend it. We came to a creek at the foot of Pine Mountain, the beast standing between us and Cumberland, the last significant town in Kentucky we'd see. After brief rest, we began the push up Pine, probably the closest thing to a real challenge we'd had so far. After all, while the Cascades and Rockies are higher and more rugged than the seemingly gentle Appalachians, the eastern roads show no sympathy and go straight up without pity. So after only a few absolutely wicked miles up, we reaped the fruit of our labors at the top, relished our potential energy, and went blasting downhill into Cumberland at speeds scientists descirbe as "Holy Crap!"

We took another break in Cumberland to refuel ourselves and procure a VIRGINIA map! It was even laminated! So after slamming a 32 oz Gatorade and a Big 100 bar, I was ready to rock. Aaron somehow can fuel himself simply with heavy metal songs, so we had to move fast before he remained still too long as the power of chainsaws and Civil War cannons is frequently difficult to contain. We biked up more mountain roads straight up the side of Black Mountain, the highest point in Kentucky (A fact we didn't figure out until the day before, go us). Unfortunately, that wasn't really a challenge either but it sure was pretty! And we found a Kentucky state sign! AND WE FOUND VIRGINIA!!!

Made it to the homeland!

Finally reaching our home soil was a feeling that is incredibly difficult to describe to anyone who hasn't experienced a long and strenuous journey to do so. There was a sort of relief involved, but not a relief that the trip was ending, just a very light feeling. Like I said, it's a tough thing to relate. Just know that it was totally AWESOME!! And then the downhill. I realize I don't shut up about these things, because when you have over five miles of 7 to 10% grade on twisty and turny roads after you earned the right to ride it, you tend to get excited. Deal widdit. With our eyes on the prize, we flew down into valley below through Appalachia and into Norton, where we punished a Burger King with the fury of a thousand Joey Chestnuts. We pressed on along 58 toward Abingdon, up, over, and down hills. After another dragon/gatorade stop, we crushed the remaining 28 miles without stopping, drinking, or even breathing. Oh yeah.

We finally hit Abingdon where Casey and Cody met up with us and hauled us to Casey's lakehouse. The food was marvelous, the lake was great and felt so good I decided I'd rather stay in it instead of actually successfully water skiing. What a champ. A night with friends and delicious foods and comfortable beds is hard to beat. We leave the next morning with Cody as a celebrity entourage, hooray! More posts on the way, don't stop raging kids!