Boone in June, June 1

Woke up at 6. Left at guess what time...? 6:50 am. That is starting to be the magic push off time. I only had a 65 mile ride this day but I was a bit sore and was afraid of some brutal climbs over the mountains. The starting elevation was about 1,500 ft and I had to get up to about 4,500 by the end of the day. My legs, however, impressed me. Also, vaseline is awesome.

I took the route over the Appalachian Mountains that was laid out for a bicycle race on Saturday. I beat all of those suckers to the finish line! The ride on this day was a bit uneventful. I really do prefer huge mountain climbs to the foothills. The endorphin rush of climbing a mountain is great. Also, when you get to the top you are rewarded with flying a few miles down the back side of a mountain as fast as the cars. The biggest benefit of being in the mountains as opposed to the foothills is the shade. You don't sweat as much, don't get as sunburned, and the temperature is a bit cooler the higher up you go. I was rocking out on this ride until about the last 15 miles. This is where I realized the traffic in Boone is atrocious for how few people actually live there. I was on a pretty bad road and so I stopped at a ski shop for some back-road direction advice. The temperature was 92 degrees. It was hard to believe that it actually snows enough here in the winter to justify a huge ski shop. The guy in the shop, I forget his name, sent me on a pretty remote road over a very large mountain. Down the back side of the mountain and I was in Boone.

Here is a picture of the Continental Divide with Grandfather Mountain in the background. It's hard to make out the Grandfather from this angle but you can see his protruding nose. It's almost as big as mine.

Once I was in Boone, Russell picked me up around 1pm. He rolled up in his classy white truck blasting some Rebelution. I hadn't heard music in a few days and a little Reggae was good for the soul. We jammed out and rode back to his pad. Mama and Papa Schindler were out of town, which was sad, but it was still good to see Russell. He made me a hummus and avacado pita sandwich which hit the spot. After lunch we went down to a little french clothing store in town and I met Russell's friend that is a female. Then I got stocked up on supplies at the grocery store and we went back to make dinner. Russell balled out with an amazing pasta dish. For desert I had about 15 oreos, 1/2 pint of Cinnimon Roll ice cream, 1/2 pint of White Chocoalte Raspberry Truffle ice cream, and more chocolate. We watched some movie named Sahara and I passed out. Then it was time for bed. The room I slept in is called the cloud room because everything is white. The bed is the fluffiest thing I have ever slept on. As I jumped into the cloud bed I was a bit terrified that a naked little cherub playing the harp would pop out from underneath the covers. My fears subsided and I slept amazingly. When my alarm went off in the morning I was not exactly eager to arise and shine because the Glory of the Lord rises to shine on me.

The Schindler's house is great. Here is the house with Russell on the deck.

                                              Here is the view from Russell's deck. Dang!

Yet another blessed day on the road. Friends and friendly aquaintances are the best.