Day 5, 100 miles, Sunday August 29, 2010

(My odometer: 100.9 mi, 14.9 avg mph, 6h 45m 43s, max speed 24.4 mph)
Rocky Mount, VA to Warsaw, NC

Up at 5:00, 6:00 breakfast at Denny’s (grand Slam -- orange juice, coffee, 2 pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage patty, hashbrowns), 7:00 load luggage, 7:05 on the road. Forecast today again was partly sunny with temps in the mid 80's.

The weather this morning started out overcast and a bit cool, but it was a comfortable start. As the day progressed it became partly sunny by noon and early afternoon it was mostly sunny. Under these conditions a cyclist creates his own breeze as he moves down the road. Even if it is quite hot, the warm breeze does provide some relief. After 4 days of cycling, I feel pretty good. Today was a 100 mile ride and even though my quads are a little sore, I felt strong during and after the ride. Also, I have been doing my neck stretching exercises as often as I can. I do feel that this has prevented the reoccurrence of the neck pain that I got during my Blue Ridge Parkway ride last summer.

The purple flower that you see in a pic below is a Morning Glory and down here, and in other parts of the country, it is considered a weed. The pic shows it growing on the edge of a soybean planting. I grow this same variety back home in my yard. I got seeds a few years ago from my wife Donna’s brother who lives in Virginia. Under controlled conditions, it can be a pretty addition in a flower garden.

When I was about 70 miles out today, I took a pic of the Neuse River in the town of Seven Springs. I had a chat with a guy at the boat launch and he told me that it is quite common for fishermen to catch 30 to 40lb catfish in that river. He also said a friend of his caught a 70 pounder.

This was a good day for me. Tomorrow is a 73 mile ride to Whiteville, N.C. and the forecast continues to be pleasant.

(Click on the images below for a larger view of each photo.)

Thought for the day	Morning Glories invading soy beans	SAG 1
SAG 1	SAG 1 me, Mary Kay, Shane	Mike and Carl
Leslie and Mary Kay	? ? Art ? ?	Tobacco harvester
Bikes resting at SAG 2	Me, Kathi, Mike	Neuse River in town of Seven Springs
Mary Kay	Shane and Debbie	Shane
Ken Hodges	Leslie	Dinner Smithfield Chicken BBQ Restaurant