We are so lucky to have woken up inside where it was nice and warm. Since I was too tired to do so last night, I took a shower this morning so I had a nice clean, warm start to the day. Not too long after that,we were greeted with the smell of bacon cooking upstairs, what a great way to start the morning!!! To go with the bacon, we enjoyed some awesome scrambled eggs with bacon bits and some toast with butter and honey...it was delicious, and a welcome change to our usual cereal and milk. As we enjoyed our breakfast, we got to have a little time to talk and enjoy John and Pat's company before we headed off to town. They both had a dentist appointment to go to at 9:40 so they dropped us off at the church on the way so that we could pack our bikes and get on the road for the day. It worked out really well leaving our bikes at the church, especially since they were all locked up safe where we wouldn't have to worry about them. Both of us are so glad we had the chance to meet the Hendrix's. We had a great night and enjoyed getting to know them. Even still, I'm amazed that things like this happen -everyone is always in the right place at the right time for these chance encounters. John had given us a set of new lithium batteries for our SPOT since the batteries were running out. When we got back to the bikes, we found out they were the right kind!! It was such a big help because now we didn't have to buy a whole pack that we would never need- thanks John!! Once we were packed we headed out into the cold, very happy to see that the wind was going the same direction as yesterday- we would have a bit of a headwind in the morning as we head southeast along the curve of the river, which would change to a tailwind once we made the turn around the bend to head northeast. This route might be a little longer, but it is a very enjoyable ride, nice scenery, not too bad of traffic, and is relatively flat. What more could we want? On the way out of Portsmouth, we stopped at the Walmart to get a bag of our favorite frozen dinner for lunch today. As we were parking our bikes in the normal spot we park them when its cold (against an empty wall in the entryway near where all the shopping carts usually are), the greeter came out and told us that we couldn't park our bikes there and that they would have to go outside, which would also mean Joey would have to wait outside with them. We've been to Wal-marts all over the country and have always taken our bikes in if it was below 40 degrees outside; not once have we ever had a problem. So, we kindly took our business elsewhere. We weren't in any dire need for stuff for lunch at that moment because we were just starting out on the day's ride, and I didn't want Joey to stand outside freezing while he waited. Still, we were really surprised that happened. As we rode along the mighty Ohio River, we dealt with a tiny bit of light rain (nothing at ALL like yesterday's monsoon), and were passed by a couple trains on the tracks that were sandwiched between the road and the river. By the time we made it to Ironton, where we planned to have some lunch, my toes were frozen, and I'm sure Joey's were just the same! The neat thing about all of the river cities we've gone through the last two days is that they all have huge flood walls around the city and/or levies protecting them. It's kind of strange to ride in and feel like we could become "trapped in the city." On the way in, we passed by one of our new favorite places- Chinese buffet. We rode around town, and after not finding any grocery store or other place that we wanted to eat, we decided to just go for it and have buffet! It really has been the best thing going for us. Although it's not good for us to eat so much at one time, it saves us later on in the day because we don't have to worry about trying to cook or clean outside in the cold or find someplace warm to eat. We can just find a place to camp and get in our sleeping bags. It works out perfectly. We both have agreed that we love Chinese buffet and don't seem to get tired of it, especially since there is such a variety to choose from. After enjoying our lunch, we reluctantly got back on the bikes to fight the cold again. We knew this portion of the trip would be cold, but we still want to be home for Easter, so we have to do what we have to do, even if it isn't always comfortable--- but that's part of the adventure right!?!? For almost the entire day, we were riding on a four lane divided highway, which wasn't bad at all because the shoulder was huge! Eventually we rode by "South Point," which is the most southerly point of Ohio, overlooking three states and two rivers. After that, we had a little hill to go over and then we had the wind at our backs-- finally! We had been waiting for that all day, but after yesterday's ride, I knew we would get it in the afternoon! After that, we found ourselves a McDonald's to check to see if there happened to be any bicycle shops nearby. Joey knew that his chain was stretched out and ready to be changed and that his cassette would need to be changed too. Sure enough, we found a bicycle shop not too far away-- in West Virginia! So we hopped on the bridge, crossed the Ohio, and found the bike shop in Huntington, WV! Joey found what he needed and we were off on our way again. The bike shop was great. That was one of the fastest pit stops we've had- and we had to go to a different state for this one! As we were crossing back into Ohio (because it would be a nicer ride -less traffic), the sky was just beautiful. The sun was peeking through the clouds and coming down in beams right over the river; such a pretty sight. It was a cold day, but we were able to manage without having to wear face masks, which is always a plus! Although they keep us warm, they are a pain because they get soaked from breathing through them, and sometimes that makes you colder in the end. After crossing back into OH, our road was now a regular 2 lane road, and had a lot less traffic on it. We rode past another bridge out of Huntington, which was pretty neat looking, and then headed further north. The route had become a bit hillier, but nothing steep. At one point, I looked up and saw the beautiful blue sky peeking through the clouds, a very welcome sight indeed! After passing through a couple little towns, we made it to Crown City, which was more like a tiny town than a city, and found a nice spot to set up the tent. There was a gas station nearby and we stopped by there to take a little break before heading off to camp under a pavilion near a church. We knew that it was supposed to snow tomorrow, so we just wanted to be sure to have something over us, just in case. Since Joey had his new cassette and chain, he worked on getting that all fixed. It was going to be a very cold night to say the least, although I still don't think we will ever top our 9 degree night in Texas or come close to the 15 degree night there either, or at least I hope not! I have no idea how we didn't freeze to death those nights. We managed to make it 67.30 miles today- that afternoon tailwind sure made a difference!
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