Into the Mystic: A Venture From East to West: They Call Me Mowgli

I woke up this morning to the pitter-pattering of rain on my tent. It didn't stop for two hours. By the time I finally got all my shit together (usually takes an hour to pack all the gear onto the bike) it was 12 in the afternoon... Woof. However, cool story. I'm setting one of the last things on my bike and I hear, "Ralph!". I look behind me and the twins from the day before are setting up camp a few yards away! Small world! I ran over to the brothers and firstly, got their official names: Joe & Tom. Coolest guys. They had woken up at 6 (0.o) and were just coming in for the day. We had a really pleasant conversation and then I was back on the road again.

Since the campground I stayed at was off the trail, I had to retrace my steps about 5 miles until I was back on some back roads. Not long onto the path, I stumbled across an odd site. One horse was laying sprawled out in its pen with another horse laying behind it. Fearing it was hurt, I biked closer. Both horses sprang to life and appeared frightened. However, after coaxing the one with some grass, I gained their confidence. I've never been that close to a horse before! Man, you can see their anatomy rippling through their bodies and they appeared to be staring right into my soul, it was crazy! As I'm petting them, I see a car, which appeared to be the owner coming down the dirt road. Fearfully, I took a step back and awaited to explain myself. Turns out I didn't have to. The man and his young daughter drove on by, both giving friendly waves. It was pretty cool.

So I biked on, stopping every now and again to eat, drink or check some stuff out. I visited Patrick Henry's home in Scotchtown who is notorious for "Give me liberty or give me death!". After that, I stopped on the outskirts of a private housing area to eat a powerbar. As I'm finishing up, I look down the road of this residence, and I kid you not, 5 to 6 dogs are hurriedly pacing their way toward me. What did I do? Panic? Hell no, I took a picture and held my hand out to show I meant no harm. Only one wasn't afraid of me. The other three stayed back, and one was a mean guy who was showing off his rather large canines. So after this, I hit the road again.

30 miles or so later, I reached Mineral, VA where the volunteer fire department allows bikers to camp in the backyard. I met two more bikers and a very outspoken italian restaurant owner from Long Island; more on him later. However, the two other bikers were Naren (originally from Bangalore, India) and Alberto (originally from Peru) from the Silicon Valley. We had a lovely conversation about the trip, ourselves, and the future. They're really smart and cool guys. Naren went to West Virginia, Pittsburgh's rival school so that was something to talk about too. They just went to sleep and are waking up at 530 (again o.0). Maybe, eventually, I'll get on that schedule but for now... Is where my Italian friend comes in.

I had a really good meatball hoagie from this guy (gotta get his name, will update when I do) and he talked about how he soaks the bread in milk, which I probably shouldn't be telling you because it's a secret. Anyway, tonight is the local school's graduation and he invited me back to the restaurant tonight for some beers, so hey, what the hell. I'm weary to have too many because of the bike ride tomorrow but I'm going to indulge in some refreshments.

So, the guy's name is Rick and he offered to have me crash at his house. That's the plan.

Until tomorrow.