I rolled into Palmyra Va Sunday around 6:45 PM. I met Betty, her and her mother were doing some yard work, I asked Betty where a near by church was, if the preacher would mind if I stayed the night so I could continue to Charolettesville the next morning.. She went in a made the call, Murph and I went to a BP and I got some milk and sweet to help keep the energy up while I waited..The call came in, I'm sorry Mr Matney but the insurance companies won't allow cyclist to stay on the grounds anymore..Forgive me for saying, But it would seem a banker speaks louder than God in the House of God.. So heres where It goes down hill, I called the Sheriffs office, they said I could stay at the Pole Barns, in Pleasant Grove about 1 1/2 miles up hill, My legs are already jelly at this moment, and night fall is setting in fast..Off I go.
I'm coming up to route 53, and I see a restaurant, I got $5 buck left from the fireman that helped me out in Mineral, I'll go in a get something to snack on when I set up camp..I got into a conversation about the trip and the chronic bad luck that has been eating my butt for a week, So a great person bought my dinner for Murph and I, as I was about to make a call to GP to let her pass it on Im alive, I got pulled outside because it was closing time, so Out I went, I couldn't eat much, because I haven't been eating much at all in the first place, So I packed it up and got to pushing the bike uphill, ITS BLACK pitch dark, the LED light cuts it nicely, and gives me a 15 feet forward veiw, but something is trying to sneak up on Murph and I behind us, I hear its growling and snorting, so My head starts spinning like a police car light, I have the "headlight" glued to the helmet and a red flashing light glued as well to the back.. Just when it was about 20 feet behind me a car pulled up and IT took off in the direction we just walked from, A guy asked me where I was going, and he mentioned he too was a cyclist, I told him about the Pole Barns, and the Sheriffs office, he pointed me in the right direction. we said goodbye, But I wish I got his name and number, he could have been a bigger help in the following days to come.
I searched my pocket(s) to find my phone..OH GOD NOW WHAT!!! I've misplaced my phone, I know where its at, I'll go get it in the morning....WRONG!! again, but we'll get to that in a minute. So I walk up to the office, they tell me its another 3/4 mile up the road on the right..a walking we will go, a walking we will go, Hi HO the dairy O, a walking we will go.. I find it, but not where they told me to go, cause the light was about gone, and its DEAD BLACK where the light isn't hitting. SO I set up camp by the nearest picnic table, Yogi and Boo boo , will have to search out another one to stalk I thought to myself..
I wake up to the sound and feeling of RAIN pouring into the tent, so more or less Im sleeping in a pool of water while Murph climbs on my belly to stay dry..Some dog!. about 3 hours later more or less I got up to the sound of a dog sniffing out the tent, I walk about looking for something to charge the tablet, so the GPS might be able to tell me where Im at. I meet AARON SPITZER he is the coordinator for the grounds, and he leads me to the pole barns, and he gives me a couple bottles of water and Gartor aid, I tell him I left my phone at the smokehouse, then he informs me they are closed Monday and Tuesday,,OH GREAT, another three day stay, this is killing the idea of getting out of Virginia in May,.. Im map-less, phone-less, and most of all CASH-less..Stick a fork in me Im done, with it. After a couple of conversation with a few people a man named Doug drives me to the smokehouse in hoping, that someone might be doing some cleaning, but to no avail, I ask him to take me to the store, I can get some ramon noodles for me to hold me off with the $5 I have left, Doug hands me $20 and said you need it, I tried to give him the change but he would have it.. This got me some peanut butter to help the hurting legs muscles, and a couple of drinks, along with some Folgers freeze dried coffee with those Flavor crystals as they call it..Butt flavor crystals is what I call it. So I go back and set up camp for the night.. I get a rude awaking to a sound of something VERY big roaming outside the tent, and I'm to chicken to look, but it took down a tree from the sound of it..mean while "killer" lying next to me is snoring so loud I don't think he'd know if the Earth was under Alien attack..I 'm sure I'd hear it first.
I wake up the next day to find a 4 inch thick sapling on the ground 30 feet from the tent, The Aaron pulls up to check on me and mentions about a few "small" black bears that walk about.. as Bill Cosby said, "first you say it , then you do it". He leave and I get to meet Dr Bob Burger, he's been my biggest help, he gave me his bible since I can't access mine without internet, (remember this is a spiritual ride as well for me), gets in contact with a few people to help me get my phone back sooner, I've met many super folks, Sam, Shining Sam I call him, with his diamond ear ring, and angle wing seat stubs shining, he told me it was safe to use my metal detector in this area of the state, GREAT! something to do while I wait,.
I found..metal, thats what it does, but I'm up to 28 cents so far. Murph and I go for a walk through the trails, and pretty much got lost, I found a old chicken coup, and walk towards it and came out behind the library, super, I ran into Betty, Betty knows the person that babysits fro Joshua (owner of the smokehouse) and she leaves a message with them about my problem.. she takes me to the store, I get Murph and I a chicken dinner, then when I get back, Just as I was pulling the zipper open I saw my phone sitting on the sleeping bag..YES!!!, Betty drives back to let me know that It was Bob whom got the phone fro me, and that they werer looking for me, but figured I went for a walk in the trails, Yep I did and got lost to. Super..
Now I have the phone, guess I'll call gayle and let her know I'm done with it. Buy me a train ticket back, and I'll chalk this up as another failure in my life, No pain, no gain, but Im getting plenty of pain, but as for gaining..Pfft!! Im losing my butt at every turn. I called Adventure cycling after leaving them a email, with no response..Could you help me? I'm a member, I donated, (not much but Im unemployed) I spent $138 fro these maps, and I got one left, that someone didn't steal. the answer isn't one I thought I would get from a group of people whos"s commitment is cycling, and helping and showing people about how great cycling across America can be... NO! No download, No back-up plan for the money I spent with them, No assistance on what to do, NO NO NO. nothing I pretty much got shoved off the phone..quickly.. I can't believe it, the very people that I put on the back of my traveling cards, the folks I spoke highly of and called Gods of cycling, just hung me out to dry in the middle of nowhere, with out giveing me assistance on how to get back..NOTHING!!..I have a few words I'd love to say, but since children are reading this I'll bite my fingers.. For the next 300 cards I have left,, I'm taking a black magic marker and removing their name from my card, You want me to promote your business for the sake of Adventure cycling..PAY ME!! or do it yourself.
So Bob wants me to carry on with the travels, problem is Im to broke to spend another $138 for the maps, my unemployment runs out in two weeks, I can't do it, its taking to long to leave Virginia, YES! the problems I've had HAS been fixed, But still, no funds arer coming into the donation bin..Its what I expected, but I got talked into putting it up, and whats coming out of it is what I figured would happen..It does look cool though.. But Bob keeps pushing on staying the trip.. Follow my own path, not someone Else's, map it out yourself,.. IDK I'll really need to think this out, I would be very happy to make it to the Mississippi, THATS worth bragging about, but funds, and being so far behind is killing it, for what I've spent, I should be past Berea Kentucky by now, but I havn't left the first half of the trip..
I have to think this out...I want to thank Bob Burger, Betty, Doug, Sam, Joshua and his wife, the local Sheriffs Office, the Palmyra Library, On this note, if anyone has lightly used books and music cd, movies ect ect, PLEASE send them to the Fluvanna county library in Palmyra, they need them, its a great place, that needs a few more things to make it..also computer related items couldn't hurt either. Aaron, Greg, Anthony, The guy with the Holister shirt, (sorry for forgetting your name) and the rest of Fluvanna park care takers for allowing me to stay in the pole barns... See you all later.
I'm coming up to route 53, and I see a restaurant, I got $5 buck left from the fireman that helped me out in Mineral, I'll go in a get something to snack on when I set up camp..I got into a conversation about the trip and the chronic bad luck that has been eating my butt for a week, So a great person bought my dinner for Murph and I, as I was about to make a call to GP to let her pass it on Im alive, I got pulled outside because it was closing time, so Out I went, I couldn't eat much, because I haven't been eating much at all in the first place, So I packed it up and got to pushing the bike uphill, ITS BLACK pitch dark, the LED light cuts it nicely, and gives me a 15 feet forward veiw, but something is trying to sneak up on Murph and I behind us, I hear its growling and snorting, so My head starts spinning like a police car light, I have the "headlight" glued to the helmet and a red flashing light glued as well to the back.. Just when it was about 20 feet behind me a car pulled up and IT took off in the direction we just walked from, A guy asked me where I was going, and he mentioned he too was a cyclist, I told him about the Pole Barns, and the Sheriffs office, he pointed me in the right direction. we said goodbye, But I wish I got his name and number, he could have been a bigger help in the following days to come.
I searched my pocket(s) to find my phone..OH GOD NOW WHAT!!! I've misplaced my phone, I know where its at, I'll go get it in the morning....WRONG!! again, but we'll get to that in a minute. So I walk up to the office, they tell me its another 3/4 mile up the road on the right..a walking we will go, a walking we will go, Hi HO the dairy O, a walking we will go.. I find it, but not where they told me to go, cause the light was about gone, and its DEAD BLACK where the light isn't hitting. SO I set up camp by the nearest picnic table, Yogi and Boo boo , will have to search out another one to stalk I thought to myself..
I wake up to the sound and feeling of RAIN pouring into the tent, so more or less Im sleeping in a pool of water while Murph climbs on my belly to stay dry..Some dog!. about 3 hours later more or less I got up to the sound of a dog sniffing out the tent, I walk about looking for something to charge the tablet, so the GPS might be able to tell me where Im at. I meet AARON SPITZER he is the coordinator for the grounds, and he leads me to the pole barns, and he gives me a couple bottles of water and Gartor aid, I tell him I left my phone at the smokehouse, then he informs me they are closed Monday and Tuesday,,OH GREAT, another three day stay, this is killing the idea of getting out of Virginia in May,.. Im map-less, phone-less, and most of all CASH-less..Stick a fork in me Im done, with it. After a couple of conversation with a few people a man named Doug drives me to the smokehouse in hoping, that someone might be doing some cleaning, but to no avail, I ask him to take me to the store, I can get some ramon noodles for me to hold me off with the $5 I have left, Doug hands me $20 and said you need it, I tried to give him the change but he would have it.. This got me some peanut butter to help the hurting legs muscles, and a couple of drinks, along with some Folgers freeze dried coffee with those Flavor crystals as they call it..Butt flavor crystals is what I call it. So I go back and set up camp for the night.. I get a rude awaking to a sound of something VERY big roaming outside the tent, and I'm to chicken to look, but it took down a tree from the sound of it..mean while "killer" lying next to me is snoring so loud I don't think he'd know if the Earth was under Alien attack..I 'm sure I'd hear it first.
I wake up the next day to find a 4 inch thick sapling on the ground 30 feet from the tent, The Aaron pulls up to check on me and mentions about a few "small" black bears that walk about.. as Bill Cosby said, "first you say it , then you do it". He leave and I get to meet Dr Bob Burger, he's been my biggest help, he gave me his bible since I can't access mine without internet, (remember this is a spiritual ride as well for me), gets in contact with a few people to help me get my phone back sooner, I've met many super folks, Sam, Shining Sam I call him, with his diamond ear ring, and angle wing seat stubs shining, he told me it was safe to use my metal detector in this area of the state, GREAT! something to do while I wait,.
I found..metal, thats what it does, but I'm up to 28 cents so far. Murph and I go for a walk through the trails, and pretty much got lost, I found a old chicken coup, and walk towards it and came out behind the library, super, I ran into Betty, Betty knows the person that babysits fro Joshua (owner of the smokehouse) and she leaves a message with them about my problem.. she takes me to the store, I get Murph and I a chicken dinner, then when I get back, Just as I was pulling the zipper open I saw my phone sitting on the sleeping bag..YES!!!, Betty drives back to let me know that It was Bob whom got the phone fro me, and that they werer looking for me, but figured I went for a walk in the trails, Yep I did and got lost to. Super..
Now I have the phone, guess I'll call gayle and let her know I'm done with it. Buy me a train ticket back, and I'll chalk this up as another failure in my life, No pain, no gain, but Im getting plenty of pain, but as for gaining..Pfft!! Im losing my butt at every turn. I called Adventure cycling after leaving them a email, with no response..Could you help me? I'm a member, I donated, (not much but Im unemployed) I spent $138 fro these maps, and I got one left, that someone didn't steal. the answer isn't one I thought I would get from a group of people whos"s commitment is cycling, and helping and showing people about how great cycling across America can be... NO! No download, No back-up plan for the money I spent with them, No assistance on what to do, NO NO NO. nothing I pretty much got shoved off the phone..quickly.. I can't believe it, the very people that I put on the back of my traveling cards, the folks I spoke highly of and called Gods of cycling, just hung me out to dry in the middle of nowhere, with out giveing me assistance on how to get back..NOTHING!!..I have a few words I'd love to say, but since children are reading this I'll bite my fingers.. For the next 300 cards I have left,, I'm taking a black magic marker and removing their name from my card, You want me to promote your business for the sake of Adventure cycling..PAY ME!! or do it yourself.
So Bob wants me to carry on with the travels, problem is Im to broke to spend another $138 for the maps, my unemployment runs out in two weeks, I can't do it, its taking to long to leave Virginia, YES! the problems I've had HAS been fixed, But still, no funds arer coming into the donation bin..Its what I expected, but I got talked into putting it up, and whats coming out of it is what I figured would happen..It does look cool though.. But Bob keeps pushing on staying the trip.. Follow my own path, not someone Else's, map it out yourself,.. IDK I'll really need to think this out, I would be very happy to make it to the Mississippi, THATS worth bragging about, but funds, and being so far behind is killing it, for what I've spent, I should be past Berea Kentucky by now, but I havn't left the first half of the trip..
I have to think this out...I want to thank Bob Burger, Betty, Doug, Sam, Joshua and his wife, the local Sheriffs Office, the Palmyra Library, On this note, if anyone has lightly used books and music cd, movies ect ect, PLEASE send them to the Fluvanna county library in Palmyra, they need them, its a great place, that needs a few more things to make it..also computer related items couldn't hurt either. Aaron, Greg, Anthony, The guy with the Holister shirt, (sorry for forgetting your name) and the rest of Fluvanna park care takers for allowing me to stay in the pole barns... See you all later.
KEEP GOIN. YOU DONT NEED THERE MAPS STAY ON SMALLER HIGHWAYS I'VE DONE THIS AND PLAN ON MEETING YOU OUT WEST.
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