Day 21: 7/28 - Our first day of boring straightaways

Today began with an excellent breakfast made by Polly with all the fixings. The last couple days had definitely spoiled us, what with the beds, real meals at night and morning, and general luxuries that come with living not in a tent. The day was a LONG day of flat roads with small hills, our first taste of the South's unbelievably flat and expansive landscape. Nothing extraordinary happened during the day (it doesn't help that this was a week ago as I'm writing this and everything beyond yesterday has just blurred together into a mixing pot of road signs, my legs rotating those pedals incessantly, and jamming whatever edible items I can find into my mouth).

Upon approaching our destination, we realized that we had not found any markets or grocery stores...most of those listed on our maps had been closed or moved apparently. Finally, there was a building that appeared to be an old gas station (we knew it was old because the pump listed "leaded" gasoline). The building was run-down with bars over the windows and the door looked like it been kicked in a thousand times. As we entered, we were greeted by a surprisingly friendly clerk along with a view of wares we could select from for dinner: about 10 items. At this point, I guess I should explain that the area we were riding through was the South that isn't plantation estates or Nascar raceways. Poverty-stricken small towns with ramshackle buildings, broken down cars in the front and back yards, and zero affluence whatsoever. The clerk explained that the lack of food options was due to the fact that desperate individuals would often break in and steal all she offered, so it was necessary to carry nearly no food. Thus our diverse selection of foods. We ended up selecting only the best of the best: ramen noodles, a generic version of Dinty Moore beef stew, and canned peaches. Delizioso!!

We arrived at camp just north of Central Hill, NC, in which we were the only campers (the RV's were across the lake), and had some ice cream from the freezer...it was a very hot day. In order to get to the bath house, we had to cross a small field which was full of mosquito-like bugs, though they didn't sting or bite. They were just doing their thing, laying on the grass, and when disturbed, thousands would take alight. With all those flapping wings, the noise was like a distant 747 taking off. If you stopped moving, they would all land again and the noise would cease...our entertainment for the night was walking around disturbing these bugs and listening to the unnatural noises produced.

The stove was broken so we had to cook over a fire of pine needles and pine cones. Excellent. The day was an 81 miler, adding to yesterday's 93 miles...perhaps tomorrow would be a little break?