1st crash!

Yes we all know I am not the most graceful of people. So need it be surprising that I was the one to fall off their bike first? No, I think not. First let me say that I am fine. I have some pretty cool bruises on my lower left leg and I am missing a little skin from my right arm--just a little.

It all started with a hill, an exceeded speed limit (of the b.o.b. trailer), and some rail road tracks, which all equals a recipe for a disaster. As it turns out the company who manufactures the trailers knows what they are talking about when they tell you not to exceed 25 mph. I lost control around 29, which I know some of you probably didn't want to know (sorry mom). Anyway, all my gear is fine for the most part. A little more duct tape has been added to the trailer bag, my rear axle has been replaced, and my shifters bent back into place. I was pretty darn lucky, though I am beginning to suspect that by the end of this trip my trailer bag will be more duct tape then anything else. will

Ivan had been behind me; I can't say for sure what his experience of the whole thing was, but he helped me get my bike out of the road and got me the first aid kit so I could bandage my arm. He told me later that he had stopped and watched the whole thing, thinking to himself that he could go and help me. "But you were already moving," he said. "Even on the ground you were so independent."

Anyway I am currently in a small town in Virginia called Mineral. We are camped out at the fire station, and I am watching the most beautiful sunset. It is unbelievable.

Have a great night everyone.