Day 11: A Break in Breaks

Thursday, June 13th, 2024

Breaks Interstate Park, VA\KY -> Breaks Interstate Park, VA\KY

0 mi, 0 ft elevation

I woke up in an oven. Our tents sat in the middle of an open field and the morning sun beat down on them turning each of them into a miniature greenhouse. My Mississippi blood must have given me a higher tolerance for the heat because by the time I unzipped my tent I was greeted by both fresh air and the rest of the team.

I almost instinctively put on my biking jersey getting ready for another long and tiring day, but I was met with instant relief that today was a rest day in Breaks Interstate Park.

Cleo got a flat the day before so she took the car to a bike repair shop, and

the rest of us stayed back in the campground to enjoy our rest day. After a slow start to the morning I found enough motivation to get up and string some hammocks. We played around in the hammocks for a while swinging each other,

but after a while they became an S-tier napping spots.

After escaping the  dangerously comfortable hammock it was time to get some work done for the day. I needed to get some materials in order for my learning festival, but I couldn't do that on an empty stomach! I went to the Rhododendron Restaurant and got some nice southern comfort food: Hamburger steak with fried okra and a sweet tea to drink. It reminded me of home.

While waiting for the food it occurred to me that we had biked all the way across the state of Virginia! To celebrate this accomplishment I made a meme.

Varsha, Amulya, and Jess went on a hike during this period and later shared some photos with us.

We ended the day packing up for the long day of biking in the morning and I showed everyone a cool but creepy trick. If you have a headlamp on at night you can find spiders by looking at the reflection of their eyes.

Glowing Spider Eyes

And just like that you can walk up to the reflection and there will be a spider like this little guy I found.

aww, look how cute he is

Overall this was a very chill day (as it should be!) which left us rested and ready to get back on the road. Next stop: Hazard, KY.