With less than 100 miles to Virginia Beach and two days to get there, I decided to take it slow yesterday. Also, having my earliest start thus far, I had plenty of time on my hands. I took a stop at a library to get on the internet, write the last post, and check some things. Then, after a few hours of riding into headwinds, I stopped to cook some lunch, something I haven’t done yet. I picked up a can of tomatoes, corn, and okra a few days back, and I had been looking forward to eating that over a bowl of rice. So that’s what I cooked up and enjoyed it with an orange and a delicious nectarine.

Then it was off again down a very dangerous road. Two days ago I thought I was on a scary road- four lane divided highway with absolutely no shoulder and cars speeding by at over 60 mph. At least on that road there were two lanes so that cars could change lanes to go around me. The road yesterday certainly had the last road beat as far as peril is concerned. Two lanes, speeds around 50 mph or so, no shoulder, and plenty of trucks. And, following suit with what seems to be the theme of traveling so often: everything comes in waves. Rarely does just one car approach and pass; most often at least two cars, if not six or twelve, pass by, from both sides. Multiple occasions found me pulling off into the grass, often mowed, sometimes not, and waiting a minute or so as dump trucks and garbage trucks and tractor trailers sped by. It’s very tiring to have to constantly monitor every aspect of approaching traffic, gaging speeds and timing, and all while battling headwind. Good thing I wasn’t in a rush.

Soon enough, however, I made it to the ferry stop to catch the boat to Knotts Island- a peninsula really. I had no plan once I got there, but the man at the station told me there was a campground over there. I thought it would be nice to stay at a campground for a change, maybe meet some people there. As the ferry pulled in, I talked to a man who was heading over with his car. (I was the only one boarding the ferry not traveling by auto.) I guess you could say he was friendly enough, but not terribly sociable. To the point is what he was. I told him I was going to the campground and asked him some questions about the area. After about 40 minutes on the ferry, as we were about to pull up to the dock at Knotts Island, the man offered to give me a ride in his truck to the campground. Said he was going that way as well and I might as well ride with him as it was a few miles and dangerous roads. We put the bike in the back of his pickup, and I took the ride. He was right about the roads being bad. Same as earlier- narrow, no shoulder, and crazy drivers. The drive wasn’t too long, but it could have taken a while to bike.

The man drove us to the camp, where it turns out he stays on a semi-permanent basis. I asked if I could just throw-down my gear and sleep on his site. Said I couldn’t; they wouldn’t allow it. So I went into the camp store to get a site for myself. Twenty-six dollars they wanted for a site, even from a simple cyclist. While I do have that much money on me, I don’t have a whole lot more, and that certainly doesn’t fit into my ideal 5-dollar-a-day budget. I decided to ride on and find somewhere else to sleep. Plus, by this point I was right at the Virginia border, which I found out basically put me just outside of Virginia Beach.

I was planning on getting into town on Thursday, and I had told my friend from college, Graham, that was when I would arrive. Knowing that he was working and not going to be off until after ten, I still thought I would see if I could make that work a day earlier. Otherwise, I was prepared to find anywhere to lay my head I could. As I made my way down country roads toward town, I asked a few people about campgrounds in the area. A serious cyclist, and ex-racer, told me of a place and even offered to ride me into town. Even slowing down a bit to let me keep up, his pace was quick. I managed, though. He took me into the burbs and directed me toward a camp ground. It was pretty much dark at this point.
I headed down the street a ways and found a KOA. Stopped in to find out the price, but there was no one there at the booth. I looked around for a sign and found nothing. A couple stopped and asked if I needed help, and I asked them. Said it was over 40 bucks. What the hell?! I guess places like that offer amenities: laundry and a pool and the like, but who needs that fancy stuff. They told me about another site just down the road a piece; said it was cheaper. Well, not by much. The guard at the gate quoted 32 or something. I pleaded with him to help me out; told him all I needed was a spot to throw down my sleeping bag and get some sleep; I’d be out early in the morning. It was obvious he wanted to help, but felt like he couldn’t. He didn’t run the place, just watched over at night, and the owners were gone for the day. Time to find a church or some random spot, I figured.

I set out down the road to see what I could find. Being dark already, finding a good spot seemed tough. There were a few schools and a park and even behind the sign to the campground seemed a decent spot. Unfortunately, it’s really tough to know what spots would be obvious as off-limits sites if seen in the light. So I cruised around for a while. Things were beginning to look grim around 11, and I was getting to a desperate point. Places I had passed earlier with scrutiny were beginning to look more promising. As I was headed back to settle behind the campground sign, I got a call from Graham. He was finally off work, got my message, and I was cool to stay at his place. After figuring out that I was on the complete southern end of town, and that he lived on the northern end, he said he could come pick me up. We managed to get my bike and all my bags into a 5-series Beamer and headed out.

So instead of sleeping outside on the ground, possibly hiding behind the sign to an overpriced campground, I got a warm shower, a dip in a hot tub, and a very comfy bed to sleep in. I’m very grateful. Unfortunately, though, I did get some bad news last night. While taking a shower, scrubbing very thoroughly, I found another unfriendly bugger on my leg. On the back of my thigh, in a spot that was difficult to see, I found another tick, this one much smaller than the first one. It looked like a scab at first. When I got out of the shower, the tick came off fairly easy. Maybe it was because of all the hot water. I’m not sure. I put my friend in the alcohol with his companion. Now I have two buggers to get tested. I think I’ll do that when I get to Rhode Island.

Tonight now, I’m exhausted after spending a lot of time out in the sun. I finally got to go in the water and have a swim, though. I had forgotten how good the warm Atlantic water feels. Tomorrow I’m gonna take a look at my bike and see if it needs any work. It could definitely use a little bath. From riding in the rain, the thing is covered in dirt and grime. Time for bed now.