Hi everybody! I’m Devin, and I get to write about our 5th day of biking and our final day in Shenandoah National Park. We began the day by taking down camp in a record-breaking time of 3 hours (I know we can get faster), and then we set out on Skyline Drive one last time. After two days of grueling climbs, we were rewarded with 14 miles of downhill roads winding through forests and overlooks before exiting the park. Then, we rode for another 40 miles on flat roads to Waynesboro, Virginia, making today our longest day yet.
When we rolled into Waynesboro, our team stopped at a park and discovered a music festival nearby. Although we decided not to pay the $20 entrance fee, we still enjoyed listening to the lively folk music from just outside the fenced off area. We also embraced our inner child by climbing on trees and dancing along to the Cha Cha Slide playing across the street at a birthday party.
After we got tired of playing in the park, we rode a short distance to the YMCA for our first shower in a few days. Now smelling like normal people, we finally met our host, Francine, and she welcomed us warmly into her home.
For dinner, we helped Francine cook a delicious casserole, and we enjoyed it with another cyclist, Chris, who was also spending the night there. He was just beginning his fourth trip across the country, so we were eager to listen to his stories and advice. After dinner, Francine showed us her notebook of every cyclist she had ever hosted, and we found the MIT Spokes teams from 2018 and 2017 as well as the Stanford Spokes team.
That night, we slept well and got ready for another day of biking.