June 2, 2019
By: Erin Leydon
Today we rode 58 miles - our longest day of biking yet! We started this morning by leaving Francine’s beautiful house in Waynesboro, VA, and heading out towards East Lexington. I started the day biking with Maile, and I realized just how important music is for biking. I have been putting one of the longest playlists on my phone on shuffle for biking, but since that playlist was meant for a road trip, it doesn’t always fit perfectly with biking. Here are a few of my observations and recommendations for biking songs:
Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles: This is a great song for the beginning of the day when we’re just getting on the road. It is a bit optimistic, as we haven’t quite been able to leave where we’re staying as the sun comes up yet.
Livin’ On a Prayer by Bon Jovi: This song is fantastic for biking uphill and really reflects my need for prayers to get me up a few of these hills.
Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones: This song has a great beat to it and is great for motivation while biking up another long uphill.
I Fought the Law by The Bobby Fuller Four: This song started as I came over the top of a long uphill and began a very fast downhill during one of our days on Skyline Drive and it was one of the most exciting downhills yet.
Karma Chameleon by Culture Club: I love this one because it is very upbeat and really helps me keep my energy up during a long ride.
Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac: I’m a huge fan of Forrest Gump, especially the scene where he runs from coast to coast (several times) and this song is included in that scene, for good reason. It translates perfectly from running to biking, as well as many other songs from this scene.
I’m still working on putting together a good playlist that can get me through a full day of biking, so there may be more updates to come on that front.
Anyways, after a long day of biking through Virginia, we arrived in Natural Bridge, where we are staying the night with Wendy, Mike, their children, and foreign exchange student. Their house was off a long gravel road, but the beautiful bike was worth it. The house was absolutely beautiful, and they were all so nice. The daughter, Nelly, made us a delicious dinner, after which we took a dip in the hot tub and the pool, which was so relaxing. After that, we all watched Napoleon Dynamite, although I may have fallen asleep pretty quickly into the movie. This is definitely quite a bit nicer than the tent camping we have been doing recently, and I think we’re all very exciting to spend our rest day tomorrow here in this beautiful place before we keep on biking the next day. Here’s our view for the day:
Anyways, I should be getting to sleep soon. Stay tuned for more updates!