We took yet another day off at Rosheen’s house in Annadale, where we didn’t even leave the house (aside from a 6.5 mile run I did in the afternoon).  After getting  more than enough rest, we took off around 11am on Friday morning.  It was so cold, we only stopped once every 20 miles.  After the first stop, I lost all feeling in my right foot and never regained it until sometime during dinner later that night.

There weren’t many places to stop and warm up along the way, and after the second stop, I was really worried that my foot would become frostbitten and need to be amputated.  Then, just 7 miles from the end, I saw a place called “Try My Nuts” and was instantly drawn to it, for both warmth and nourishment.  The man inside gave us several samples of nuts, all coated in different sugars, spices, and butter.  I probably would have had to stay for a few hours to warm up fully, but after sharing a hot chocolate with Phil and eating a pretzel coated in chocolate and mini Reese’s Pieces, we ventured back outside to finish the last few miles.

First time pitching the tent since we left

Fredericksburg is a lovely historical town, and we passed through a battlefield and a large park on our way into the town center.  Phil had charted out the day’s course to end at a church that looked like it had a large yard where we could camp.  When we arrived, he went inside to ask about pitching our tent, and the man inside generously obliged.

After setting up camp in the church yard and locking our bikes up, Phil and I walked into the town to eat dinner.  We ended up at a quaint restaurant called Jake & Mike’s, where we each started with a pint of beer.  I ordered seared escolar over spinach salad and Phil had blackened chicken over zucchini and mashed potatoes.  For dessert, we split a pumpkin bread pudding with dulce de leche ice-cream.  Everything was wonderful, and we were able to load the next day’s route into Garmin and charge up some of our electronics as well.  I am not looking forward to riding tomorrow, as it is going to be even colder and will be raining as well.