Day 3: Pool & Pool

Linden, VA to Luray, VA – 31.8 mi, 2303 ft

Today was a beautiful day, marked by sunshine, side quests, and the kindness of strangers. 

We began the day with yummy oatmeal prepared by our host Jen, licks from her cute dogs, and a car ride courtesy of Jen’s husband Tim down the gravel mountain that Carmen, Drew, and Nate had painfully climbed the night before. This was my first day biking since I drove the day before, so I was feeling a huge mix of nervousness and excitement.

As we departed, I got into the groove and started really appreciating the nature around me. Virginia is so pretty! Cows! Hills! Uh oh… hills… The hills were killer, but I began to enjoy them and appreciated Drew’s company, especially as we discussed music and his piano skills. 

When we came to our rest stop, my first reaction was a bit disappointed, as we were sitting at a gas pump with no overhang and no shade. Alas, the universe had other plans. A few minutes into our rest stop, a car pulled up next to us, and a man came out with curious questions surrounding our trip. He asked what we were doing and why, and suddenly asked if he could donate to our cause. When he started pulling out his wallet, I assumed that he wanted to donate $20. Instead, our team received a ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR donation from a kind man named Jimmy Baker on the side of the road in Virginia. Hello??? Crazy plot twist. Not only this, but Jimmy also offered to buy us food later in our route. The day seriously reminded me that we often assume strangers are far less kind and generous than they actually are. People are seriously awesome, and I have such gratitude for the countless friends and strangers who have already helped us along our journey.

After this, Drew and I kept pedaling on our short ride, with a slight detour to swing on a beautifully placed swing set and enjoy the Virginia views. The rest of the route, we moo’ed at cows, listened to music, and finally noticed our road turn into a side gravel path. As we pulled into the entrance of our campground for the night, we were greeted with a magical sight. After hours of tough uphill climbs, we suddenly saw a glistening blue pool in front of us, tantalizingly calling for us to jump in.

Immediately rejuvenated, Drew and I raced to our campground, excited to drop off our gear and celebrate with our friends. The group informed us that the pool wasn’t even the extent of our luxuries; we also had clean bathrooms, a jumping pad on the property, AND a place to play volleyball! Living the good life.

After a lunch break and some camping gear setup with extra tent troubleshooting courtesy of Nunu, we jumped in the pool, excited to finally relax. Our adventure quickly turned into 4v3 basketball, where my 4-person team was winning 5-2 until I had to reapply sunblock, and suddenly the score did not look too great for my team…

Nate put it perfectly: “It’s all haha until you’re the one that’s buns.”

After swimming, a few of us basked in the sun, played volleyball, and walked over to the jumping pad, which was, in fact, a huge blown-up tarp that you could jump on. You’re getting the vibes. Literally the best day ever. Sunshine and rainbows.

And you know what could make it EVEN better? I had called the town a few minutes away from our campground yesterday, and a pizza place offered to donate us a few pizzas for today’s dinner!! Wow. Miracle.

At this point, Carmen, Aarushi, Drew, and Caroline went to the town to pick up groceries, the pizza, and some medicine, while Nunu, Nate, and I stayed back to blog and finish up some tasks. Before we began, though, we walked around the property and noticed a POOL TABLE! Not to be confused with the earlier swimming pool (you get the blog’s title?). Obviously, we had to sneak in a game where Nate and I lost to Nunu through Nate’s devastating sinking of the black ball a little too early in the game. Our loss encouraged us to finally lock in on our tasks.

When dinner arrived, I truly felt bliss in my soul as we devoured the topping-ladden pizzas and washed our food down with Aarushi and Carmen’s EXTRA surprise of Lofthouse cookies. I’m telling you, we’re spoiled. We also battled against Drew’s spilled Lemon-Lime gatorade, which suddenly created a “pee” trail traveling down the bench.

We knew, though, that the day after was going to be tough, so we decided to use some of the remaining daylight to clean the car, pump air into our bikes, finish setting up our campsite, and do our laundry. 

Quick side note: we actually have the best team ever. Everyone is so helpful and wants to work hard to make sure everyone has a good time. I have noticed that our team is very kind, and I really feel like everyone is trying their best to work as a group and appreciate each other. We laugh a lot, and it has really been making this trip amazing so far. I also feel like everyone has their distinct roles, which make our team function well. For example, I consider myself the Morning GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) because I am the only certified morning person and get everyone moving at 6 am. See below for my opinion on everyone’s roles:

• Nunu: Organizational GOAT (our car is pristine, our stuff is perfectly organized)
• Nate: Car and Gear GOAT (always locks in on the bike rack and top storage)
• Drew: Grocery GOAT (best food ever is always present)
• Caroline: Laundry GOAT (walked all the way up the hill 5 times to do our laundry)
• Aarushi: Housing GOAT (effortlessly found us a new campground and free Airbnbs)
• Carmen: Route and Bicycle GOAT (knows everything, pumps everyone’s tires)

Of course, all of these roles overlap between team members, but still, having people who are great at the tasks has made life so much easier.

After our work session, everyone took showers, finished the next day’s route, and slowly went to their tents to sleep. Aarushi, Nunu, and I shared the 4-person tent; Carmen and Caroline shared a 2-person tent; and Nate and Drew shared a 2-person tent. Awesome.

My last comment for this day is that my awesome boyfriend Noah organized the cutest surprise ever for me this summer. He got all of my friends and family to write me notes, and collected 75 notes for me to open in the 75 days of the trip. Just before going to bed, I opened my third note, and it was from a friend, Sam Hughes. Thank you to her, to Noah, and to the many people who have written to me, even if I haven’t opened yours yet. I look forward to reading the notes from you guys every day 🙂

All my love,

Tatiana ❤