They say you are supposed to get stronger as your tour progresses. I believe it but it’s still tough getting up and going after a week straight of 70, 80 and 90 mile days! We took our time at the La Quinta Inn room bought by Paige and Curtis. We were so sluggish getting up that the free breakfast was promptly removed the spread at 9am so we had what was left. Waffles, bananas, yogurts, cereal and toast. This is a light breakfast compared to the usual early morning feast.

Shane and I rode to Paul’s Cycling and Fitness which was 4.5 miles in to Winston Salem the opposite direction of Charlotte. He got his wobbly wheel fixed with a new spoke and bought a rear rack to replace the one that snapped in day 1. I tightened up my pedals. They were some good people in that shop. Glad we added the extra 9 miles to our journey. The owner Paul told me a story about a kid who is 9 years old and riding his bike across the country. Now I guess if I ever feel tired or want to quit ill just tell myself “A 9 year old can do it, you can!” Check his journey at LoveFar.org

Dave stayed behind at the hotel while we got our bike worked on so we met up with him down the road towards Davidson about 5 miles out. Along the way, Shane and I stumbled upon one of my favorite roads called Fraternity Church Rd. (This would be one upped later in the day).

We met at another bike shop Clemmons Bicycle and they told us to eat at Little Richards which was the best BBQ we’ve had yet! With a full belly and only 5 miles done towards our final destination of Davidson College, we got on the road around 3pm. We rode hard 55 miles with only a few stops to admire the beautiful country roads and to remove Shane’s back breaks because his rear wheel broke another spoke! We finally arrived at Davidson around 8pm and what a relief it was to have a former Street Soccer intern Kieran welcome us with spaghetti, bananas and a dozen Krispy Cream donuts!

It’s now Day 12. Our day of rest which means riding 20 miles in the rain to Charlotte for Street Soccer practice at 10! I better get going! Too bad Shane and Dave will miss out because they have to see the bike doc again this morning and nothing opens before 10. We haven’t really been apart for 2 weeks and 730 miles!