Chicken Dinner Delivery

Yesterday was a cold day. I started off early and road through Richmond to a suburban town where I stopped into an insurance office to pick up my compensation from the accident. It was basically on the way, and I wanted to have it done with. Not to mention, the extra $ in my account is helpful. It was cold and windy, not a pleasant combination. I had the gear to stay warm though. At one point I got off my bike for a few moments and the wind blew it over, breaking my side view mirror. I was pretty upset about this, but at least it wasn't completely shattered. It was broken into pieces and if I close one eye, I can still see behind me. I will likely replace it when I get a chance. I find myself checking my mirror constantly to ensure that cars coming from behind give me space. If they don't, I just get over further. Here is a picture of a big statue I passed as I was riding through Richmond. You can't see it that well because of the shadows, but still cool.

Soooo many leaves!

I stopped to check my directions and noticed this tiny little snake by my foot. I felt it was blog worthy, so here it is.

A little further down I passed these horses. They came right up to say hi. I had also passed quite a few cows, but they just stared. I almost got a picture of about 8 calfs (little baby cows), but they all ran when I went to take my camera out. On another occasion, as I was riding through the country side three dogs came running at me. At first I was nervous, but then I realized they were friendly. They came right up to me and I gave them a little pet.

My moral occasionally dips down when I'm on a long ride, especially when conditions aren't great. Yesterday, I was cold and having some minor issues with my bike. I was tempted to find someone in D.C. to come pick me up. I decided to fight through and keep pedaling. I still was not sure where I was going to sleep, and and if I'd even make it to civilization. Later on in the day it began to get dark. Thoughts and ideas began racing through my mind of what I could do for the night. I prayed that God would help me to work something out. As I passed many country homes I thought about what might be indicators of friendly people who would help me out. I reached a point where it was almost completely dark and I need a place to sleep. I saw a woman getting out of her car in a driveway. I stopped her and explained my journey and the situation I was in. She explained that there was a church across the street that may be alright with me camping there. She made a phone call to the pastor, and he agreed that it would be fine for me to camp under the oak tree in the front yard. She then offered to pick me up some dinner!!! After I went and set up camp she was there a little later to deliver a 4 piece chicken dinner with potato wedges! She also had picked me up a bag of snacks from the grocery store. How generous! I told her about my blog and left her with a few business cards. After eating I snuggled up in my sleeping bag and hoped to stay warm through the night. Temperatures in the 30s!