7th May 2018 Monday – We all make mistakes, yes even me

- June 27, 2018

Hello Everybody!

Route: Brownsville to Brownsville and then to Wheeling

For the non-mathematicians out there:

Distance: 75 miles (Total 514)	Average speed: 10.7mph
Calories: 2,445	Cycling time: 7h 02min
Average cadence: 67 rpm	Climb: 5,000ft, Descent: 4,757ft
Temperament: Best not mention the start	Aver Temp: 12C, Max temp 17C

This day was my last change to my original route plan as when I arrive at Wheeling I will be back on the ACA Eastern Express route. Sorry even I don't know what I'm saying. Ask Ruth - she can explain.

Things did not get off on the right foot. An apt saying. Things got off on the left foot which was the wrong foot. For instance, when you cycle down a riverbank there are a few “golden” rules that you should try, at least, to skim read. The main ones are:

make sure you go down the correct side of the riverbank
do not assume that the application you are using for that day is 100% accurate i.e. in the case of a ferry operating or not
listen to local people who say “you are going in completely the wrong direction and you best return to Brownsville, then start again”

OK so I made a tiny, tiddly, minute mistake – actually it was more like a 1 hour 35 minute mistake. I could have listened to the two local blokes at 6 miles but decided to carry on to 7 miles just for the fun of it. Either way, if I’d stayed on the wrong side I would have reached the Atlantic before Wheeling.

The good news when I got back to Brownsville, was that I then had to climb a really steep hill. Oh dear!

As to the route and things, I have to be honest with you, the day was a bit of a trudge although the scenery was very pretty as I was climbing up and down valleys all day. Weather kept fine, however.

I was staying with my very first Couchsurfing host, Kelly and her dog just outside of Wheeling. It was just outside but you needed to climb about 170 metres up a great big flipping hill to get there. After my start, the last bit did leave me a bit, what I can say, “peed off a tad”. But once I’d arrived Kelly made me most welcome and gave me TWO helpings of her cauliflower cheesy garlic concoction. It was really nice, which is why I had extras.

Kelly talked about her life as a teacher (I keep meeting them), how to improve my online social media, branding type thing, the local fracking industry which is very active in this area of West Virginia, and her “little accident” with a fracking lorry. Actually, it was a head-on collision with the lorry driver adhering to UK driving condition i.e. in the left-hand lane. Kelly was very lucky and the lorry driver is a ninny and perhaps even a baffoon.

PS I will add photos when I get a decent WiFi service as all the campgrounds seem to offer an average service so far. I just tried to load 5 photos and in the time I went to the showers to wash some clothes (as you do) and then return only 1 photo had almost been uploaded so I thought "bugger that for a game of soldiers"