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Day Seven - One Week DoneWell... As we look out the motel windows, the rain has stopped, and the skies appear clear. It's cold. It's 39 degrees F. After we consider we have started out on mornings with temps of 29F and 30F, we tell ourselves we can't use that as an excuse to wait things out. We came to ride bicycles, and so we decide to ride bicycles. We left the Hampton Inn at 8:30h, and because hwy 100 that we have been following, joins onto Interstate 81, which we are not allowed on, we backtrack 2 miles (3k) to get onto hwy 11. Hwy 11 takes us into and through Pulaski, VA, over Draper mountain, and back to hwy 100 one exit from where it joined I-81. We follow hwy 100 to it's end and turn right onto hwy 221 for just 2 miles (1.5k) into Hillsville, VA. We stopped here for a break and drink. From here we take hwy 52 to Fancy Gap, Va. It's only 8 miles (12k), but this is when the weather changed. We had either very hard snow or else it was hail. It actually hurt our faces upon hitting it. We just kept turning the pedals. Once in Fancy Gap, I actually removed my coat and threw it in the van. Dale wasn't sure that was smart and Dave and Paul were long gone ahead. Leaving Fancy Gap on hwy 52 is a downhill run of about 4 miles (6k). Dale said I should go, and with cold temps and wet roads, I went. Dale said he never saw me again on the hill till well past the bottom. I hit a speed of 48 miles (75.4k) per hour on the downhill. The snow also stopped about half way down and at the bottom the tempurature was up about 8 degrees F. We all met up again at the North Carolina border where Becky was waiting for us. We rode for seven miles into Mount Airy, N.C., and turn onto hwy 601. We go just a mile or so and took a motel at the Quality Inn. We were here by 15:30h (3:30 p.m.). This is a nice early day. After a Golden Corral dinner and a trip to Walmart, we call it an early night. Tomorrow could be a 100+ miles (160k+) day. Today I rode 94.4k in 5h 9m for an average of 18.3k/h (11 m/h).
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