Today I put in 30 miles at the High Bridge Trail. My goal was to bike from Farmville to the end of the trail near Burkeville, then turn around and hightail it back to Farmville.
Just as I reached the end of the trail who should I run across but a couple from the Mid-West. I turned off my Garmin watch and we began to gab. What interesting people!
Their goal is to bike as many rail trails in the U.S. as they can -- which brought them to Virginia. We yakked about our love of the outdoors, our addiction to adventure, and even about someone we knew in common (how unlikely is that?). Eventually I got back on the trail and before long they came sailing past me (they were super fast) and yelled, "Let's meet up in town for lunch!" And so the gabbing continued for another 45 minutes. It was a beautiful day, perfect, really, for cycling.
But when you're enjoying the day with people who share your passion for the outdoors, it's even more enjoyable. Furthermore, they've made as many trips to Africa as I have, simply to do whatever they can to help the people there. My kind of people exactly. (Note to self: Always take time to say hey to strangers you meet on the trail. You never know what you might have in common with them.)
There you have it -- the start of my new marathon training block. I'm signing off for now to cook up a delicious dinner of sausage, ham, baked potatoes, and cheese. Can you tell I once lived in Europe?
P.S. Live Christmas music in downtown Farmville.
Thank you, gents, for your contribution to the Christmas spirit!