Maryville to Sewanee, Tennessee

As we get our bodies back in motion, we are re-learning the aches and pains of riding our bikes... across the country. The first day back on the road was unexpected - the bikes felt very foreign between our legs as we started our 45-mile ride to Sweetwater. It was refreshing, though, to have a short ride. That meant we were done before the heat of the day and we warmed up our legs for the rest of the mountains to come. That's right, mountains. We thought we were through the mountains, but, as it turns out, the Smoky Mountains roll quite far east.

Anyway, the next day, Sweetwater to Dunlap, was one of my favorite rides yet. A terribly "hilly" day. That's what we thought until we learned that we were still in the mountains. A relief. Kindof. But in all seriousness, it feels good (mentally) to be conquering even more mountainous terrain. The ride was intense, with climbs and descents that lasted miles. The final descent into Dunlap was phenomenal - the view was amazing as we rode along a ridge line with a spacious valley floor rolling out to our left. As we rode the ridge to the right, more and more valley was exposed, under a thin blanket of afternoon fog - the kind that gives the Blue Ridge Mountains their name. To top it all off, there were three hang gliders soaring above us! It was really magical to be riding at 30-40 miles per hour and be riding directly under another human being who was flying. I could finally find a parallel to riding my bike down a mountain. FLYING! ...with a vibrating saddle... But I experience that kind of intense adrenaline rush and that much joy throughout and just as much regret when it is all done. But luckily, there is always another mountain to climb to get another rush. I think I'll save my legs for the Rockies, if you don't mind! We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Today was the first day we got up at 5am - we passed into the Central Time Zone yesterday, so "it still feels like we're getting up at 6am." Eric and I are skeptical. We started our day with a pretty serious climb (almost 2,000 feet in 8 miles) but the terrain was less intimidating after that. We rode on a plateau all day. The "hilly" kind. We probably climbed as much as we descended, meaning we climbed about 25 miles and descended about 25 miles. Perhaps the best part of the day was walking through Paul's yard. Yeah... Well, the road we were on came to a dead end in a gravel cul-de-sac. But there was an arrow in chalk pointing up a gravel driveway. So we made our way up the driveway to meet our co-riders Anita and Andrew. And our new friend Paul. Paul is a retired man who lives on this land with his wife, one of his daughters, his grandchildren, dogs, chickens, and a whole LOT of metal. He tinkers as a mechanic as a hobby. He had loads and loads of stories to tell, but after about 35 minutes Eric and I decided we needed to get back on the road. We were supposed to wait for the riders behind us, but instead we made chalk arrows on some scrap metal, a car door, and a rusted gas tank. Everyone made it to Sewanee safely, so I suppose we did an okay job. The worst part of the day was easily Eric's bike maintenance issues - we stopped five times to fix his back tire. But the end was worth the means - we are staying at a campground on the University of the South campus; the place we are camping is in a beautiful pine grove on a lake. Tonight the Outing Club will provide dinner for 30 hungry mouths and then we'll be in bed by 9:30pm so we can get up at 5am and ride again tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone who has called and written, it has been a blessing to hear from you. We are living in a bubble.

Pura vida,
Molly