A brush with the Law and a Detour

We woke to a freightrain passing the fire station, so got around to packing up our stuff and throwing some dinner leftovers togeether for breakfast. When we headed down to thank the Firefighters, the crew of 5 had dwindled to 1 guy. He let us fill our bottles with ice from the kitchens' ice machine (btw - their 'hang out area' makes the flat in Friends look like a childrens' bedroom)-and waved us on. After taking a few pics of the shiny fire trucks, we hit the trail.
Sadly we only got about 15 miles down the road before disaster struck... In the form of Matts' rear derailer being ripped apart by the back wheel. Matt didn't even swerve, as we were cruising at the time - but the splintering sound of metal and spokes flying made us both stop instantly (and swear profusely). We stopped by the road to survey the damage, and Matt quickly concluded that we needed a bike shop. Looking around the large front yards that surrounded us, we were extremely grateful to spot 2 Police cars parked in front of the very yard we were in front of. Matt went to the door and woke up 'Trooper Farmer', who kindly called a cab (to take us to not-so-nearby Charlottesville, for parts and repairs). Soon Maher, the taxi driver arrived, and we were on our long and expensive journey to Charlottesville; to find a bike shop open on a Sunday! After one miss we found Blue Ridge Cycling (via an interesting drive-by of the 'Druggie area' according to Maher...Looked like The Wires' corner. Sweet.) The dudes at the store got stuck in, leaving us to walk the sweltering streets of Charlottesville in search of a burner (mobile phone!)- and, inevitably, more food. Meanwhile Maher loitered with intent in the parking lot by the bikestore (like he was going to drive away from another $90 cab fare in a small town on a Sunday!)
Having walked a few blocks in the blistering sun, we were thrilled to seek haven in an air conditioned phone store. There, we found (yet again)-not one but three extremely helpful, informative and interested Virginians. Karl, who used to own a bike shop, was quick to give us helpful bike and Trans-Am tips, while his colleague proudly told us of his son who was soon graduating from Cambridge. Meanwhile Celeste was in awe of our crazy trip, and sorted us out with an economic phone deal.
One phone, 2 sandwiches and 3 smug bike shop dudes later, we were back in the taxi to return to ground zero. We knocked at Trooper Farmers' to thank him for keeping my bike and the trailer in his yard. I won't try to spell his Southern drawl, but he said 'It started to rain real hard a while back, so I put your helmets in a garbage bag to keep em dry; I hope you dont mind.' The trooper then cross examined us with one raised eyebrow on how we could just quit our jobs and ride our bikes for 3 months... You can't explain that kind of irresponsibility to The Law.) Still, he told us how he'd come across a few Trans-Am cyclists in his time, and thought it was 'pretty neat how you could get across the country on just a bi-cycle'. With our cargo loaded, the trooper told us to give him a call if we needed anything while we were in his county. He sent us off with a 'God bless y'all'. Now we had the Law AND God on our side.
However we also were now 5 hours behind schedule, hot and tired. We rode the rolling and passed spectacular scenery; pathwork fields, 'Leggo' farm houses and endless green woodland. Still, the undulating hills became more frequent as we neared the foot of the Appalachians. We rode into Charlottesville for the second time (but as we had always intended, on bike)-after 6:30pm. We had originally been aiming for the small settlement of Whitehall, a further 13 miles on...but I was not about to ride past the guarantee of a motel room, beer and food. As it was the day before my birthday, and the hills were making me feel old, I 'pulled rank', and so we pulled into the Red Roof Inn.
If I continue to write in detail of the kind, helpful people we come across, I'm sure this will become a tediously long blog. Suffice to say, we were welcomed by a bubbly young receptionist who made us feel right at home. After a glorious shower (and hand wash of our filthy biking gear)- we hit the town for some impressive local Ales and later some veggie burgers. These burgers would satisfy any carnivore; they were amazing. We returned to the motel fat and happy, and I am writing this this blog a day late -such was my instant slumber. Charlottesville is a pretty, friendly University town - so we were glad for the unexpected stopover.