Strange Days

Day 6
Matt awoke early, meaning my sleep-in was over. We packed up camp swiftly, and were on the road at a record-early of 7:20am. Very soon after our departure onto the straight, flat road, we were overtaken by a sedan hurtling down the road at over 100 miles an hour. We just had time to exclaim 'what was that about' -before another car followed, slightly slower. We continued around the bend, to encounter the second car stopped by the road, with the driver, a middle-aged man, distraught. We realised suddenly that the first car had left the road, and wrapped itself around a tree; fatally totalled. The man was barely coherrant, but we could make out the key, awful words 'wife' 'kill herself' and 'dead'.


The road was littered with debris, and the car was ripped in two in a ditch off the road. It was immediately obvious that there were no survivors from such a crash. Matt was quick to drop his bike and console the rapidly disintigrating man. I was slower to react - a pick-up passed by, which we flagged down and yelled at to call the emergency services. Matt continued to hold the guy, who was now clutching his mobile phone and crying. I went to his car, where his son sat patiently - unaware of what had just transpired. In my effort to remain composed, I cannot remember the childs' name (as this was the first of many casual questions I was to ask him.) However I cannot forget his big, enquiring eyes and thick lashes. We talked about Batman and his sister Sadie; about how he beat his brother at a video game and how, while he had a bike - he couldn't wait til he was 13, so he could drive a car'. I kept glancing out the window as Matt continuted to console the kids' father. It seemed an age before the Troopers arrived. In the meantime I gleamed that the kid was afraid of the police; when I told him they were on their way his eye-whites showed and he scampered from the front seat to the back seat. I had a time reassuring him that his dad wouldn't go to jail for him not having a booster-seat. He was only five and was supposed to have one; I told him he didn't look a day under 7 and no trooper would think so either. I kept asking mindless questions whilst myself piecing together what had just happened, and what it would mean for the innocent child who looked back at me. He asked a few times why his dad was crying. I told him there had been an accident, and his dad would be ok; trying to shut off my own wild guesses at what would transpire.


The police, ambulance and fire service all arrived, closing off the area and barking orders. Thankfully, the childs' aunt arrived, crying but with the presence of mind to say to the child 'old Auntie Joo-joo; always cryin' - before grabbing him from the car and taking him to her own. The troopers required us to hang around to give a statement on a notebook, before waving us on and telling us meaningfully, to be careful on these roads. We heeded, and pedalled slowly on, both in silence for some time.

We both obviously found it difficult to enjoy the scenery that passed us by today (beautiful, serene and quiet as it was.) The sad future of the family we had just met, and the bright eyes of the boy I had befriended was inescapable. Matt was able to rescue a turtoise as it crossed the road with famed slowness. We also stopped for a refreshing dip in the James river at the height of the midday sun; meeting a local who had completed his own epic cycle back in 1975.


Despite original intentions to camp another night, we unamiously deciced that wi-fi; A-C; beer and comfortable bed were in order. Thankfully, Howard Johnson Motel was on our route and cost $55; including a pool and breakfast. From the James river, we cycled another 24miles and so find ourselves in a lovely, homogenous hotel retreat.

As I cycled today, I kept thinking of Mike and the Colonal of last night; and the tragedy we had witnessed this morning. Surely it is demographics; a factor in any Western country, but certainly domestic life does not seem easy in these parts.