ChrisP here:  Phew, I survived a snowy, cold ride with Sam "the wattage cottage" Evans.   Sam was supposed to be tired after ten days of riding... This was definitely one of those days where you would NOT normally think of going for a road ride.  However, just having a small part in Matt and Sam's endeavor is so worth it and I was psyched to hit the road and see if we could keep it upright in the slush.  The start was a little on the cold and wet side.  We quickly realized our feet were going to be soaked as all the spray off of our wheels soon worked its way down into our shoes...  Downhills were a little rough on the first couple mountains and our glasses were soon frozen to our foreheads.  Uphills were in high demand for the brief period of warmth they provided.   All in all the ride was  beautiful and temps climbed a little above freezing as we descended into the Shenandoah valley.  Having Matt following in the car and looking after us was awesome.  Having our own personal paparazzi was also pretty cool... We rolled into Harrisonburg with a tailwind and the first sunshine in some time--a nice way to finish a mini-epic of a ride, and I gather one of the easier rides Sam has had on his voyage!

Sam here, 7:30 on Jan 18.  Today was the final "real" ride of the trip.  It was awesome having Chris along.  Not only did he know the best route to Harrisonburg, but he's just good company.  It was 24 degrees when we left, which was about 5 degrees warmer than we had seen in in three days.  So when we stepped outside, I felt pretty warm.  That didn't last, though, because the salted roads were covered in wet, slushy snow.  It wasn't more than a half mile before our legs and feet were fully soaked.  But the roads were amazing:  tightly banked turns and great scenery.  The climbs were tough, but the descents were awesome.  We started at a little over 3000' elevation, and we finished today at about 1000', so each descent was longer than the preceding climb.  It made us feel pretty fast. 

Eventually, we finished the last climb and rolled downhill for what seemed like an hour.  The sun peeked out, and our spirits were high.  I was even able to shed the lobster gloves for the last few miles.  It's hard to believe we've come this far, and we'll be in DC tomorrow! 

We're actually going to take a car shuttle in the morning to a "rails to trails" path into the city.  We could have ridden all the way, but we'd have missed out on meeting Larry Gibson and Mayor Hobbs, and those meetings were pretty important.  We really needed to see the destruction on Kayford, and Mayor Hobbs was able to articulate the economic issues around tourism and MTR like nobody else could have.  So, even though we're a little behind schedule now, it was worth the detours we took earlier in the trip.  Tomorrow, we'll scoot up the interstate in the morning for a bit, then Matt and I will both ride in together, triumphant.  I guess I'm cheating a little, but hey, it's my ride.  Next time you ride to DC, you can do it any way you want. 

We have to be in DC tomorrow because they're closing the roads for inauguration.  I am really excited:  it will be my first time in DC, and this should be a good time.  There will be an extra 4 million people who are Obamamaniacs like me. 

Tonight, we're staying with some James Madison U students in Harrisonburg.  They are a cool group, and they seem really committed to helping stop MTR. 

That's all for now.  I could say more about the ride, but the pictures really tell the story better.  It was really nice.

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