Jan 13, 4:00.  Long day.  We got up early this morning in Meador at Terry and Wilma's, because we were in a race with the weather today.  It was sunny, but we knew that there was a band of snow and freezing rain coming behind us.  So, when the sun came up, we took off.  Did we mention it was a long day?

It wasn't long before we hit the first climb, and we started peeling off the layers of too-warm-for-climbing clothing.  Then the next, and then another!  We climbed 3 mountains in the first 7 miles.  On the second descent, we got in the mix with a bunch of coal trucks.  The roads were icy, too, and Missy lost her rear wheel in a turn with a coal truck bearing down on her.  Fun times.  Seriously?? Four off-the-hook climbs in the first 12 miles!  OWWW!

We rode along the river for a while, and then we saw a shining beacon in the distance.  It was a Hardees.  The egg and cheese biscuits really lifted our moods and put some mustard back in our legs.  Then we hit another couple of mountains.  We were getting pretty cooked because we started out so hard.  Then, yet another mountain.  Finally, we hit a fairly flat, rolling valley into Oceana.  We hung a left on 85, and started climbing at Kopperston.  About 10 miles later, we topped out on a ridge after the steepest, toughest climb of the trip.  You can see in the pictures how cold and icy it was on top of the ridge. 

The descent was pretty treacherous, and we were getting chilled.  We got to the bottom and made a left on Fairview School Road, which after yet another climb led us in a circle back up where we had already been.  Thanks, google maps.  After some consternation, we found a way via sweet single lane roads to Highway 3--Coal River Rd.  These roads were rolling, twisty, and just like buff singletrack for your bike.  But we had to work for it:  the final mountain of the day came at mile 73.  Did I mention that it was snowing by this time?  When we finally made the left off the main highway, the snow was really coming down.  78miles, 5hours 21minutes, too many coal trucks to count.  Day 5, check.

Today was Missy's last day of riding.  Tomorrow, we are base-camping from the house here, where the Coal River Mountain Watch guys live.  Tomorrow night, she'll be on her way back to Knoxville.  For those of you keeping track, the sprint competition has now come to an end, and I squeaked out a win.  We were neck and neck all day yesterday and today.  Missy got the Justice town limits to tie it up, then I got a county line, and then she tied it up again in Bolt.  Luckily, I got the last one in Rock Creek for a 15-14 win!

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