I slept in a little on Monday. When I finally got up, I decided to make breakfast and finally get to writing. I knew I was behind, and I had to make some progress before this thing snow-balled and I forgot what happened to me on this trip.

After a rousing morning of awful writing and struggling to figure out how to get through the city of Richmond and on to the next spot, I stepped outside to pack the bike. The sun hit me in the face, and my furrowed brow instantly released. “This is awesome!”

With my GoPro recharged, I threw it on the old brain protector to see if I could get some action shots of my journey through the city. It turned into a bit of a gauntlet: cobblestone streets, college kids who seem to cross the street wherever and whenever they want (been there), and construction that took me urban off-roading.

I pulled into the water-side trail that led me underneath some railroad tracks that were under construction. As I rode past a massive machine above me, it decided to drop a log the size of New Hampshire off the tracks. It blasted the road right next to me, and it reminded me of the Indiana Jones ride in Disney World. As you can imagine, I was totally unfazed.

But I made it out of Virginia’s capital unscathed and heading east. The ride out of town to Chickahominy River was pretty uneventful. I spent a lot of time on Route 5 (John Tyler Memorial Highway)–they’re actually in the middle of building a trail that runs parallel with it, and I got to log some miles on the parts that are already complete. I’m so happy to be in the flats, it’s ridiculous.

I  stopped by a gas station and bought a banana and gatorade. Everyone in the place was wearing camo, and they were all staring at me. I was a little worried that my bright red jacket had scared away all of the game in the area, so I decided to hop back on my bike and keep truckin’. It was a good idea anyway because of my late start, and when the sun got behind the trees, those last ten miles were pretty damn cold.

I crossed the Chickahominy River and arrived at the campground. The ranger inside was very nice and was pretty much the only conversation I had all day. He pointed out where my site was and also pointed out that there was a freeze warning that night. I had about 45 minutes until sundown, so I figured I should get moving.

I set up camp and broke out everything I’d need for the night chill. It wasn’t even 5, but it felt like I should be getting ready for bed. I spent some time cooking up something new: Ramen. But it was very nice to put something warm in my belly.

I put on pretty much  every piece of clothing I had and hunkered down for the night. Even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, I figured I’d throw up the old rainfly to try and retain some heat. Also, my good friend and true outdoorsman, Bud Oakley, introduced me to a cold night camping move that I use all the time: right before bed, boil water and put it in your Nalgene bottle. Throw it in a sock and then snuggle up with it inside your sleeping bag.  It keeps you nice and toasty,  and in the morning you got fresh water! I guess those Nalgenes are really quite useful–I used to just try and disprove their “unbreakable guarantee,” but I’m growing to truly appreciate that bad boy.