While there was no snow on the ground when I woke up, it was definitely a day for layers. Filled up with some tasty breakfast and recharged from my stay at the Mountcastle Manor, I set off towards Greensboro. I enjoyed the first few hours of riding once I sorted out the proper amount of clothing needed and realized that exposed skin was not a good idea in the cold wind. Even though the sun was shining, I looked like a bit of an alien with my black coat zipped up past my nose, hood over my helmet, sunglasses on, scarf around my ears, and two pairs of black tights one over the other. Still, I was happy! I had lots of time to ponder my existence with some strong headwinds as I went from Maryland into Delaware at a pace that was slow even by my tortoise-like standards. An hour or two past noon, I ducked into a gas station to try and figure out how far I had ridden and how much further I would be going that day, as I was starting to wonder whether I would wind up riding after dark with my planned 85 miles. As I talked to the cashiers in the convenience store to try and gauge my progress, there happened to be a man with a truck who lived in the direction I was headed and offered me a lift. It was one of those moments where the term "coincidence" doesn't quite seem to cover the way things wind up working out when you least expect them.
A resident of Harrington and avid outdoorsman and hunter, he lived about 30 miles from the gas station and 10 miles short of Greensboro. He had all sorts of stories to tell about the region as we drove along. When I got out at his house, he even gave me some "homegrown" venison pepperoni sticks and jerky from the freezer for a protein snack to put in my bag. Because of this 'fast forward' bit in my day, I was able to really enjoy the rest of the ride to Greensboro in the sun and wind and even got to spend some time in their town library.
After some time perusing bookshelves and enjoying the warmth and book-smell of the room, I headed over to the home of my warmshowers hosts for the night. Bill and Mary greeted me with open arms to their house along with Brandie the enthusiastic dog and Snowball the cat. Their son, Albert, who had done a cross country bike trip, arrived home just in time for a tasty supper and time to swap entertaining stories about cycling. A great evening of warmth, both in terms of temperature and company in Greensboro.
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