Having had a good nights sleep, we set out at 9:30 with the aim of riding to Wytheville,
which was 75 miles or so away from Salem. Being in the heart of the appellations comes with it a very beautiful but also a very hilly area. We were warned prior to our trip that riding through the Appellations is actually harder than riding over the Rockies. The reason for this is that, although the Rockies go much much higher, they ascend far more gradually, whereas in the appellations the climbs are steep and the descents are fast! So progress this morning wasn't very fast, however by starting early we had covered over 30 miles by lunch, which is much better than usual (our 12:30 starts are a thing of the past.......i hope).

This morning was the first time that a few aches and pains have become apparent. The thigh muscles are getting bigger but 5 days on the trot with out a rest does mean that they are getting more and more tired. It takes a while to get into a good rhythm. The knees are also slightly sore, not too bad, but i think they are just looking forward to a good rest in a few days time.

At lunch we decided to stop at a MacDonald's( the first of of trip, which is surprising), and proceeded to eat 5 hamburgers and fries...EACH. That considerably increased our burger count, not to mention our waistlines, however at a $1 each, who can blame us? As we were leaving the infamous MacDonald's we ran into another Trans America cyclist! He did however approach us not on two wheels, but on one! No he wasn't doing a wheelie, he was in fact a unicyclist. I thought that crossing the USA on two wheels was epic, but this takes the biscuit. He is in fact going a very similar route to us, following the ACA route as we are. "Hats off to him" is all i can say.

After lunch we covered the 40 odd miles fairly slowly due to the 5 burgers and fries rumbling around inside. Nevertheless we reached Wytheville at around 7:30 and pitched our tent for the first time, also meeting the unicyclist, Sky, who is also camping here for the night. The tent seems to be a good buy, sold and surprisingly roomy for a 2 man tent. Somehow we have managed to pick up wifi in a random park, so this is how i am able to write this blog.

At supper we sat next to a rather large American who proceeded to challenge the owner of the restaurant that he could eat 35 inches(nearlt 3ft) of cheese steak sandwich in under 30 mins, and if he succeeded he would eat for free. To the amazement of both the owner and us he completed this feat with ease......definitely the highlight of the day.