Date: 24 April 2011
Woke up in: Baltimore, Maryland
Fell asleep in: Rockville, Maryland
Miles ridden today: 40
Total miles ridden so far: 270
Weather: Hot and sunny. And then a scary storm…

I’m rattled. This doesn’t happen very often, so it’s all a bit of a surprise, but I am, most definitely, on edge this evening.

There’s two reasons for that; firstly, Miami is still looking a very long way away, and we’ve only got four weeks or so left. Progress in the first week was hampered by technical issues with bikes, bad weather and Pennsylvania being way hillier than we’d anticipated. Plus we’ve just had two lovely days off the bikes catching up with good friends in Baltimore.

Secondly, we got caught out in a nasty storm that rather sneaked up on us this afternoon – when we were miles and miles away from any place to stay. We ended up taking shelter in a nearby church, from whence we watched as the rain and wind, both of which had seemingly come from nowhere, took their tempers out on the earth below. It was a 30 minute display involving impressive performances from both thunder and lightening, and left fallen branches scattered along the roads and a lot of surface water out there. Still, it wasn’t the tornado which the lady who stopped to warn us of the impending storm predicted. In truth, I think we’re still a little far too north for those right now. Although we are headed that way of course…

I learnt an important lesson today: double check the weather forecast before you head off and take a look behind you every now and then – there may well be a jolly big storm brewing back there!

Next stop, Washington DC.