July 12, 2013

Miles: 31.7 miles               Climbing: 2050.5 ft

With our tent slightly wet, we took the morning slowly to let it dry out a little before hitting the road. We were still on the dirt road, but it was hard packed and quiet. We love roads that are just bad enough that cars want to avoid them, so we can ride side by side and chat and just let down our guard a little bit.

Quiet dirt road

We were heading to the ocean and a town called Novigrad. I’m sure there was a more direct route, but as usual, we took the quieter roads. We got into a nice rhythm, rode quickly and hard the entire day. Normally, we stop to take lots of photos and breaks, but we both just wanted to get there.

A fun plant to step on

Right before town, we started talking about finding a grocery store when a number of farm stands appeared on the side of the road. We stocked up on fresh veggies and some homemade red wine in another recycled plastic bottle. Now we could go to town and spend the rest of the night relaxing.

We took a turn off the main highway onto another smaller road that went downhill and closer to the ocean. Rounding a corner, we were surprised to see a quaint little seaside village with the ruins of a castle above it.

Novigrad

The campground was at the end of town and we headed in that direction. The campground turned out to be really nice with a beach and free internet. We actually got to listen to a Red Sox game on the computer and Skype with family while relaxing in the tent!

Enjoying some baseball

After a quick swim in the ocean and a cold shower, Chandler rode to town and picked up a pizza for dinner. The homemade wine went to our heads pretty quickly and we ended up in bed by 9pm.