Day 8: 10/6/2022: Afton to Fredericksburg, VA

 I slept indoors at the Afton Bike House last night.  The house is old and was built very close to the road.  When a car would pass the house, the windows would rattle.  I thought that would keep me awake, but nope.  Also, there was a regular sound of tin or something creaking.  I thought that would keep me awake, but nope.  I slept soundly. Biking is definitely a good sleep medication.  

I left the house before sunrise this morning.  I've had a lot of opportunities this trip to admire the night sky.  Pics of sunrise below.

Below are some pics of the 1910 Montpelier Train Station exhibit in the time of segregation.

After yesterday, today's ride seemed like a rest day.  There were no major hills and a slight tailwind assisting me along.  These made for a fairly easy day of pedaling.

Scenery pics below.  The hills are definitely smaller. :)

The towns I went through today included Ruckersville and Orange.  Below are a few pics around Orange.

I rode through a portion of a couple of Civil War battlefields, Wilderness and Chancellorsville.  Pics below of plaques telling some information about each battle.

Below is some information about a historical figure in Spotsylvania County.  I don't recall this name from high school history class, but I'm sure there are a lot of historical figures I don't remember from high school.

I made it to Spotsylvania Fire and Rescue Station 10 (pic below) where I will be camping tonight.  I also stayed here during a bike trip in 2018.  Tonight, they let me take a shower and do my laundry.  They also let me pitch my tent on the covered patio - no wet tent to roll up in the morning:) What a great group.  They also offered to include me in their nightly meal, but it included venison, so I politely declined.

They had the meal almost ready to serve at about 6:30 p.m., and they got an emergency call.  A female on which a warrant was being served, stabbed herself with a steak knife.  The knife went in completely to the handle.  They got back from the call about 7:45 p.m. and finally got around to eating supper about 8:15 p.m.  Right after they got through cleaning up the supper table, another call came in about 8:35 p.m. and off went the calvary again. The only other call they went out on was before midnight. First Responders definitely deserve to be recognized.

Total miles today: 89.7