It rained buckets last night.  Luckily, we have had plenty of practice setting up our tent, so everything stayed dry, but the noise of the onslaught against the tent was difficult to sleep through at times.  Fortunately we could afford a slow morning, with only 30 miles left between us and ACE Adventure Resort in Minden,  WV.

The highlight of that section was crossing the New River Gorge via the longest steel arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere.  Once a year, the highway across the bridge is shut down and thrill seekers flock for B.A.S.E. jumping, rappelling and bungee jumping 800+ feet down into the Gorge for Bridge Day.

On the other side, we visited Fayetteville,  which claims to be one of the coolest small towns in the country. There we stopped at New River Bikes so Rachel could get a better rear light, then had a delicious lunch at Pies & Pints.

  
Once we arrived at ACE, we set up camp, signed up for whitewater rafting, then relaxed, swam and even played some tetherball!  We’re exciting for a fun rest day tomorrow 🙂

Trip stats, to date (Day 24)

• Summersville, WV to Minden, WV
• Daily mileage: 32.7mi;  Trip total to date: 1,396.5mi
• Daily riding time: 2hr 45min;  Trip total time: 126hr 36min
• Daily ascent: 2,621ft;  Trip total ascent: 62,776ft
• Flat tires: Rachel – 1; Chris – 0