friends fone from the fleche

A month after the end of our fleche, I've stumbled across some phone messages some friends left for us mid-ride. Calls from our buddies Mike D, Jerry and Byron from Team NC/DC failed to ring through for several reasons:

1. few cell towers along our route in hilly, rural Virginia
2. I killed my phone's battery pretty early by using it as a camera
3. and finally, I lost said cell phone in a Sheetz parking lot on the way home.

Highlights of the messages include an obviously tired Jerry calling from Delco, NC to check on us, and Mike and Byron phoning after their succesful finish.

I wish my phone would have worked and we could have heard their messages of support. In any case, a belated "Thanks!" to our friends who, in the middle of their own fleche attempt, were thinking of us as we fought through ours.

"Everyday Sunshine"

..and here's the link to the slideshow originals.

The Last Waltz

So I mentioned hearing Rick Danko's haunting tenor as a teammate had to abandon on our fleche. The song was "Twilight," and its melancholy melody played in my mind as the sun, and our spirits, sank.

"Don't leave me alone in the twilight. Twilight is the loneliest time of day."

When I got home, I was determined to find the song among my CDs by The Band. The only version I've ever known was one by Rick and Garth Hudson on a Best of Mountain Stage Live compilation. While looking, I got reacquainted with "The Last Waltz." That in turn led me to this amazing performance of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." Which brought me full circle to our fleche route, a route through many places that endured the War Between The States.

Lynchburg, Gordonsville, Orange (then known as Orange Court House), Leed's Church, Centerville, Manassas, and of course, Arlington. All rich in history, and we were too rushed to enjoy it at the time. I get the feeling though, we'll visit these places again.