Great Dismal Swamp Cycling

The Great Dismal Swamp is a unique biosystem consisting of three foot long mosquitoes, angry black bears, venomous water moccasins, black hornets, bees, and high humidity. And yet I still ventured into it Friday morning after a filling breakfast at a local eatery. Why? Because this certain stretch of the Great Dismal Swamp near the VA-NC border has a stretch of paved road, remnants of an old highway, that runs through it. This makes it a prime candidate for running, cycling, and walking which I took to full advantage when a couple of gents from work and I hauled down to the swamp to ride our trusty, dusty carbon fiber steeds. 28 miles later, and I'm convinced that I should ride that stretch more often. A continuous path with no traffic to worry about, although the car barriers are a nuisance to steer around, and nature completely surrounding you. I was mostly quiet during the ride, busy smelling the honeysuckle and other foilage that reminded me of back home, while feeling stress slip away from my body. At the end of the ride, I packed up my bike, knowing that whenever the opportunity would present itself I'll make the drive back down.