Today was one of those days where the riding was particularly tough. It was overcast, windy, and the scenery wasn't all that spectacular. We weren't riding to enjoy the sites, we were riding to cover miles. When you're riding to cover miles, the miles go a lot slower. On days like today, you look at your map and hope that there's something worth seeing. Fortunately, marked on the map, just miles from where we were, was the town of Friendly, West Virginia.

Of the hundreds of towns that I rode my bike through this summer, no town has sounded as inviting as Friendly, West Virginia. All across the country, I've discovered that towns are not usually named on a passing whim. If a town is named something like Cool Ridge or Sunny Heights, its usually on a hill, if it's something like Walnut Grove, or Cove Gap, it sits in a valley. Same thing with towns called Clear River or Crooked Creek, it usually means there's a body of water that passes through. The towns that I'm a little more curious about are places in West Virginia with names such as Tornado, Odd, and Wolf Pen.

In any case, with the day dragging on, the way the day was dragging on, I was excited to reach Friendly. Friendly was a cute little river town. It had a small downtown with the prerequisite general store, gas station and white church. Needing a rest and wanting to soak in the ambience of Friendly, Alex and I pulled our bikes into the parking lot of the white church in downtown and sat on the front steps to watch all of the activity. Fully expecting everyone in town to come up to greet us, introduce themselves, and welcome us to their town, we sat on the steps and waited for the onslaught of friendliness.