It started off as a brisk sunny November day. Warm enough for shorts but was very glad that I packed my $9 wind jacket that I got on Ebay years ago. This was going to be my first self supported "bike packing" trip on a route that I planned but had not yet ridden. The first 10 miles or so are paved with one dirt/ gravel section where old parksville rd. has been closed. Plenty of dog's on this section as well. About a mile after the YMCA boys camp is where the gravel FS roads start. FS 55 I know quit well so it was familiar territory. I saw an awesome red fox while riding through there but he was gone before I could get a pic. From 55 I made a left on FS 221. This is a pretty tough climb that I have done before on the big frog loop so I knew what to expect. The rest of 221 I had only been on in a car. After passing the Quartz trail about 33 miles there was a tree down blocking the road, forcing me to hike through the woods carrying the bike. After this point there was a good downhill and then the climbs started getting really hard. For the first time I was wishing that I had a gear smaller than the 30 tooth that I was running. FS 221 turns into Tumbling Creek Rd. and that is where I hit pavement again. More dogs around Mt. Zion church. I made the decision to alter my route to Epworth instead of Blue Ridge which was my original destination. My upper body and back were done and I don't think my legs wanted any more climbs. I basically tried to eat every hour. The first hour I had a banana, the 2nd a clif bar. At about the 3.5 hr mark I ate lunch consisting of an avocado, some peanut butter, 3 wheat tortillas, and some dried fruit. Had another clif bar about hour 5 but they just weren't sitting on my stomach well so I didn't finish it. Hydration I could have done better on I think. I took a 70 oz bladder as well as 2 16 oz bottles and my filter. By lunch I had only drank about 35 ozs or so and I should have been closer to 60. I only drank about 60 ozs the whole trip and should have been closer to 100. It was a cool day though so I wasn't prompted to drink as much. The bike setup worked well. I added a Revelate gas tank bag this trip for food and had everything else in my frame bag so I didn't have to wear a backpack. I do need to lengthen my drinking hose to make it easier to drink while riding. Overall a great trip and can't wait to do it again.