Day 10: Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Today, we are visiting my best friend from high school Tammy and her husband Tom in Staunton, VA.  They are very gracious hosts and are making sure we have plenty of rest, food and relaxation.  The first thing I did last night was take a nice, hot soaking tub bath and it felt wonderful.  We have taken over their laundry area and bicycle clothing hangs from all their doorways.  It is so great to be able to visit friends as I take this journey and share my dream with them.

Day 9: Monday, April 18, 2011

68.5 miles to Afton, VA

After passing Ash-Lawn Highland, the home of President James Monroe, and Monticello, the home of Jefferson, riding through Charlottesville, we started the climb around the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The climbing was not steep, but very long.  Good training for the days to come.

Riding past the home of Thomas Jefferson.

Stopped by a train for the first time.

Day 8: Sunday, April 17, 2011

75.5 miles to Tabscott, VA

We rode through Ashland today, a quaint little town with the railroad running through it and a terrific coffee house that features live music and a gathering place for bicyclists.   We biked past Patrick Henry’s home and over Lake Anna.  We finally noticed that the trail is marked with “76” route signs which is pretty awesome since the trail was first ridden to commemorate the Bicentennial in 1976.  I hope they are posted the entire route as it sure makes it easier to find our way, although we took one wrong turn today.  Fortunately, we only strayed about 2 miles.

Day 7: Saturday, April 16, 2011

Another rest day dictated by a serious storm that began when we woke up this morning.  We decided it would be best to rest this out and double up on mileage the next couple of days.  We are heading to see my high school friend Tammy in Staunton, Virginia. One nice thing about another rest day is that I am able to work on the counted cross stitch I brought for this trip. I had just finished a set of 4 butterflies before we left, so I can now start the “Smoke Ceremony” piece I bought several months ago.

Golf ball size hail. Good thing we didn't ride.

Day 6: Friday, April 15, 2011

72 miles to Mechanicsville, VA

The day was spectacular and the ride incredible. As often as I have bicycled around Williamsburg, I never knew about the Capital Trail.  It picks up right at Jamestown and goes to the Chickahominy River, then restarts at Sherwood Forest Plantation and goes through verdant farm land.  We passed several other plantations and rode through the Richmond National Battlefield Park.  We stopped at the Old Dominion Outdoors store which was still closed for the season.  We used their picnic table and surprisingly the restrooms were unlocked and very clean.  Nice stop for us.

The Capital Trail runs through scenic farmland

Taking a rest at Old Dominion Outdoors

Road closed in Richmond Battlefield

We bicycled down it anyway and just had to get over a pile of boulders

Day 5: Thursday, April 14, 2011

We decided to stay another day at Chippokes Plantation. Mostly for logistical purposes as we still needed to work on more details for the trip and my friend Tammy, who we are visiting, had last minute business out of town for the weekend. We found a handlebar bicycle bag for Vincent.  It works out perfectly since it has a special map holder on top that the ACA maps fit into nicely.  After we picked up the bicycle, we took a walk around the plantation.  It was founded in 1619 and has been continuously farmed since then, making it one of the oldest farms in the country.

Day 4: Wednesday, April 13, 2011

A well deserved day of rest.  We decided to take today off to catch up on things, blog and work on the next few days of the route.