Yorktown

Wednesday August 9th
Destination: Lexington, Virginia
We had a lot of fun today. After a late morning start I met Jani 30 miles up the road at Natural Bridge which is an entire resort (tourist trap) built around a rock arch. All of the manmade stuff aside the rock bridge is very impressive. It is 215’ feet high, 90’ thick at the top, and the stream that carved it still runs below. 200+ years ago it was a major attraction; Thomas Jefferson bought the land in 1774. They didn’t explain when or how the swimming pool, putt-putt golf, and wax museum were added but they were easy to ignore.
From Natural Bridge it was a short ride to Lexington where I was to meet Jani and finalize plans to camp about ten miles out of town. The town is so nice that when we found an RV Park it was an easy decision to spend the afternoon playing tourist. Lexington’s population is 6000 and it hosts Washington and Lee (W&L) College, and Virginia Military Institute (VMI). W&L College campus looks like a movie set with beautiful buildings of red brick offset with white columns. When the Union Army attacked Lexington they destroyed VMI but left W&L (at the time named Washington College) because it was named after the first president. VMI was a letdown. All the buildings are the same drab khaki color and don’t have any apparent aesthetic value. Maybe that shouldn’t surprise me since the military shouldn’t be judged by Better Homes and Gardens.
Stonewall Jackson’s house and Robert E. Lee’s tomb are also in Lexington. I’m so ignorant of Civil War history that it was very informative to tour Jackson’s house. We didn’t see Lee’s tomb but the famous joke pertains to Grant’s tomb anyway.
It’s been a little depressing on this trip to see so many of the rural small towns in various states of decay. Lexington on the other hand seems to be a thriving community. The difference could be the stabilizing effect of the two colleges, and/or its historical significance. The other huge factor in our positive experience today was that the weather was comfortable enough (88 degrees and overcast) to be outside. There have been other towns like Bardstown, Kentucky that looked interesting but it was so hot we were confined to our air conditioned room.
Tomorrow should be fun since we will be on the Blue Ridge Parkway for about 30 miles. We plan on staying in or near Charlottesville which is next door to Thomas Jefferson’s estate, Monticello.
Mileage: 46/4020 Transam Riders: 0 today/60 total for the trip


Natural Bridge

Thursday August 10th
Destination: Charlottesville, Virginia
I knew that it would be a good climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway but was caught off guard by the steepness. The road up from the village of Vesuvius averaged 9% and was much steeper in places. Jani called me part way up and it took me awhile before I could speak I was so winded. I think it was the last hurrah; it was definitely a worthy climb.
It was cloudy on top and even rained a couple of times so the view wasn’t as good as it must be on a clear day. Fall must be spectacular when the leaves have changed. Someday I’d like to come back and ride the entire Parkway. Virginia has some incredible cycling country. I talked to four west bound riders on The Parkway. They realize how late in the summer it is and will be racing the snow in the Rockies and Cascades. I still envy them since their trip is just starting and mine is coming to a close.
After rolling along the top there was a quick descent to the surrounding “flatlands” which continued to work me over. Today turned out to have the second highest elevation gain per mile of the entire trip.
I met Jani in Charlottesville which is one of the bigger towns (40,000 people) we’ve been in this summer. I saw some of the University of Virginia campus and it looked like the Washington and Lee campus on a larger scale. The red brick buildings with large white columns are certainly very striking. In the hustle and bustle of the town it would have been hard for Jani and me to meet up without our cell phones. We have been very lucky to have had coverage over a very large percentage of the trip. The places where there wasn’t any coverage tended to be in the mountains where there was only one road and the towns were small enough that we could always meet on Main Street.
After meeting up in town we used our other magic technology: the GPS. We knew there was a campground outside town so all we had to do was search for campgrounds near Charlottesville then follow the voice commands. It makes it much more relaxing to drive through unfamiliar country.
Tomorrow morning we will start the day by visiting Monticello then head for Ashland which is north of Richmond. We have less than 200 miles left.
Mileage: 84/4104 Transam Riders: 4 today/64 total for the trip


Waterfall near Vesuvius

Friday August 11th
Destination: Ashland, Virginia
The highlight of the day was our visit to Monticello. Thomas Jefferson was such a great man that it inspires me to learn more about his life. He wrote his own epitaph and listed three simple things: “Author of the Declaration of American Independence, Of Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia”. He didn’t even mention being the President for two terms. I also didn’t know that he died broke which is another lesson for a great life lived.
The riding today was okay but not that interesting. I think the route’s main objective was to stay away from Richmond, it took 23 different numbered roads. I couldn’t ride more than a couple of miles before looking at the map and was continually chanting the next road number to myself. It didn’t help when I’d transpose a number or misread the map.
Being this close to the end is a bittersweet feeling. I’m really happy to complete this dream but sorry to have it end. I’ll have to deal with this in my usual way which is to start planning my next trip. The great thing is that my next trip lasts four weeks and begins when I get off my bike tomorrow in Yorktown.
Mileage: 94/4198 Transam Riders: 1 today/65 total for the trip


Monticello

Saturday August 12th
Destination: YORKTOWN, Virginia

WE MADE IT!!!

If the biking has to end then at least it ended on a good note. Unlike yesterday’s route there were only a few different roads to remember. That combined with the flatter terrain made for fast riding. It was reassuring to find that my legs were strong once out of the hills and I pushed really hard. The first half of the route followed a Civil War Battlefield Route. In 1862 the Union Army tried to capture Richmond. When that didn’t work they retreated south to the James River. The Union and Confederate Armies battled for seven days over many miles of forest and swamp. Some of the battlefields had cannons and gave more of a feeling for how savage the fighting must have been.
When we got to the official route end at the Yorktown Memorial there was a couple there with a tandem and trailer. I’ve been hearing for weeks about them and four others they rode with. It was ironic to catch them in the final hour. The first thing they asked me was how I felt about finishing. When I said that it was a little depressing they agreed and explained that this was their third cross country trip in three years. They’ve now done the Southern Tier, Northern Tier, and Transam routes. It all started when he asked for three months off from work and his company refused, so he retired and has been biking each summer since.
Now we’re ready to start the second part of our trip. We’re camped in Williamsburg and will visit the Colonial town in the morning, then go to Jamestown. Next year will be the 400th anniversary of Jamestown and Virginia. After that it’s up to the DC area, then who knows what we’ll do. In all my planning I made sure to have maps of every state for the bike route but forgot to include an atlas. When we find one then we can start mapping out our route home.
Mileage: 96/4294 Transam Riders: 2 today/67 total for the trip


Atlantic Baptism