Staying With Friends at Kent’s Store, VA

Miles Today 42.5; This Section 150 (6 days); Trans-Am Miles 992.1 (29 days)

We awoke at 6 AM with frost on the truck and the bike thermometer reading 34 degrees. The TB had been awake and needed in the Truck so I pushed the unlock button and handed him the keys. He went over and only the driver’s door was unlocked so he put the keys in the ignition and flipped the lock button and closed the doors. However, he had locked the doors not unlocked and we were now locked out of the truck with the keys in the ignition.

We looked over the situation and found that there was no way of getting in. The doors and trim bend in such a way that a coat hanger was not even going to work although we did waken a neighbor and bum a phone book (to call a locksmith) and a coat hanger. I quickly saw that the coat hanger was going to fail me, even though I have experience of opening at least a half dozen car doors by that method. There was no cell reception. So I flagged down a car on the road and the driver’s son was a locksmith; can you believe that? Our phones wouldn’t work, but the dad contacted the son and within the hour the Eastern Locksmith was here and the door open and we $89 poorer. It was great service.

By now the TB needed breakfast so we had cereal with powdered milk (he hates powdered milk). I heated some water so he had warm powdered milk and said it was better than cold. Finally at 11 AM I started pedaling with the goal of 40 some miles to the I-64 crossing near the home of Alton and Jamie Martin. Alton is a noted local marathon and ultramarathon runner and has been buying my sports drink Conquest for many years. Alton had heard about our bike trek and had invited us for the night.

Nancy Vaughn and Anne Reed docents from Scotchtown soon showed up for work and we learned some of the history of the area and Patrick Henry from these wonderfully dedicated women. Patrick Henry’s father was a graduate of Edinborough University and schooled young Patrick. The plantation is called Scotchtown because the original owner had planned to bring in Scottish workers and establish a Scottish community. However, this plan never materialized and the Henry family later purchased the property. About a dozen years ago a private corporation dedicated to preserving historical property took over the management of Scotchtown.

On the way today we passed the Verbeeck Country Store. This store is mentioned on the back of our Adventure Cycling Maps as a good stop in the country and a place that allows camping outback. We had planned to be here for the night; however, the Adventure Cycling Map printed the wrong phone number to the store and when there was no answer we feared it was not open. What a mistake that was. The proprietors John and Susan Verbeeck are originally from Long Island. She was an interior decorator and he a FedEx driver on Long Island. They have seven natural born children. Susan birthed them all and looks about 24 years old herself. John looks about 35. We only met the baby with her but the oldest is 16. Susan is full of enthusiasm and in particular is very excited about all the cyclists she meets. She showed us pictures of herself on a bike in Iran at age 13. She pulled out a logbook she maintains for us cyclists to sign. But most importantly she is overwhelmingly excited about receiving postcards from the cyclists, and essentially begged us to send her a postcard! We had a quart of chocolate milk and a delicious turkey sub sandwich. This was one time I was not the one to continue all the talking; Susan took care of that until John said, “Susan, you’ve got to let them go.” They were both delightful and we hope they can make a go of this business.

About 6 or 8 miles down the road we came to Lake Anna. This lake was built to cool the Lake Anna Nuclear Power Plant. There are signs for a side road to the Nuclear Power Learning Center and plant that features a movie and exhibits explaining nuclear power. The TB was nowhere to be found at that time so I couldn’t go off route. We will see the nuclear energy exhibit when we drive back to Fredericksburg next week.

Ten miles later I arrived at I-64 just at dark. The TB passed me once and tried to get me to end for the day as it was approaching dusk. However, it was light enough for me to do the final 3 miles to I-64 our day’s destination. He was waiting at a pull off and we loaded up and arrived at the Martin home at 5:40 with them expected home at 6 PM.

At exactly 6 PM Jamie Martin pulled in from her round trip commute 70 miles to Richmond where she is a hospital law attorney (one of the really good guys). Five minutes behind Alton Martin pulled in from his 80-mile commute from Charlottesville where he is lawyer for the University of Virginia. Alton had 3-year-old Thaddeus and 6-month-old Eleanor in the back seat. The children attend nursery school in Charlottesville and commute with Alton each day.

Alton and Jamie are both athletes and they order my sports drink Conquest frequently. Alton ran the Marine Corps Marathon 2 days ago with a very respectable time—better than my personal best after 39 marathons!

They have a beautiful house half way between their jobs with her commuting east and him to the west for a total of 170 miles per day! Then as Alton helped with the children more in one night than I did in a lifetime, Jamie made a magnificent meal of salad, sweet potato-peanut butter soup, a chicken dish, and multiple vegetables. They told us we would stay in the basement! It was another home on a lower level!

Thaddeus was very proud to tell us about his scarecrow on the porch and his lobster hat costume he would be wearing for Halloween. Alton explained that the University of Virginia has a commons area of grounds surrounded by historical one story housing where students must earn occupancy. Each year the students host the children of the area with candy and the Martin’s would be there. We knew we’d never see them in the crowd, but I decided then we were going to see this spectacle and to make a memorable Halloween for the TB and me. We just had the little problem of a 40-mile bike ride over increasingly mountainous terrain to get there.