We Begin Again at the Other End: Yorktown, VA

Mileage Today 22.0; This Section 22.0 ( 1 day): Total Trans-Am Mileage 864.1 (24 days)

The TB called me at home in Florida after he came back from a trip to the Azores to visit relatives--flying space available as a retired military benefit. He was in New Jersey and anxious to resume the bike ride as we had discussed on our Pensacola morning walks since giving up the ride last month. Millie was going to Virginia to baby-sit while our daughter Jody made a trip back to California for a week. Actually Grandma went along to California to watch the three kids.

Well, since I would be alone and bored in Florida, I jumped in the truck and drove 1000 miles over two days to Richmond, VA and met the Trail Boss at a motel along Route 95. We took his car to Fort Lee near Petersburg, VA, and dropped it off for storage, and drove to the Atlantic Ocean at Yorktown, VA, the Eastern Terminus of the Trans-America Bike Ride. Our crew vehicle this time will be my 2003 Dodge Ram Quad Cab Pickup. We have less stuff, no spare bike, and a usable bike rack on the back.

It was about 39 degrees and the wind from the West gusting to 15 mph made for a cold and blustery start. It was noon. So we went into a restaurant on the York River overlooking the boats and ate a bowl of Chili just ahead of a busload of tourists from West Virginia. We then proceeded several blocks to the Memorial Statue that commemorates Cornwallis' surrender to George Washington. The Memorial is the official start or finish of the Trans-AM route on this end of the country. I wore a balaclava under the helmet, a mid-weight polyester undershirt, a nylon wind breaker, thin polyester long johns under bike shorts, covered with my trusty hunter orange nylon shorts. I also wore my safety orange vest and a pair of polyester winter biking gloves. It was colder than any other day so far, but I felt comfortable.

I had thought I might have to do this trip alone so I bought new panniers (four bags that fit on the sides of each wheel to hold camping gear, food and clothing). Last week my good friend Art Harrison, a machinist and farrior (shoes horses), helped me install the racks to hold the bags. So for practice I decided to carry two of the packs one on each side of the rear wheel. I had all my clothing and some snacks along with tools and spare tube. The bike road beautifully with the extra stuff and it gave me a feeling of confidence to have full North Pole gear (as I call it) available should I need it or breakdown and have to wait along the road.

The initial several miles along the York River gave beautiful views of the water front and a few Navy Ships as the route follows the Colonial Parkway some twelve miles from Yorktown to Williamsburg. The parkway is a limited access road maintained as a park by the department of interior. It’s three lanes wide with no paint markings, no commercial vehicles, and mostly through wilderness—very nice. At Williamsburg there is a tunnel forbidden to bikes so we exited onto Route 5 through the old downtown (after directions from the locals as the map was impossible) and past the William and Mary College campus. The town was bustling and the main street was roped off to allow for pedestrian traffic. I liked this part and after many turns and two wrong turns, as I was leaving town there was the Trail Boss parked along the road. I had thought he’d be lost, but he never missed a turn. Soon as we got to the edge of town along Route 5 at about 22 miles darkness halted us. The TB had found a Ramada Inn at a coupon rate and we drove 10 miles there, eating a fine sandwich at the New York Deli across the street.

The plan for tomorrow is to go the Willis Road Methodist Church, which houses cyclists. We have spoken to the pastor Rev. Hugh Harris and he advised we are welcome to sleep inside on the carpeted floor. It sounds great to us. The church is just 40 more miles down the road.