Cumulative elevation gain: 1600 feet
Weather: 90's and steamy
Attitude: Tired, relaxed
Today's ride started out backtracking the 9 miles from Williamsburg to Jamestown on that same hellish road surface from two days ago. Did not seem quite as bad the first thing in the morning. The flies weren't out in force yet, and the temperature was still reasonable. And as soon as we turned off the hell road, we were on a lovely, smooth bike trail for a full 27 miles. This trail looks like it will eventually go all the way into Richmond, but currently at the 27 mile point it turns to dirt and construction. It was sooo nice to not have to think about traffic and just enjoy the scenery for awhile. Hardwood forests and green fields, very pleasant.
Then it got hot. And humid. And we got back on a shoulderless road, with not an extreme amount of traffic, but enough. And the flies came back out. Biting flies, that swarm you immediately if you dare to stop. So I didn't even take a break until I got into the suburbs of Richmond, where I stopped at the first convenience store I found for air conditioning and a Starbucks beverage. And the next convenience store for more air conditioning and a slurpy.
About the time I got into Richmond proper, dark clouds were looming, and a couple of miles from the finish line they opened up for a 10 minute deluge. It felt soooo good I was giggling as I rode. Did not even bother with the raincoat, although I did have to dig out my helmet cover to keep the water out of my eyes.
So tonight we are staying in Richmond, capitol of Virginia. We rode right past the capitol building, but I was too hot and sweaty and tired to even want to stop for a picture. I'm sure there's lots to be seen in this town but I won't be seeing it this trip.
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| Pretty bike trail |
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| These doors were at the exit of the bike trail in Richmond. This is a "floodwall" completed in 1995, to keep out the James River. when it misbehaves. |
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| Surface of the road from hell |
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| Part of the bike trail in downtown Richmond |
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| Your obligatory Willamsburg picture |
1 comment:
I rode that Jamestown Road many ages ago but not while on a 70 mile bike trip so it was bumpy but not irritating. Thanks for your posts, I'm enjoying them but guess I wouldn't choose to take that trip!! :-) Gay
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