And so we begin…

May 3, 2017

The night before

This story doesn’t begin today, I think it began Monday night. Normal people may have taken the chance to relax, make sure everything was packed, make last minute adjustments, and get to bed early. This wasn’t the case. Instead, we wined and dined with great friends. Let me just emphasize the wine part a bit more, it was delicious wine, strong beer, and cognac. Not sure if I’ve ever had brandy before, now I have. Not sure if I’ll ever have it after beer and wine again either. Just like the wheels spin on my bike, so was my brain at 11:30 pm when I couldn’t fall asleep. Needless to say, once I fell asleep, I slept through the night.

Get the show on the road

5:30 AM rolls around, did I even sleep? Oh well, time to pack everything and get on the road to meet Brian, my partner in crime, for breakfast in Yorktown, Va. This is where we started our 4,200 mile trek. And shit, I was nervous. We started at the Victory Monument, then following tradition dipped the back tire in the York River (essentially Atlantic coast). Brian led us out of town, after I chickened out on taking the lead. I realized I had never needed to read a map while riding, so when it came down to starting, I slightly panicked. Luckily Brian has plenty of experience, and took control. Having Liz and my dad there too was settling.

Along we go

The first 15 to 20 miles were along Colonial Parkway. Smiling was the only emotion we could show, but honestly it felt like I had never ridden a bike before once we started. Every noise you hear, gear you switch, hill you climb, you think something is wrong. We eventually made it to our first town of Williamsburg, which was a nice place for a bathroom break and snacks. The town was neat; I’ll never need to go back though. We eventually made our way to the Capitol Trail, where we rested for about 15 minutes and snacked again before departing. A 15 minute break does wonders for your mind and be-hind. The cap trail was great, being off the road from swooshing cars, but not swooshing wind. We got hit with close to 20 mph head and side winds any time we were in open, shadeless fields. It was slow going, but the wind was nice because it wasn’t humid. It wasn’t completely terrible, but definitely challenging.

Willis United Methodist Church

After what was arguably the worst part of the trip in saying bye to Liz, I wiped the waterfall of tears off my face and headed to the church. I must say before I move on, I’m going to miss the heck out of you, Liz. Thank you for coming with, and being such a wonderfully awesome (girl)friend. Pulling up to the church was relieving. Then walking into the church with showers, A/C, clean water, and a fully stocked fridge and cupboards was even better. HOW NICE ARE PEOPLE. It’s amazing. First things first, drink water, make coffee, plann dinner. A fellow rider who we met, Jim from Colorado/Singapore, and I started up pasta and tomato sauce. While that happened, I showered up, unloaded, and sat on a comfy chair. So comfy. We have the whole church to ourselves tonight, and we’ll be sleeping on the floors indoors. Couldn’t have asked for it better day.

Stats

Start: Yorktown, VA End: Glendale, VA

Today’s mileage: 61 miles Total mileage: 61 miles

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