June 3, 2006
Day 2: Mechanicsville, VA to Louisa, VA
74.63 miles, 6:04:04 Ride Time, 12.62 Average Speed, 29.9 Maximum Speed
I was tired after yesterday' long, hot ride, so I got up later - around 7:00. I finally got on the road at about 9:00.
The traffic was a little lighter this morning, but it was still no fun riding on Highway 301. Once I got back on the TransAm route, I still had to deal for a while with the suburban Mechanicsville drivers. Soon, though, I got onto some quiet country roads for the ride to Ashland. (Before that, however, I initially missed the turn onto Sliding Hill road. I asked several people for directions, and got several different answers. These life-long residents of the area couldn't even agree on the name of the road we were on. After about 20 minutes of this, I just back-tracked and found it myself).
Before I got to Ashland, I rode through the small community of Brown Grove. I saw a tiny, tiny building with a sign reading "Professional Shoe Shine Parlor." I stopped and talked to the owner for a while. He was a nice guy, and said business was decent. He told me that the building was originally a grocery store, but I can't imagine how there could be very much stocked in the small space. In a few minutes I crossed over I-95. The contrast between quiet Brown Grove and the interstate was striking.
Ashland was busy with their annual Strawberry Fair, but I decided to ride on and didn't stop - it still looked rainy. Outside of Ashland I rode the steepest hill of the trip so far - the only steep hill, really, of the first two days. I rode past Scotchtown (home of Patrick Henry) and was looking forward to a service station/country store at Coatesville. However, there was nothing there. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so this was a disappointment.
After Coatesville and its phantom store, I headed toward "Bumpass." I was supposed to make a left onto county road 658, so when I saw a sign, I made the turn. Unfortunately, this was the wrong 658, and I wasted a half hour riding around pointlessly, trying to reconcile my map to what I was seeing. Finally, I gave up and backtracked the four miles back to the sign. A few tenths of a mile down the rode was the correct 658.
After riding some quiet country roads I arrived at Verbeeck's Country Store. This is a great place. The Verbeecks are New Yorkers who bought the store and moved to Virginia with ther seven children last year. I read the cyclist log book while I ate (very good sandwich - definitely a cut above the usual country store fare), and felt better after I read that several others had gotten lost in the area like I had. Susan Verbeeck asked me to mention that they allow camping behind the store, and that she also stocks healthier food in addition to the usual country store stuff. The Verbeecks are very nice people, and I would definitely recommend stopping there.
It was an easy ride to Bumpass after I left the store. The name is pronounced "Bumpus", not "Bump-Ass", as I learned after talking to some locals, and after I did pronounce it Bump-Ass a couple of times... they seemed more amused than offended.
The ride toward Mineral took me around Lake Anna, through some very pretty scenery. This was a pleasant ride; I even had a tail wind riding up some of the hills around the lake. A few miles outside of Mineral I was chased by a dog for the first time on the trip, but it was no big deal.
When I arrived in Mineral I looked around a little, and then decided to stay at the Whistle Stop Bed & Breakfast, down the road about six miles in Louisa. I had read about in Janice & Jon Risley's TransAmerica 2006 - The Century Ride journal. This is a nice place, and I would definitely recommend it. Trecia, the innkeeper, does a good job. I walked around Louisa for a while, and then ate at Obrigado's, a pretty good Mediterranean place.
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Today's ride: 75 miles (121 km)
Total: 173 miles (278 km)
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