I'm glad I rode today. "Day 60" is a nice round number to end the trip on. Although, all I really did was ride from Yorktown to Williamsburg so I could take the Trucker to a bike shop to be packed and shipped, and to catch the train to Baltimore for my flight home...
...and I gotta tell ya, the road from Williamsburg to Yorktown must have it in for me? When I rode in to Yorktown it was raining. Now, this morning when I left it was also raining, and hard at times! Naturally, 30 minutes after I got to Williamsburg the rain stopped and it was sunny the rest of the day... :-P
Still, I made it cross-country to the end in one piece, no crashes, no major mishaps on the trip as a whole (aside from to my sanity at times) so I'm calling day 60 a success.
After I handed over custody of the Trucker to the bike shop dude I bought a suitcase at goodwill ($8), so I could consolidate all my loose crap for the trip home, I walked over to the train station.
I had planned to walk around Williamsburg but there was only a couple of hours and it was hot and HUMID, and at that point I was "colonial-ed" out, so I headed to a nearby coffee shop for a latte, and, I must say, one of the best pieces of homemade pie I have ever had! YUM!
It was a long trip home... A 5pm train from Williamsburg to Baltimore (I had a free flight on southwest airlines and that was the closest), that arrived at midnight, a couple hours of sleep in the airport (on the floor in my sleeping bag), a 7:00am flight to Las Vegas, a connection to Sacramento from there and a shuttle ride home... It was over 24 hours in all. But, I made it safe and sound...
Here are some pics of Yorktown and Jamestown...
OK, I should start here. I had grits this morning. You may recall it was on my trip bucket list. And you know, I think I figured out what grits actually are--salt and ground up corn. The were ok but I think twice is enough for me.
Scene from the Yorktown battlefield. This was a British position. I thought it was interesting that much of the fortifications (earthen mounds) are still in place after so long. It makes it easier to imagine what it must have been like.
A period encampment at the Yorktown "Victory Center" museum. I sure am glad they have improved tent technology. I sure would hate to carry one of those around on the Trucker!
This is an actual cannon ball crater from an American Cannonball during the siege of Yorktown. However the cannonball is likely from the civil war. The docent at the house (you can tour the inside of the house) told me they would have removed and reused the shell in the 1700's because lead was in high demand. The current shell was likely mounted by the owner (for effect) around the time of the civil war.
At the Jamestown museum where they had recreations of the town, an Indian encampment and ships (built to the same size) as the ships that sailed to Jamestown.
I'm thinking of using this for my bike helmet? It's WAY stronger than my current one, though I may have to build up my neck muscles to keep my head upright!
Recreations of actual ships sailed to Jamestown. I was shocked at how small they were, especially one that barely had a lower deck. It's amazing they crossed the ocean in these things, all cramped together like sardines. They must have driven each other crazy!
