Day 1

Maybe I will come up with more creative titles as the trip goes along. We were up sort of early (some people have a hard time getting up) and on the road by 7:30 to drive to Yorktown. We stopped at a Waffle House on the way for a double waffle breakfast, always a cultural experience. Bumper to bumper traffic with rubber banding all the way down. Those of us in NY may be taxed and cold much of the time but at least we don't have congestion like this. After arrival there was the obligatory pictures of the start, a good bye to Liz and Kim, and then I started riding at around 12:30. The first half mile was past a bikini beach in Yorktown, not that I noticed. The next 25 miles or so were along the Colonial Parkway. I had ridden this road once before several years ago, and I remember now why I didn't like it then. The surface is concrete with embedded pebbles. At Williamsburg, the parkway goes through a tunnel so you have to cut through town. I learned the hard way how to read the Adventure Cycling town maps since initially I read it from the wrong direction and spent 20 minutes wandering around the town trying to find my way. The route transitions from the parkway to a nice bike trail that eventually will go from Jamestown to Richmond. The last 25 miles of the day were along Rt 5 which parallels the James River. Flat and through a nice forest. It ended up being a 62 mile day so a reasonable start. Tonight we are hosted by our friend Terry in Richmond who cooked a delicious meal. Tomorrow we go for an early start that will be more typical of the days ahead.

PS Jim R, what were you thinking? What kind of precedent does this set for the rest of us?