Sunday, May 1, 2011

Day 1 Va Beach - Williamsburg

Monday, March 7, 2011

60 miles -       avg speed 14.6 mph

7:00 AM depart Richmond driving to Va Beach.  Stop at the Sleep Inn on Rt 60 bypass in Williamsburg, VA.  Drop off overnight bags and quickly get back on the road.  Arrive at LaQuinta Inn on Pacific and 27th ST.  Make arrangements to leave the car overnight.  Kelly and I change into riding shorts and prepare to leave. 

It was cold this morning when we first left the house, requiring us to scrape ice from the windshield.  The weather has warmed some to the high 30's, but it is very windy.  Wind gusts of up to 30 mph from due North.

We rode several blocks to the Hilton on the oceanfront and walked onto the beach.  We took several quick ceremonial pictures with our rear bike wheel in the Atlantic Ocean.  Between the cold air, water temperature and the strong winds we were anxious to get off the beach.  A young girl having a cup of coffee on a park bench agreed to take several pictures of Kelly and I at the Neptune statue on the Va Beach boardwalk.

10:30 AM We begin our journey traveling North into the 30 mph winds.  We turn west onto Shore Dr to the Hampton Roads bridge/tunnel.  Kelly's friend from VT, Aaron and his father picked us up at the last entrance ramp to the bridge.  Thank you Aaron and his Dad for transporting us across the bridge and into Hampton. 

On our way to Yorktown we passed Langley Air Force Base.  As we neared the base, a squadron of fighter jets was taking off.  What a thrill to be directly below them as they screamed off the runway and flew directly overhead.  The noise was deafening.  What a great experience for the start of our adventure.

In Yorktown we stopped at the Victory Monument for a few pictures.  Continued along the very bumpy Colonial Parkway into Williamsburg.  There was terrific scenery as we rode along the banks of the York River.   Our butts and arms were sore after all the vibration from the 15 miles on the rough cobble road.

In Williamsburg we stayed at the Sleep Inn.  Kelly was hungry after our first day of riding.  We walked across the parking lot to a Golden Corral for dinner. I left the Golden Corral at 5:00pm, Kelly remained at the restaurant.  She continued to eat and study until 7:00pm.  Later that evening I walked to Uno's to watch ODU beat VCU for the CAA championship.  Who knew this would be VCU's last loss until the Final Four.  While in Uno's I spoke with a LtCol stationed in Fort Leavenworth, KS, which happens to be my birthplace.















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