Charlottesville,VA

Monday, May 10 day 6 Greetings from Charlottesville, VA. This is a layover day and much welcome. Legs and butt both need a rest. There is also time to organize our gear, do the wash, and clean the bikes. This is really a college town: University of Virginia designed by Thomas Jefferson. It is also the home of President Jefferson - Montecello.

At Left: Mort for short, Lee, Joe and Olaf

Sunday 5-9 day 5. 51 miles - 5:50 rtm - 11.1mph avg - 222 total miles, Hale farm to Charlottesville. The hills are getting harder and the country is becoming much more rural. There are plenty of horse ranchs here and fewer Battlefields. Got our first view of the Appalachias today - Ther're out there! 

 

Top photo Camp at Hale Farm. Bottom photo nice sunset at Hale Farm.

Saturday 5-8 day 4. 62,75 miles, 5:24 rtm, 11.6 mph avg 171 total miles.

Ashland to Hales Farm. William Hale is a throwback to the 60's and so is his farm. Will grows organic rye, has solar powered hot water, and the place is down right funkie. Hale and farm are one. I'm not sure that this is the life for me, but the starry night sky was superb.

Campgrounds at KOA - Ashland.

Friday 5-7 day 3. 32 miles, 2:42 rtm, 12.0 mph, total miles 109. Glendale to Ashland. The campground was OK, but too close to a busy interstate. We are now in more central Virginia. It seems that every town, road and plantation has a battlefield attached to it. There has been much American blood lost in these fields.

Camp at Willis Church (Glendale) and curious tree smooth with seemingly no bark.

Thursday 5-6 day 2: 49 miles, 4:04 rtm, 12.0mph avg. Williamsburg to Glendale (Willis Church). This was a very enjoyable ride that was mostly on bike trails. Oh how I wish the rest of the ride would be like this!

Wheel Dipping - We're Off!

Wednesday 5-5 28 miles, 2:14 ride time 12.7mph avg. Rode to Yorktown and dipped wheeles into Cheseapeak Bay (Atlantic Ocean). We are oficially off.

After the wheel dipping we had lunch served to us by the wonderful people at Grace Episcopal Church in Yorktown. They were very generous and meeting people like that is the reason many of us are doing this trip.

I have been asked many times why we are doing this trip from east to west. Here is the official American Cycling Association reason. The ride began in 1976 as a celebration of America's Bicentennial. America was settled from east to west and this recreates that adventure. Sounds good to me.

There is some serious bike repair going on here.

A statue of Pocahontis and an archeological dig of the original Jamestown fort/settlement.

Williamsburg Inn - Williamsburg, VA - not where I am staying, and a shot of some beautiful flowers in front of the Inn.

Loaded Up - Ready To Go

Saturday I leave for Williamsburg, VA the ride begins Wednesday. I have packed and repacked, trained and trained some more and fretted over details way more than I should have. Finally the day is getting close. A little bit about training: I began on January 16, but January through March were dismal weather months. Finally April turned around and was very good for me.
Total number of training rides - 32.
Longest training ride - 60 fully loaded
Temperatures ranged from 28 degrees to 74 degrees.
Average training speed - 11.5 miles per hour.
Total training miles - 1250 miles - 700 of which were in April.

Everything that I will be living with for the next three months all on the family room floor. The panniers are empty and things that will be in them are aligned behind them. In the center is the handlebar bag that will have my camera and lenses then the items that ride on the back fender. You can view my complete packing list here.

Final version of the loadede touring bike. I'm ready to roll!

The next update will be from Virginia and the trip will have begun. I will be doing updates about twice per week depending on availability of internet connections.

Everyone has been very encouraging and supportive. The pressure is on, I feel I cannot fail.

Thanks,

Better Bill

Retirement Day!

It has finally arrived. The long awaited retirement day. Now maybe I'll have time for some serious training rides. The folks at work were very generous with their send off, or maybe glad to see me go? Cake at the office, dinner at Boudreaux’s  in St. Joseph, MO and post dinner gathering at the bosses house afterwards. It was much more than I expected. Big thanks to everyone. 

On my Saturday training ride I happened across some horses feeding on a bale of hay in the middle of a field. I stopped and took a couple of snaps, but they were a little too far away for a good picture. I packed up my camera and was about to leave when they stopped feeding and hurried over to the fence as if to say "hey you haven't gotten our good side". They lined up at the fence and posed while I took another picture. As I was riding away they galloped along the fence with me. It was pretty cool.

Tailwinds to ya,
BetterBill

Lily white legs!

Yehaw! finally a great day to ride. This is the first ride of the year that I did not need long pants and long sleeve shirt. Temps were in the upper 70's with mostly clear skies. There was a stiff breeze from the south, but the route I rode was east - west so it wasn't bad. Just had time for 22 miles, but there will be more good days ahead. Look past the lily white legs and arms and see the green grass and the nice daffodils blooming in the yard across the street.

The dream begins in 34 days.

Racks and Panniers

58 Days till the dream begins!

This is my bike as it is now with all the racks, panniers and handle bar bag installed. I will carry tent, sleeping bag and pad above the rear wheel, but for training rides this will do.

Since my last posting the weather has improved at least enough for me to get some quality rides in. My total mileage for February was only 131 miles. This, the first week of March, I have ridden 105 miles including 50 miles on Saturday with all of my racks and panniers on the bike. I'll now start adding weight in my panniers up to about 45 lbs. while keeping my longer rides between 50 and 60 miles till April. After I retire on April 2nd I will be able to ride most days and get in some longer rides.

An update on fenders: I'll keep them. I've gotten used to the occational rattle and they sure save the bike and me from some nasty spray.

Better Bill

My Big Map

This is a large map I keep on the wall in my office at home. The pins represent places I have visited to indulge my outdoor activities of bike, paddle, climb, hike, and run. The red string is the route that our group will be taking on our cross country ride. Before I leave I will remove the string and then my wife can reattach it to the pins and thus track my progress.

February so far has been a pathetic month for training. Cold, snow, wind and no break in the temperature. I have only logged one 30 mile ride. I may  have to travel south on weekends to find some warmer weather.

BetterBill