Over the next 3 days we made our way to Richmond, after which Larry finished the ride to Yorktown and I loafed around my apartment (and continue to loaf at present).
July 13: 71 miles from Roanoke to Lexington, VA
One of the nice things about good parents is that they will bend over backwards to help you out. My parents will gladly tackle any beast of burden, and therefore my mom drove our BOB trailers (we're not sure if BOB stands for "back of bike" or "beast of burden") to Lexington for us. Riding without these 50-pound storage units invigorated us and eased our ride through the hills.
Before we left the house, the Roanoke NBC news affiliate, WSLS, sent a crew over to my house to do a story on the Ride for Jim. My girlfriend is a producer at the station, which may have had something to do with this press coverage (thanks babe)! Here is a link to the story:
http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/roanoke_man_is_almost_finished_cycling_across_the_us/41347/#fragment-1
We rode for a bit with the BOB trailers so that all could see what we looked like on a regular day, after which my superhero mom swooped in and snagged them.
Because of my house's location in Roanoke, we decided to ride along The Blue Ridge Parkway to Buchanan, and from there we picked up the TransAm. After arriving in Lexington, both my mom and girlfriend drove up for BOB delivery and also to take us out to eat in the beautiful, historic downtown at The Palms restaurant (a cycling club favorite). This was truly a high point on the trip.
Riding along the Blue Ridge Parkway
View from the Parkway overlooking The Great Valley
July 14: 82 miles from Lexington to Charlottesville, VA
We were blessed with yet another day of good cycling weather. A high pressure system in Indiana gave us low humidity and a high in the mid 80s for the second day in a row. We also rode along The Blue Ridge Parkway again, which is noticeably cooler because it is essentially a ridgeline road. In fact, we veered off route to ride an extra 20 miles along the parkway for the purpose of avoiding a steep 4-mile climb and instead spreading this elevation gain over the course of many more miles. The disadvantage of the parkway is that it has no convenience store services so one has to pack all of the water and food necessary for the trip distance. Larry and I had a buffet-style lunch of beef jerky, cereal bars, dried fruit, pretzles, and other snacky stuff at a picnic bench near an overlook & trailhead. For dessert we both had a nap in this peaceful setting before setting off again.
About 11 miles before we were to leave the parkway, a bicyclist heading in the opposite direction called out: "Are you Charley or Larry?" His name is Brian, and his group is heading from Yorktown, VA, to Kentucky this summer before completing the TransAm next summer. He was riding with four other cyclists and two sag cars, and two of these riders are friends of one Jack Haar! In fact, Dr. Haar rode with them for the first couple days of their trip and told them that they'd probably intersect us at some point. We chatted for a while at an overlook before wishing each other good luck and going our respective directions.
The ride took us to Rockfish Gap, which is on top of Afton Mountain. For those who travel I-64, you may recognize this mountaintop as a spot that regularly is covered with fog or other bad weather. Fortunately it was clear and gorgeous so we enjoyed a nice view. The route took us on somewhat of a roundabout route into Charlottesville from there, so we just rode 250 East all the way instead of literally getting on and off of it multiple times over the course of 22 miles.
A Christmas tree farm along the parkway
Howard, Will, and Brian (left to right). Howard is Dr. Haar's neighbor, and the other guys are riding with him to Kentucky this summer. Next year they'll ride from Kentucky to The Pacific.
July 15: 70 miles from Charlottesville to Dr. Haar's house (Larry) and 100 miles from Charlottesville to Richmond, VA (Charley)
This ride essentially ended my adventure, but I couldn't help being excited to return to Richmond. Larry would still have one more day riding to Yorktown, whereas I will not do so until August 23 as part of the Ride for Jim Finale Rally.
The good weather held out again, and the ride was pretty flat and shaded. The only troublesome part of the ride came at the beginning, when we ventured on the treacherous 250 East Bypass to depart Charlottesville. There was pretty intense traffic but it mellowed out once we got out of the city. I probably should have sought out a better way to leave the city.
We didn't want to take the TransAm out of the city because it takes a very scenic route on the way to Hanover County. It leaves Charlottesville in a southward direction, then heads far north, and then back south a bit. We opted to take 250 East to 22 East all the way to Mineral, VA. This route shaved 18 miles off of our ride, and we also found a way to shave off a few miles between Mineral and Hanover County by skipping the venture to Lake Anna.
Riding into Hanover County we received quite the welcome. First of all, Dr. Haar rode out to meet us (yes, on bicycle) on the road. It was great to see him and he was definitely excited to see us. He then guided us past Scotchtown, the birthplace of Patrick Henry, to his house in Hanover County. The official Ride for Jim Welcoming Committee greeted us as we entered the neighborhood with applause while waving an American flag. Goodbye to the adventure, but welcome back to a normal life!
I rode my bike down to my apartment in Richmond, from which I drove my car back to the Haar's house. Mrs. Haar prepared lunch for us when we arrived, and then had a nice dinner party for us that evening. Dave Jenkins, one of the ride organizers, and his family came over to dine with us and again it was great to see another familiar face. We had a great dinner and a great breakfast the next morning. Mrs. Haar must have been keeping track of the blog because she had our favorite foods. Thank you so much to the Haars for their wonderful hospitality!
The countryside outside of Charlottesville
Dr. Haar met us on the road. We finally found the man whose signature we've followed through all those guest logs.
Apparently we're being photographed while photographing Scotchtown
Scotchtown, Patrick Henry's birthplace, happens to sit along the 76 near Dr. Haar's house in Hanover County
The official Ride for Jim Welcoming Committee to Hanover County.
Larry with the Haars
July 16
Larry completed the ride to Yorktown solo, where he met up with his wife, youngest daughter, and a family friend. The weather was a bit warmer and more humid but he didn't have to carry the BOB trailer and was rewarded with Ben & Jerry's ice cream at the beach. He was proud of his accomplishment, and deservingly so, as was his family. It was certainly nice to meet them, after only hearing little snippets about them throughout the course of the trip.
In total, Larry's odometer said 4,000 miles to the Victory Monument in Yorktown, and 4,001 miles to the beach where he dunked his front tire into the Atlantic Ocean.
One of many Where's Charley posters around the MCV campus
Uzo and Jason found me
Larry finished the ride to Yorktown: 4,001 miles in total!
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