Day 19 - Richmond to Doswell, VA - 49 miles, 2240 feet ascent
Elwood: Well it ain’t much, but it’s home.
Jake: How often does the train go by?
Elwood: So often you won’t even notice it.
~ The Blues Brothers
One. Thousand. Miles. We crossed that threshold four miles into today’s ride then felt so good about it, we added 45 more. Even more impressive, we surpassed the $150,000 fundraising mark. Wow.
Greetings from Doswell, Virginia. If you want to find Doswell on a map, look for Kings Dominion. We’re right across the street. After one thousand miles of cycling we found something today we have not seen in 19 days of travel: other cyclists. To clarify, we have seen other riders on bikes, but not anyone who qualified as a cyclist. What qualifies as a cyclist? For starters, a helmet, similar attire, a steely-eyed look of hill climbing determination, road grit, and a bike.
We first sighted our fellow cyclists during a screaming descent through winding downhills to the shores of the James River. Some of the most exhilarating riding of the trip—leaning into fast turns and speeding out like a sling shot. Pushing the big ring to pick up speed and leaning into the next turn—glorious. Opulent houses lined each side of the road and even the vehicular traffic signaled an upgrade in status with every other motorist driving a Mercedes Benz. We took our first break on the riverbank overlooking the Huguenot Flatwater before we trucked our way uphill and north out of Richmond. Our ride became a tour of Virginia college campuses mixed in with a little orienteering and adventure racing. We planned the trips through the University of Richmond and Randolph Macon College campuses. We did not, however, plan for the off-bike hike through the woods near U of R or the direction finding south of Ashland. We can chalk those up to route-isms.
Our USNA ‘75 classmate, Gary Jones, drove from Charlottesville to the hotel to join in the after ride celebration. Gary has been facilitating the charity aspect of the ride and it was great to see him. He left a box of fresh fruit and snacks for our rest breaks which is much appreciated. Thanks Gary, we’ll see you again in a few days.
Our trek crossed countless railroad tracks but today was a rare day any of us had to wait for trains to pass. Now that we are settled into our hotel for the evening, will we see more trains? A rail line sits 30 feet from the rear wall of our hotel. Apparently, this is enough of a concern that the housekeeping staff left two sets of earplugs in each room. It’s Sunday and once again Direct TV is doing it’s best to ensure that none of us ever subscribe to satellite television. No joy for Sunday night football. Keeping our fingers crossed for the Mariners. Condolences to Brewers fans everywhere.
As promised, we spent much of the ride exiting the Richmond suburbs. We had a small taste of country roads with a side of heavy gravel in the last eight miles or riding. We expect more tomorrow as we stitch our way up Interstate 95 to Dumfries for our next leg. The wind is blowing hard, and the forecast calls for rain tonight and the radar shows a line of storms moving across central Virginia. It should clear out before we shove off tomorrow morning. We had our fourth Mexican dinner since 1 October. For those keeping track, if you went on this trip, you would have a one in four chance of Mexican for dinner. We have had a long day, no one needs a late night. Tomorrow’s ride will rank among our most challenging. It’s time for bed, and time for sleep for on Monday there be hills. See you in Annapolis. GO NAVY!