Pat Newman and I left Franklin at 5 AM and drove to McDonalds in Williamsburg for breakfast at 7 with some of the group. We met the others at Jamestown Festival Park at 7:30. Cheyenne arrived with the shuttle van and trailer at exactly 7:45. She loaded all the bikes on the trailer and we left at 8 as planned. Bob A rode with Pat in the SAG* truck and followed us to Richmond. In the Cap Trail Shuttle van were Bruce D., Pete, Mal, Joe, Leslie, Rich, Duane, Bob M., Sharon, Cecil, and Ed and me. We began our ride at the Stone Brewery at 9:20.
The 55 mile ride from Richmond to Jamestown is a challenge for people who have never ridden a bike that far before! I make it a game to see if we can make the trip seem like a "ride in the park".
That means we ride around 10 mph and stop every hour. We really enjoyed the last 20 miles and loved to see the mile markers in the teens. We had conserved enough energy so that we could still be delighted with the scenery and enjoy the sweet hum of the tires on the paved trail! At the end of the 55 mile trip we all still felt good. Were arrived at mile 0 in Jamestown at 5:10.
*Support and Gear
Bill
Here are some pictures of the Epic Ride
Bill's photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJ3V6S4
Bob's photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vpdu1T4CMYJuPJiQ7
Mal had a good summary of the day that I attached here:
Hi Bill and Bikers, the Valiant Thirteen--As advertised, Bill, this was a terrific ride and a terrific bunch of people to ride with. Everyone had a good time and there were zero mishaps. My only repercussion seems to be that I do not want to get on a bike today, Wednesday. Special thanks to Pat Newman who drove the SAG wagon all day and was always keeping an eye out on us. It helped all of us know we had a support system if something happened. And, lucky for Pat (surely a coincidence) he had a Virginia license plate reading TUES.One of these days I am going to read all those historical markers along the way. But then, I would probably have to turn it into a two day ride. Virginia sure has a history. The ones right there at Charles City are well worth taking the time to read.Bill is a walking advertisement for the Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club Tuesday Group. And we even saw a barred owl. I appreciated the chance to join The Tuesday Group for a day. Mal