The Dozen That Dared on Tuesday
What a thrill to have a dozen daring Tuesday Bikers complete the entire 55 miles of the Virginia Capital Trail!
We took our time to savour the scenery and enjoy the ride from Richmond to Jamestown. It took us seven hours to reach mile “0” at Jamestown. We had great cool weather and plenty of bright sun that added a wonderful environment for pedaling. Cheyenne of http://captrailbikeshuttle.com took us and our bikes from Jamestown to Richmond which greatly simplified the ride.
My biggest concern was mechanical breakdowns. I had warned the Daring Dozen before we left, “If you don’t bring spare inner tubes on the ride you should bring a thick Russian Novel!” At the last minute we had a real bonus. My friend Pat Newman of Franklin volunteered to drive my truck for support of the ride. Pat followed the shuttle van to Richmond.
By starting in Richmond we tackled the biggest hills right away and got them behind us. The last 20 miles of the ride are the easiest. We tried to stop every hour for breaks but eventually got too spread out for that. One of the best parts of the ride occurred when Bruce M. and Brian met us after riding 25 miles from Jamestown. They rode back to Jamestown with us.
Another bonus was that The Fork on Five Restaurant www.facebook.com/theforkon5/ agreed to stay open so we could have lunch there at MP 36 instead of going all the way to Cul’s Courthouse Grill at MP 20. We got to the Fork on 5 at Noon! She made fresh sandwiches for all of us.
Our second R&R location was Cul’s Courthouse Grill. We hoped to meet up with Ellis and Phyllis and their group but we didn’t make it in time. http://vctf.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=e6e8a7a48ace4906880857508845a4be (click on mile markers to see trail profile)
Our last R&R rendezvous was at Chickahominy Riverfront Park at MP 7. We got another biker to take a picture of all of us. It was an easy ride to Jamestown from there.
At the start of the trip Mal’s tire went flat before we even loaded the shuttle. He didn’t bring a Russian novel but he did bring a spare inner tube. Tom helped him change the tube when we got to Richmond. At a critical time of the repair, Tom’s “sterile” rubber glove ruptured and lo and behold he got dirty grease all over his thumb! During Mal’s tire repair the rest of us rode around Stone Brewing and watched the goats eating grass on the hillside.
John, Bruce J, Pat and I made the 5:30 PM ferry and ate dinner at the Surry Seafood Company. I bought Pat’s dinner for backing us up on the trail. Bruce Julian’s observation: we saw the moon set in the morning as most started their drive to Jamestown about 5 AM; and, saw a beautiful autumn moonrise about 6:10 PM driving Home.
The Dozen dared and conquered the trail! We had a tremendous sense of accomplishment! The longest ride in the history of the Tuesday Group!
Bill Billings
See the pictures at: