Derrick was on call so couldn't go but I decided that it sounded like a good adventure so I bought a bike for $60 on craiglist and met him in Richmond on Friday night.
We both got some dumbfounded looks from real cyclist when they heard we were doing 100 miles on mountain bikes. Apparently we made it a little tougher on ourselves that way but I think it was the way to go with our skill level. The cyclists did give us some great advice. Padded compression shorts, gel seat cover, and gloves. Also...anti-chafing cream. Lots and lots of anti-chafing cream. We took all of their advice and are so glad we did, I think those padded shorts saved our lives.
Here's our route! All 50 miles of it!
On Saturday we got going around 9 AM and did about 7 miles before we even got to the trail. Jay's condo is seven miles from the trail head so we had to make it there first. The ride through Richmond was beautiful!
Get ready for a lot of selfies. That's what happens when you take a trip for two on a 50 mile bike ride. No one around to photograph you.
The trail starts at the river in Richmond and is paved the entire way to Williamsburg. We made it to the trail and the adventure began!
The trail was amazingly well done. There were mile markers every marker and they were so motivational. To start at 50 and make it to 0 feels like a huge accomplishment. There were also larger landmark signs telling you how far you were from rest rooms and picnic areas. Our first goal was about 8 miles in at Dorey park.
The weather was amazing! We could not have asked for better weather. The temperatures were probably high 60's or low 70's both days and we only got about 3 miles of rain. When it rained it poured! Freezing cold, wind blowing, sideways rain. We put our rain jackets on just barely in time and then just put our head down and pedaled for about 3 miles. It was more of an adventure than anything else but besides that rain the weather was seriously perfect.
Mile 25! Halfway there on the trail and soaking wet!
At around mile 32 was Courthouse County with a little burger joint right off of the trail called Cul's Courthouse Grill. Burgers, fries, and coke never tasted better. We ended up switching from a bar top to a booth because of the padded seats...40 miles in and we were feeling it.
Oh my gosh. The big boss. This is like a cruel joke at mile 42. We were riding and I hear Jay: "****". I looked ahead and there is a massive bridge looming ahead of us. I took off.....got a head of steam and powered a third of the way up before I had to walk. It was the only part of the entire 100 miles that Jay and I had to walk.
Here's a good view of the hill....and this was already about halfway up.
I don't know what I was expecting at the end of the trail.
That's a lie. I know exactly what I was expecting. I was expecting a large crowd, applause, a banner for us to ride underneath, and a line of taxis waiting to load our bikes up and take us to our hotel for the evening.
Instead....selfie time! No one was in site and it was a little anti-climactic.
We ended up having to bike across the street to the Jamestown settlement, get info for a cab, wait 30 minutes for our driver and then Jay had to sit on the floor of the cab so the bikes would fit. When we got to our hotel the power was out and we couldn't check in. Good news though! We could still order our pizza from the lobby and the hotel had a washing machine to wash our padded shorts for the next day!
We went to bed early Saturday night because we were wiped out and had an early morning ahead of us. When we got up we had breakfast and called our cab back to come pick us up.
Here's Jay crammed on the floor of the cab with our bikes.
We were both pretty sore and I was a little worried about the day and how it was going to go. I think the biggest surprise was our knees. Man! I had no idea how sore our knees would be. Luckily they loosened up a few miles in but Jay and I were both yelling and shouting about our knees for the first couple miles. I think the ibuprofen we took that morning helped with our knees and our butts.
Our plan was to go straight through on Sunday. We stopped for various snacks and water breaks but we weren't going to do a long stop at the burger place again. I took some video along the way which I may add later but long story short, we made it! It was easier on Sunday than we both expected. I think part of it was we knew what to expect and we would recognize land marks on the way or recognize if a big hill was coming up.
Here we are just as we're coming in to Richmond. You can see the city in the background.
And at mile 50!
The hardest part of the day came after we had finished the trail and were trying to navigate back to Jay's place. We were trying to avoid some major hills and busy roads so we tried out a "greenway" for bikes that took us up and down stairs, over majorly difficult terrain, and down some fairly busy sidewalks.
The upside was this amazing view from over top some train tracks.
In the end I was fading pretty fast and Jay could tell so he amended the plan and we stopped at a Jimmy Johns to get some real food. Then he took a quick uber ride to his house and brought my car back which we loaded up with our bikes and drove the rest of the way. No guilt there. I feel very accomplished with our weekend and hope to do it again! I'd love to go again with Derrick. I think he'd enjoy the endurance test and the steady grind towards the goal.
This bike trip was amazing and totally impromptu! With less than a weeks notice I snagged a bike on craigslist and made arrangements to meet Jay. I am so glad I did. We had a great time and renewed our sibling bonding. I don't remember the last time Jay and I got good one-on-one time and I know I'm going to value this time together for a long time.
