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lunchtime

Blue Ridge Mountains and The Cookie Lady

Riding through the Blue Ridge Mountains was hands down the BEST bike ride I've gone on. 

Charlottesville, VA

10 days in. At a hostel for the night. Blue Ridge Mountains tomorrow. Hope I'm ready for this.

Best pulled pork sandwich I've ever had.

Day 8. James City, VA to Mechanicsville, VA

Plantations, plantations, plantations.

free food and nice folks

As I pulled into my campground on Day 7 I asked these people for directions to the registration office and they, in turn, offered me friend chicken, pasta salad, and lemonade.

Is everyone in VA this nice?

After I'd set up camp and was off to take a shower I ran into Dave and Kim. Two Chicago transplants living in the area and out camping for the weekend. They were gracious enough to invite me to their camp to sample some crab they'd just caught that day. We ate steamed crab, mac and cheese, and some strawberry rhubarb pie. It was all amazingly delicious and I was so honored by their generosity. 

Awesome chefs and awesome folks!! 

Day 7: Cape Charles, VA to Yorktown, VA to James City, VA

My campsite

After an amazing nights sleep I awoke to breakfast at a table with a group of people I'd never met before. By the time I'd eaten my food and drank and my OJ though, I'd figured out a way to get me and my bike across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Ann and Whit were celebrating their anniversary by sneaking away to a b&b and ended up offering me a ride back over to Yorktown and giving me a grand tour of the area. They are about the nicest people you could ever meet and I'm eternally grateful.

Two superstars of niceness!

It took me 5 days to get down to the actual starting point of the TransAmerica Trail (http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm) but finally I was here and I can't describe how excited I was to finally be heading west. I felt like my whole trip was finally coming together now. I could throw away the scribbled notes and scraps of paper I'd used to get me from New Jersey to this point and start using some actual maps. This was one of the best days of riding I've ever had period.

PICS!:

Victory Monument

I had to pull over and go for a swim in the James River.