For the last three days we’ve been booking it down the coast. We realized there wasn’t much else we wanted to do on our route in Virginia, so we decided to increase our mileage and ride for the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The weather has been cool, the terrain is pancake flat, and we felt ready to ride longer, so we did two 50+ miles days and our longest day yet, a 73.
We left Richmond and spent a day and a half on the Capital Bike Trail, which ends in historical Jamestown (apparently now some kind of colonial theme park.) We took the car ferry across the James River and continued through cotton and peanut fields towards the coast.
We ended our second day at a grocery store in Suffolk, VA. After restocking our supplies (mostly beans, oatmeal, and peanut butter), we discovered both our plan A and plan B for lodging had totally fallen through. While we debated whether to camp in the Great Dismal Swamp or to try our luck at the local one-star motel, who should come over but two bike tourists, also shopping for groceries!
We struck up a conversation and it turns out they were part of a group called Canada to the Keys, riding to raise money for the American Society for Suicide Prevention. They graciously welcomed us to join them where they were staying in a local church building. We were thrilled not only by the serendipity of it, but also because we had such a good time meeting everyone. Their group included people who had completed more than one long tour; a world record holder; a recumbent rider and a couple on a tandem! Besides comparing bicycles and notes, we enjoyed the chance to meet people who were such perfect bike-touring role models for us, and I went to sleep with a big smile on my face.
We waved farewell to our new friends at dawn, (and again half an hour later at McDonalds), and before lunch we crossed the border into North Carolina. The ride quickly became even more rural, with long stretches of perfectly flat, straight farm roads. The only challenge was a persistent headwind, which gave us practice drafting off on one another, as well as practice fighting boredom. At the end of a long day, we finally reached the coast, and we were treated to spectacular salt marshes during sunset – like Cape Cod, only flat.
Tomorrow we head towards the Outer Banks – we’re looking forward to enjoying a few lazier days by the beach.
Ahhh, one of the bonuses about travel, meeting new and interesting people by chance! Love the sketch!