Day 1: A Series of Firsts

Yorktown, VA to Richmond, VA
Miles traveled: 72 (on bike: 63.4)
Average speed: not included in future posts b/c our bike computer averages in our lunches, but about 10 mph
Max speed: 26 mph

Let me start by saying that I wanted to title this post "Day 1: A Rude Awakening," but Dean thought we should be more positive, hence a series of firsts.

So let's talk about the firsts! Today we had our:
First day on our
First bike trip!
First time getting lost
First time losing the map (we found it)
First flat tire (Dean) and first flat repair!
First fall (Dean)
First time biking more than 40 miles in one day
First time biking more than 6 miles fully loaded (yeah, we weren't so hot about training with our gear)
First motor vehicle rescue
First potato tacos

Dean fixes the first flat of the trip

So you may be wondering how we traveled 72 miles but only biked 63.4. See, what happened was.... we only ever trained up to 40 miles, but then planned our first day to be more than 70 miles. Not to mention that we were hungover (thanks, mom), started three hours late due to missing shoes, and got a flat along the way. So when my parents thoughtfully showed up with donuts at mile 63 (with 9 miles of pure uphill left, with the sun setting), we took them up on their offer for emergency transport. My folks live very near our starting point, so they started out with us and popped up every so often with food and encouragement. It was great having a support vehicle, and I'm sorry we won't have them the whole way!

Dean realizes his shoes are missing, so we hit the local bike shop for replacements

The lesson we learned was that we were just way too ambitious for days one and two. We've adjusted plans for the next couple days to slow things down and give us a chance to recuperate from day one. We aren't planning to make it all the way to Charlottesville in one bite. We figure that after we get going more, and are a little more accustomed to the long rides, and when the terrain gets flat, we'll make up for lost time.

But despite a rocky start, in some ways, it was really great! Starting in Yorktown was amazing and I'd recommend it to anyone planning a similar trip. The water was pretty and there were tons of flowers along Colonial Parkway, and they smelled amazing. We saw TONS of cool animals frolicking, or doing whatever animals do. The whole ride was beautiful and the roads were thankfully in really good condition. Dean is super into birds (beats me) and he saw two huge hawks roosting in a tree we passed (very close), but we spooked them, and they flew off but followed us by air for miles. Also, around here the 13-year cicadas are out, and they are LOUD. We had pretty dense forest on both sides most of the way, and the cicadas were buzzing and humming all along our route.

Dipping our back wheels in the Atlantic (okay, the Chesapeake Bay, but close enough!)

My butt is killing me and I am exhausted, but I am still really looking forward to day 2! After all, a day that ends with $1 potato tacos is a good day. :) Many thanks to Sapna and Bret for taking us in!

Sapna, Bret and Dean at dinner. $1 tacos are the tastiest tacos of all.