Springfield, Virginia to Gaithersburg, Maryland -- 57 miles

We woke at 5:30 am to the sound of Neil's train alarm clock. He had Pete tell us to shut it off right away, which we were sure to do. We started to bring down our equipment to pack up our bikes when Amy and Pete woke to see us off. While we had breakfast, Amy packed some fruit and candy bars for us, which Lorraine gratefully accepted. Ed and his son Eddie came over with their bikes - we said goodbye, took photos, and got started at 6:45 am. 

We biked out of the neighborhood and followed a dirt bike path around Lake Accotink Park. Fortunately, because it was Saturday, the roads were less crowded. Ed and Eddie led us along the local roads, through "Old Town" Alexandria (shops and restaurants along the Potomac River), and out to the Mount Vernon Bike Path. We thanked them and said goodbye, as Ed called his wife to come pick them up. 

There were lots of bikers and joggers along the path, so we had to be careful and go slowly. We soon crossed Memorial Bridge into DC, and picked up the Rock Creek Bike Path. At first, we were heading the wrong way and stopped a roller-blader to ask directions. Donna Stewart said if we turned around that we would be heading in the right direction. She asked where we were going. When we told her "cross-country", she wanted to take our picture! We decided to stay on the bike path all the way to Gaithersburg, rather than following the Adventure Cycling route, which would put us on back on busy roads. We ate our lunch at a picnic table in a park. Lorraine was feeling very homesick today. 

We were able to ride on Beach Road for a few miles, since the road is closed to cars on Saturday and Sunday. We stopped at the park police station to ask about the path ahead, and spoke to Sergeant Scott Fear and Officer Craig Lane. They asked us about our trip, and offered to fill our water bottles with fresh cold water! They were all very friendly and supportive. They told us that motorists complain that beach road is closed off on the weekends. He said it is a source of great controversy. Some want it closed 7 days a week and others don't want it closed at all. The traffic on the bike path decreased as we got further away from DC, although the path itself became more twisty and hilly. We crossed into Maryland, but there was no "Welcome to Maryland" sign. We called a couple motels to find out their rates and directions, then navigated our way from the Maryland state map once we got off the bike path. We stayed at the Red Roof Inn and had dinner at Denny's.

Rest day in Springfield, Virginia

We woke at 8:30 am and met Eric Decker, Amy's brother, and his boyfriend Max Sutherland, who are also visiting for a couple days. We had breakfast and talked about our trip with them. Lorraine played with their friendly kitty, Copper - he is very even-tempered and a good cat for three young boys. He is also the only cat that we had ever met that like to play "fetch" with his toy mice! We went for a ride in the car to see an alternate route that Pete thought we could take to get to the Mount Vernon Bike Path. Lenny stopped at the post office, we had lunch at McDonald's, and then bought some groceries for tomorrow. Eric and Max were following us in their jeep. They both had their shirts off so the kids started calling them "the nudie boys"! 

We came back to the house and spoke to Ed Passarelli, Pete's neighbor. Ed is a biker, and Pete thought that Ed might know of a way to get to the bike path that was not as heavily travelled. He came over later on to tell us about a way to get to the bike path, and offered to accompany us tomorrow with his son Eddie. He also left some trail information that was quite useful. It showed that the Rock Creek Trail, which we would be using, continued much further than we thought, and would keep us off the congested roads for an additional 23+ miles. 

Lorraine called her parents and her friend Kara. Eric and Max made dinner for us, a delicious meal of ribs, burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, salad, and baked beans. Max entertained us with stories about his mother's tiara, his closet full of shoes (including 6 pairs of cowboy boots), growing up in Indiana and Germany, and proper etiquette at the opera. We said goodbye to them, and to the kids, since we would be leaving early tomorrow. We had such a wonderful time with the Henrys and company. Being in their household with its fun-filled environment made us think about having some kids of our own!

Fredericksburg, Virginia to Springfield, Virginia -- 68 miles

We woke at 6:30 am, grabbed donuts and muffins from the continental breakfast, and began biking at 7:15 am. We made it through the morning rush hour traffic to get off the highway and out of town. As we got further away, the traffic decreased. Around 9 am, it began raining hard - we were riding past an abandoned house, and ducked into the open garage to get out of the rain. It slowed down about 15 minutes later, and we got back on the road. We stopped at country grocery store to buy sodas and eat our lunch, but they would not fill our water bottles for us.

Traffic increased on the road as we reached Dale City. We passed through Occoquan, a cute river town and walked our bikes across the river. In Lorton, we got off the route and followed our friend Pete's directions to his home in Springfield. It started thundering, but we made it there before it started raining. Lenny has been friends with Pete and his wife Amy since high school. They are part of a group that call themselves the Penguins. Now, Pete is a "Mr. Mom" who takes care of their kids full-time, while Amy brings home the bacon! We talked to Pete and their 3 boys - Neil, Christopher, and Nathan. Amy was at work for her second to last day before her new job starts. We had Chinese food for dinner and turned in at about 9:30 pm. We had a restful sleep on their comfortable AeroBed.

Ashland, Virginia to Fredericksburg, Virginia -- 62 miles

Lenny woke at 6 am, sweating and feeling sick to his stomach. It turns out that he had a mild case of dysentery, probably from the Mexican food yesterday. He felt awful, so Lorraine got him a cold washcloth and comforted him. We fell back to sleep and woke at 8:30 am. Lenny was feeling better, so we got on the road at 9:30 am. Today's route retraced the TransAmerica Trail for about 9 miles, then headed north along the Atlantic Coast Trail. Unfortunately, the back country roads did not pass any service stations, so Lenny had to make a few pit stops in the woods!

We stopped in the town of Cedon to buy sodas, and the grocery store manager told us their rest room was out of order. We didn't believe her. Lenny commented to Lorraine that McDonald's considers its bathrooms to be an asset - some people just stop to use the rest room, but others will buy food as well. We thought the route would take us right past the Stonewall Jackson Shrine, but it was on a different road, and we didn't want to go off route. When we reached Fredericksburg, the traffic increased. We met Eric Smucker from Lancaster, PA, who is a freshman at Mary Washington College. He was on his bicycle, exploring the bike routes in the area, and asked us about our trip. He is a practicing Mennonite, and spent two years in Chad as an exchange student after high school.

We stopped for sodas at 7-11, then went to the visitor's center to ask about motels in town. The only way to get to the motels was biking along a 4-lane highway for 2 miles, which was rather nerve-racking. It took us 15 minutes to walk our bikes across one exit ramp coming from Route 95. We stayed at the EconoLodge and did our laundry at the Best Western laundry room, based on a tip from another guest. We ate at Aunt Sarah's Pancake House, and took advantage of their "unlimited side dishes with any dinner." Both of us had 2 salads each, plus breadsticks, and our dinners of fried chicken, pancakes, meatloaf, and mashed potatoes.

Williamsburg, Virginia to Ashland, Virginia -- 89 miles

We woke at 7 am, and began biking at 7:45 am. Lorraine stopped at Dunkin' Donuts to get a breakfast treat! We rode down some pretty streets, through town and past the College of William & Mary, before getting on the Colonial Parkway towards Jamestown. This scenic route added several miles to our route today! We had taken a short cut on the way into town, but decided that this route was safer. However, when we turned west on Route 5, there were many big trucks speeding down the road (on Sunday, there weren't any trucks on this road). All the trucks made Lenny anxious, and he wanted to hurry to get off this road. He started yelling at Lorraine to pedal faster, which got her upset. After a good screaming fight, we pedaled in silence for most of the day. Lorraine did pedal faster, but it was because she was so angry.

We stopped at a convenience store near the entrance to the Berkeley Plantation to eat our lunch. The traffic increased again because we were in town and because it was rush hour. At one point, some teens in a small car yelled at us and threw something at Lenny. We stopped at a Mexican restaurant to have dinner and to get away from the traffic for awhile. We enjoyed a great meal. We continued another 10 miles to Ashland, where we stayed at the Super 8 Motel.

Williamsburg, Virginia to Yorktown, Virginia and back -- 34 miles

We slept in this morning, took the packs off our bikes, and started riding at 10:30 am to finish the final leg to the coast. We navigated through town to get on the Colonial Parkway - a bumpy but scenic road with tall trees, and bridges that spanned several creeks and rivers. After a few miles, the tree-shaded road opened up to amazing views of the York River. We went to the Yorktown Victory Monument to take pictures. The Victory Monument commemorates the American victory in the Revolutionary War, and also commemorated our cross-country victory!

We met Jay Brosnan who was also finishing his coast-to-coast bike ride. His wife Mary was there to pick him up and drive back to their home in North Carolina. We went down to the beach and dipped our front tires in the Atlantic Ocean! We met Marty from Newport News, who took photos for us. We talked about our journey with him, and he said he was going to check out our website. 

We had big burgers for lunch at the Yorktown Pub, then rode back to Williamsburg. We didn't have time to see anything in Colonial Williamsburg! We stopped at a bike shop for mechanical adjustments, a t-shirt shop for Lorraine to get postcards, and the grocery store for breakfast food. The motel owner would not share his laundry detergent, so Lenny had to walk to K-Mart and buy some before we could do our laundry. As soon as Lorraine went into the laundry room, the skies opened up and it was raining buckets, thundering, and lightening for about a half-hour. It continued raining sporadically for the rest of the night. Later, we walked across the street to IHOP and had omelettes and pancakes for dinner!

Ashland, Virginia, to Williamsburg, Virginia -- 79 miles

We woke at 6:45 am and began biking at 8 am. The roads around Mechanicsville (north of Richmond) were busy with traffic, and the area was filled with new housing developments. We rode past several plantations, but didn’t stop to sightsee. We stopped briefly in Charles City for soda and snacks. The flatter route allowed us to move faster, averaging 9.5 mph. We reached Williamsburg and stayed at the Colonial Country Inn motel. We checked the menus at a few expensive restaurants and ended up eating at Applebee’s.

Mineral, Virginia, to Ashland, Virginia -- 51 miles

We woke at 7 am and had breakfast with Tony and Louise. Lenny packed our bikes and gear in the back of their station wagon. We crammed ourselves in the car and left at 9 am. We traveled 35 miles to get back on the bike route – Lorraine navigated using the state map. We took one more photo and said goodbye, then started biking at 10:30 am.

Just down the road, we met Jin Lee and Lee Childers, who had biked around Europe and were now heading from Yorktown to San Diego. Lenny realized that he had left his camera back where we started from, so he raced back to get it. Lenny had taken a group photo of all of us and when we said goodbye, he forgot to get the camera off the air conditioner. The camera was set on a mini-tripod and some vibration must have caused it to fall. When Lenny came back and didn’t see it, he thought someone had taken it until he looked on the ground. The camera was okay with the exception of the flash, which would no longer stay closed. Lenny was relieved that it was still there, since he had all the pictures of his godfather on that roll.

Today’s route was much flatter; we rode past farms, homes, and horses. When we arrived in Ashland, we rode past the campus of Randolph-Macon College. We stopped at the visitor’s center to find out where the stores were in town. We went to the hardware store – Lenny got velcro to keep his flash closed and electrical tape to fix Lorraine’s rear view mirror. We ate at the Smokey Pig restaurant, bought groceries at Food Lion and rode the last 4 miles to the AmeriKamps campground. We got cleaned up and fell asleep to the roar of traffic on the adjacent 8-lane highway!

Charlottesville, Virginia, to Ruckersville, Virginia -- 17 miles

We woke at 6:30 am and were out by 7:15 am. We biked out to Route 734, the road we were taking north to Ruckersville. The route would have been fine except that it was rush hour and there was a procession of cars that kept us on guard. After a certain point, the traffic trailed off to almost nothing and we could once again relax and take in the beautiful scenery. The hills were rolling, and the landscape alternated between pasture and farm to wooded forest. 

We were going off route today to see Lenny’s godfather and his wife. Lorraine had asked Lenny a few days before if he knew where in Virginia his godfather (Tony Zarillo) lived. He said he didn’t know but would find out and called his dad. His dad was delighted, as Tony is his closest and dearest friend. Lenny told Tony if we arrived on Friday, we would only be able to visit for a couple hours as our schedule was tight. We came to a home where the owner was outside and asked where Cordelia Drive was. He told us and we arrived at 9:30 am on their doorstep! 

Tony and his wife thought we were coming on motorcycles, not bicycles, and were amazed that we made it across the country. We had breakfast of eggs, toast, fries, bacon and ham. We talked for some time and then Tony convinced us to stay overnight. We could tell it meant a lot to them, so we agreed. Besides, it was nice to get a break from pedaling! We asked them to take us down Route 33 tomorrow to get us back to the route. We would miss about 35 miles of the TransAm and pick up the route in Mineral. Tony is 87 years old, and his wife Louise is 71. Tony has known Lenny’s dad for more than 75 years. He affectionately calls Lenny’s dad “Lenny-boy” and started calling Lenny the same. Louise has two daughters by a previous marriage, Dale and Karen. They also have a daughter, Roseanne, who was born just about 6 months after Lenny. She came by the previous day to meet us, as there was confusion as to when we would be there. Tony and Louise have been married for 47 years. 

Tony took a nap in the middle of the day, so we took the opportunity to rest, catch up on the journal and watch TV. Their kitty Lara was very upset by our presence, and when Lorraine tried to pet her, she scratched and hissed at us! We had a delicious dinner of ravioli and meatballs. Later, we sat on the back porch and talked. To our surprise, Tony ordered Domino’s Pizza at 9 pm, then we listened to some Jewish and Italian comedians on their record player. We went off to bed at about 10:30 pm.

Vesuvius, Virginia, to Charlottesville, Virginia -- 61 miles

We woke at 7 am and began biking at 8:15 am. We climbed the remaining very steep 2 miles to reach the Blue Ridge Parkway. The terrain on the Blue Ridge Parkway consisted of long, slow uphill climbs and long, gradual downhill coasting. Surprisingly, there was very little traffic, which made the riding more enjoyable. We stopped at several scenic overlooks to take in the views and to take photos. We met Kevin Yates from Atlanta who was biking the Northern Tier route to New York City and then continuing from Washington DC down to Atlanta. He was trying to catch up with some bikers who had a Winnebago sag wagon; he said they shared great food with him, so he wanted to continue feeding on the gravy train!

As we got off the Parkway, we stopped at a regional visitors’ center to get a Charlottesville-area map and directions to Ruckersville. Lenny’s godfather, who he hasn’t seen in more than 30 years, lives there, about 20 miles north of Charlottesville, so we were planning to take a detour and visit him. We stopped in Afton to visit June Curry, the legendary “cookie lady,” but she had gone out for groceries, so we missed her! We went off the route to take a more direct road, and spoke to Dave in the town of Crozet. Lenny told him more about straight chiropractic and about our trip.

When we began riding on US 250, we decided it was too busy with cars, so we turned back onto a smaller road. At an intersection, we met Jim and the boys, who told us which back roads to take to get into town. The roads were still busy with commuter traffic. We stopped at Vinny’s Italian Restaurant for dinner. The food was mediocre and expensive. Lenny picked up a FedEx package with more brochures, which Karen had sent to a local motel. We checked in and relaxed for the evening.

Fincastle, Virginia, to Vesuvius, Virginia -- 62 miles

We woke at 6:30 am and started riding at 7:45 am. The route wound along misty, rolling hills. We stopped in Buchanan for breakfast at Burger King. The route had several turns but paralleled the interstate highway for several miles. We stopped in Lexington and walked around Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery. We saw Stonewall Jackson’s burial monument as well as the monuments of many other confederate soldiers and officers. We spoke to Randolph Harrison – he said that this town is the center of adoration of Confederate heroes such as Jackson and Lee. His dad wanted him to go to Virginia Military Institute, but his friend said he wouldn’t have lasted an hour there! The freshmen of VMI all wear red shorts and experience a week of insults and being yelled at. 

We stopped at a convenience store, and on our way out, we saw a bat hanging on the brick front in broad daylight. We hoped no one would bother him. We rode up the wrong road by mistake – it turned hilly, windy and gravel-covered, then abruptly ended at someone’s house. We turned around and got directions from DOT workers to get back on route. In the town of Vesuvius, we stopped at Gertie’s Store – when we walked in, the owner said, “Want something to eat? You’ve come to the right place!” We had great turkey subs, chips, and home fries. We talked to some locals about directions for tomorrow. When we were leaving the store, the owner said enthusiastically, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll fill you up again!” We began the very steep climb up the mountain to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was at least a 10% grade. Lorraine was screaming because it was the steepest climb of the whole trip. After about two miles of climbing, we arrived at the Tye River Gap Campground. It was a beautiful setting. We did some laundry before calling it a night.

Christianburg, Virginia, to Fincastle, Virginia -- 59 miles

We woke at 6:15 am and packed up camp. We spoke to Leonard Keegan and Michael Washburn, men in the military who were taking a 4-day trip on their Harleys. They rode from Alabama to Pennsylvania in 2 days, which they said is called hard riding. They laughed and said it doesn’t seem so hard compared to what you two are doing!

We began biking at 7:45 am. After we left town, the route turned to winding country roads. We stopped in the town of Ellet to get food and use the phone. Lenny was taking lots of pictures of the scenery. The rolling hills were steep in some spots, but fun to ride past the countryside. We ate lunch in Catawba, and Lorraine had ice cream. Lenny called and made arrangements to meet his godfather on either Thursday evening or Friday morning. We stopped in Troutville to buy groceries, and ate dinner at Greenwoods Restaurant. Lenny had roasted 1/2 chicken and Lorraine had crab cakes. We camped at Camp Bethel, a beautiful secluded spot for kids and groups that also accommodates individual campers. We heard a strange noise outside our tent, like an irate duck, and when Lenny looked outside, it turned out to be a squirrel in the tree above. We guessed that he was protesting our presence! There was a group of developmentally disabled campers in one of the nearby buildings. They were outside enjoying a campfire, and we could hear them carrying on until way after dark!

Wytheville, Virginia, to Christianburg, Virginia -- 57 miles

We woke at 7 am and began biking at 8 am. We had gone off the route to get to the Motel 6, so now we had to figure out how to get back. The locals directed us to a service road that ran beside the highway. As we rode down a hill on the service road, the shoulder changed from asphalt to gravel. As Lorraine rode over the gravel, the bike fishtailed and then slid to the ground. Lorraine grabbed the guardrail and managed to avoid falling. She was upset by the near fall and wasn’t sure we were heading in the right direction. We spoke to a couple of men in an auto garage and they pointed us in the right direction. The road we were looking for had no name on our map, and it turned out that it was called Lovers Lane. We were tickled by that! It was a hilly back road that headed north and put us back on the route. We stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast. 

The roads ahead were mostly rolling hills, with some steep climbs like we’ve been warned about! Lenny stopped at post offices along the way to send back more film. Just past the town of Newburn, a 12-year-old boy shouted to us, “Where are you coming from?” and when we told him, he said, “Oregon!!!” then asked “Where are you going to?” and when we answered, he said, “New Jersey!!! Jeeez!!!” We stopped in Christianburg to get groceries, then had a buffet dinner at the Country Cooking restaurant. We camped at the Interstate RV Park and listened to the sounds of the highway all night long. The cool, breezy weather in the evening was wonderful for a change!

Rosedale, Virginia, to Wytheville, Virginia -- 70 miles

We woke at 6 am and started biking at 7:15 am. We said goodbye to Rich and prepared for the ascent of Clinch Mountain. It turned out to be 2 miles up and 4 miles down – we were expecting a longer climb! We took the recommended shortcut on Route 11 North to bypass the hills around Damascus and cut about 25 miles off the trip (today’s route was actually 95 miles). We stopped in Chilhowie and ate our lunch on benches in front of a store. The road varied between 2- and 4-lanes, with local traffic and gently rolling hills.

We stopped at Williams Orchards to buy fruit and talked to the owners about our trip. We crossed the 4,000 mile mark today – less than 1,000 miles to get home! In Wytheville, we stayed at the Motel 6 and had dinner at Bob Evans restaurant. We considered buying a whole pie for dessert tonight and breakfast tomorrow but controlled ourselves and just had one slice each of raspberry and coconut custard pie. Around 8 pm, the wind was blowing like crazy and rain was coming down in sheets. Lorraine was glad that we didn’t camp tonight!

Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to Rosedale, Virginia -- 49 miles

We woke at 5:45 am and began biking at 7:00 am. We started the day with two steep climbs around Breaks Interstate Park. This park is called “the Grand Canyon of the South” – we stopped at a few scenic lookouts to see the river gorge below and take photos. 

In Haysi, at the service station at the bottom of the hill, we met Rich Jirsa again. He told us about a shortcut that would save us about 30 miles tomorrow, and much mountain climbing. The locals warned us about one more steep climb ahead called “Big A Mountain.” In Birchleaf, Lenny stopped to go to the post office, and in Davenport, we rested and ate our lunch. Past Council, we went over Big A Mountain – about 3 miles of steep climbing. From the top, there were beautiful views of the valley below. Past Honaker, the shoulder turned to gravel and traffic increased. 

We reached Rosedale and ate dinner at the Oaks Restaurant. Lenny and Lorraine both had pork chops. The portions were too small for our big appetites. Afterwards, we continued on to the Elk Garden United Methodist Church hostel, which was another 2 miles down the road. The shoulder narrowed to 6 inches and traffic was whizzing past at 70 mph – we walked our bikes on the grass for 1.5 miles. The church is always left unlocked – bikers can stay for free and use the kitchen as well. There is a log book, where bikers can write messages, tips, and shortcuts for other cross-country riders! We left a donation for the church. Rich Jirsa was also staying there. We chatted about our experiences and the people we had met on the trip. We slept on the plush carpet in the sanctuary.