All Rested Up and Ready to Go

Well, at least the bike muscles are rested.  I left the hotel yesterday around 9:30 am and returned about 8 pm.  I spent most of the day touring Colonial Williamsburg.  Everything is set about 1760-ish.  The buildings are mostly rebuilds, but often on the original foundations.  Lots of people in period dress playing the parts of various locals and giving tours of the buildings and grounds.  Tours included the Governor's Palace, the Capitol, the printing press, the magazine, the shoemaker, the wigmaker, etc. etc.  Very interesting and very well done.  If you're ever in the neighbourhood I would highly recommend it!

Back on the bikes this morning.  We retraced about 10 miles on the Colonial Parkway back to Jamestown.  

We then had close to 30 miles of bliss. The Capital Trail bike path largely paralleling US5.  And - there's about another 10 miles under construction that will be ready soon.  While we've been on mostly great roads in NC and VA, a bike path is just total serenity; don't have to worry about traffic at all.  

Crossing the Chickahominy River.

For much of the ride today it was impossible to go even a mile without encountering one or more historical plaques - many from the Civil War.  

Ann and I stopped in at Sherwood Forest Plantation (one of many plantations along the route).  This one was were the 10th President of the US, John Tyler, retired to in 1845.  The plantation was about 1600 acres and his descendants still live here today.  True to everything in America being the "biggest", "oldest", "best", etc., this is the "longest frame house in America", at about 300 feet.  

Left to right, in three frames below.....

Approaching Richmond, we passed an extensive series of fields which were collectively the Richmond National Battlefield Park.  Lots of signs, plaques and cannons still in the fields.  

Our destination tonight is Richmond, Virginia's capital city.  Saw a familiar-sounding park on the way in.

 

Saw the capitol building as we passed through the downtown area.  

Some nice monuments on the Capitol grounds.  Petitioning for equal education for African-Americans as recently as 1961. 

More lovely statues on Monument Avenue on which we spent 1.5 miles near the end of our ride. 

Robert E Lee

Stonewall Jackson

Stats for the day:

108 km from Williamsburg VA to Richmond VA. It was a warm and humid day. 18C to 34C. Lots of liquid intake!  We climbed about 1600 feet and lost about 1400. 

Great dinner once again. No map meeting tonight as it seems the directions to get out of town are wrong. Guide and SAG driver are out right now finding a new plan :)