Day 86, Charlottesville to Short Pump, VA

Miles – 56

Miles From Start/To Finish – 4,075/89

Ave Riding Speed – 3-28 mph

Hours Start to Finish – 6.25

Weather – Sunny and 93

Kim’s alarm went off at 5:30am and I reached over to shut it off, but Kim beat me to it. I rolled over and then my alarm went off. I shut my alarm off, rolled over and the next thing I knew it was 6:15am. Since breakfast started at 6am at the hotel breakfast nook, we decided that would be the first thing on the agenda. Kim had apple juice, yogurt, a toasted bagel and coffee. I had yogurt, apple juice, scrambled eggs, sausage and coffee. This hotel had a server who fixed your breakfast plate for you due to their Covid restriction. We were just happy to have a hot breakfast and wearing a mask or restricted access is not an inconvenience for us.

We exited the hotel a little before 8am to a bright sunny day and plenty of humidity. We coasted down the hill to Hwy 250, our route for the entire day, and headed east. Since we got a little later start today, traffic was already busy. Hwy 25 is a major 2-lane highway with a mix of a partial shoulder about the width of our bikes with gear to no shoulder at all. It’s a bit nerve racking, but we chose to be there versus the longer TransAm route into Richmond, steeper grades and increased frequency of climbing.

Kim was having a tough go of it today, but she bucked up and dug deep to finish strong. The overall drop in elevation today was just over 400 feet, but it seemed like we were always climbing. Hwy 250 was a rollercoaster and combined with the high level of traffic, we needed to have our business hats on, and we did. Once again, the vehicles we very considerate of us, especially when we were on a climb. We had traffic backed up on more than a few occasions as they waited for us to reach the top and give them the all clear to pass us.

There were plenty of places to stop for a Gatorade or potty break along the route today. We stopped 3 times over the first 50 miles and we never had to blend into the natural surrounding when nature called.

We rode into Short Pump on the east side of what I would call a greater metropolitan area. The area looked new and the 6-lane road was very busy. We pulled over into one of the business parking lots and Kim looked up the directions to Whole Foods, as she knew there was one in the area. It was 6-miles further, so we rode the sidewalk until reaching it at 2pm.

There were tables and chairs in the shade on the east side of the building, so we leaned our bikes against the brick sided building and parked ourselves down. I told Kim she better go in for a few things because I might come back with a lot of food. Whole Foods, and stores like them, are like going to the mall shopping for Kim. She loves them and the natural foods they sell. It took me awhile to understand it, but I get it now. Kim returned with Kombucha, which I would drink before this trip and a small salad from the deli.

I called my buddy, Scott, who is hosting us for a few days while we finish the adventure, to let him know where we’re at and let him know that we are flexible with whenever he can pick us up. He said he was about 35 minutes away and would pick us up around 4pm. That was cool as we were in the shade and at a grocery store.

Scott picked us up around 4pm with a cooler full of a variety of cold beverages and snacks. It was great to see him again as it’s been a couple years since he was in the Twin Cities. We off-loaded our saddlebags and put our bikes in his pickup bed with the front tires hung over the tailgate and headed for his home in Chesterfield. Its beautiful country out here and it was fun to just sit in the truck and enjoy the view out the window. Scott said they’ve gotten a lot of rain this year and it’s normally not this green.

Scott has us pretty much taken care of and is spoiling us. He’s been following our adventure and knew the types of food and beverages we’ve been craving. He stocked up on pickles, kombucha, cider and fresh fruit. After arriving at his house, he gave us a quick lay of the land. We’ve taken over the finished basement and his home is beautiful. We showered up and Kim and I made dinner, burgers and asparagus, while Scott took care of some business.

The plan tomorrow is Scott will drop us off at Whole Foods, where he picked us up, in the morning and we will continue our route through Richmond and hop on the Capital Trail, known locally as the Cap-to-Cap. Virginia has had 3 of them, Jamestown, Williamsburg and currently Richmond. At the end of our riding day, after about 50 miles, Scott will be kind enough to pick us up again. As we’ll have the luxury of riding and staying in the same place again, we’re going to lighten our load and leave our laptops, camping gear, etc., at Scott’s house.

We have been very fortunate this entire trip wo only having to ride in the rain for less than 10-miles. Our streak maybe coming to an end tomorrow with the rain forecast percentages up in the 50-60’s, but bring it on if that’s what it takes to finish. We’re on the home stretch and it just seems appropriate that we’ll need to experience a day riding in the rain. The upside is we’ll be able to wash and dry our clothes at the end of the day and have a warm home to do it in.

The picture was taken by Terri (and Susan) whom we met along the trail a couple days back.