Day 1, 2 and most of 3 in revolutionary (and civil war) Virginia

I had arrived back into New York after ending 2 weeks in Australia. The flights took a total of 20hours but I had no trouble at LA immigration or in NY. Only a couple of nights in NY to help with jet lag symptoms and then it was time for me to meet up with Norah my riding partner. A final blast down the west side highway towards Penn station and then the LIRR to Babylon. Meeting there we quickly secured the bikes and started driving to Yorktown to stay the night at a cyclist only lodging, hosted by the Grace Episcopalian church. An anticipated 7 hour drive ended up being 11 hours after breaks, rush hours and road works. John, one of the parish members stayed up to just before midnight to let us in though. What a star. Also the logging was a actual house that's used for parish events and guests. Pure luxury after a full day in the car and it was just for us.

Actual cycling The Trans Am started at 9am. Norah, her fiancé Andy and I went down to the beach to ceremonially dip the wheels in the ocean. We then started cycling a slow pace to help us get used to riding with the weight on the bikes. Yorktown is a historic revolutionary town and looks beautifully preserved. We went onto Jamestown and Williamsburg before finishing for the day.

Williamsburg was the highlight with a fully reconstructed colonial centre where it appears that if you own one of the properties you are then obliged to wear clothes from that same era. A pain when tourists gawp at you whilst you try to mow the lawn or go to the shops I'm sure.

Then onwards to the Chickahominy river campsite to stay the night on day 2 after a leisurely 30 miles to kick off the journey. A great spot that has a great riverside view and allowed for some relaxation. A very early night at 9pm listening to the wind rustling the trees before day 3.

The day started enthusiastically and early with us leaving camp at 7am. Unfortunately this meant that no shops were open for breakfast. We spurned a homely looking gas station after a few miles then didn't see anything for another 25 till we got to Glendale. A healthy lunch of chicken burger and orange juice. Luckily we have now stopped just outside Mechanicsville to get some (hopefully better) food at a Panerra bread in the middle of an outlet centre. We have another 10 miles to get to our campsite - I am a little concerned that today's 60 miles might have been a little too much too soon. Lets see tomorrow when we try to hit the town of Mineral.