May 20, 2001 - Mike and Marilyn's 2001 TranAmerican Bike Tour

Newport News to Williamsburg, Virginia. (26 mi.) Mile 26

Yes Virginia! There really is a bike trip.

1) We used the rental SUV to drive to Virginia Beach to check out the Atlantic.

2) Mike demonstrated how to honor the traditional TransAm Wheel Dip In The Ocean ceremony without initiating salt-water corrosion on the drive train: leave the rest of the bike three blocks away.

3) It was after 3 pm when we finally got our act together, dropped off the car in Newport News, and started riding. The bikes felt heavy and awkward.

Virginia Beach.... dipping our tires in the Atlantic at the beginning of our bike trip.

4) Within the first 2 miles, we looked lost enough that a local cyclist, Rich, generously interrupted his training ride to lead us into Yorktown along a bike route. This was our first encounter with Virginia's famous hospitality.

5) We hurriedly took the obligate photo of the official starting point (or end) of the Bikecentennial/TransAmerica Bicycle Trail at the Yorktown Victory Monument commemorating the end of the American War for Independence, 1781.

6) It was threatening rain and getting late as we rode the scenic Colonial Parkway into Williamsburg.

7) For the day's finale, Mike decided to shave off the moustache he has had for 30 years. (No photo...yet)

We spoke too soon in thinking our bikes had escaped damage in transport. We're headed into a bike shop in the morning to deal with a bent chain ring.