Virginia Capital Trail – 21.7 Miles – 5/7/17
Coffee was brewing early in Ridgely’s kitchen and Jim was
the first one up to see the sunrise, followed soon by the rest of us. Ridgely worked
steadily at breakfast preparations while maintaining constant conversation,
occasionally asking for a reminder to check something in the oven. An elegant breakfast was served in North Bend’s
formal dining room. (Our host joined us,
which she doesn’t always do.)
China cabinets in the dining room were filled with patterns
handed down through the family, and I asked Ridgely about the history of the china
we were eating from. She laughed with
delight and said, “Oh, honey, I got that from a local thrift store. You don’t think I’d use the family china, now,
do you?”
We walked around the grounds of North Bend, which the public
is also welcome to do self-guided tours.
There are a couple of information signs posted. The property extends to the James River, of
course, but with no public access because the land is a working farm. (Ridgely
will give a tour of the house with prior arrangement.)
Double porches on the back of the house (originally the
front, not enclosed)
Ice house, brick construction below ground; ice was
harvested in the winter and stored here
Yes, there is a pool!
Time to get back in the saddle
On the Virginia Capital Trail again, another stellar blue
sky day spread out before us. The trail
continued alternating within sight of Highway 5 and diverting from it,
following extensive boardwalk and passing massive meadows. We encountered more cyclists today, including
another tandem couple.
We saw a lone deer leaping through a field; when he stood
still to look around, only his head appeared above the wheat.
The trail passed over a bog.
The tiny islands of bright green grass and the reflection of sky and
clouds in the water called us to stop. Movement
in the water and on the tiny islands caught the eye, and we realized there were
turtles – hundreds of them – in this little paradise.
About 7 miles from the terminus, we crossed over the
Chickahominy River on the Judith Stewart Dresser Bridge. The 10-foot-wide trail is still separated
from traffic by a divider, so it’s possible for bike traffic to safely pass in
both directions. Better yet, after the
effort of this brief climb, it’s safe to stop at the summit to look out at the
view.
What do I spy down on the concrete wall?
At the end of the bridge we took a break at Chickahominy Riverfront Park, a 140-acre park with something for everyone, including boat
launches, canoe/kayak rentals, camping, walking trails, picnic areas, and an
open-24-hours lighted fishing pier. There
was a vulture convention on the playground today. [No joke! A group of vultures is
called a committee. In flight, a flock of vultures is a kettle. When feeding
together at a carcass, the group is called a wake.]
Cheri had been carrying emergency provisions for us
through the entire trip and we determined that now was the time for our final
energy burst. One two three - Goo!
Our party of five pedaled back into civilization and our
parked cars. After about 21 miles, I wasn’t
hurting like I was the previous afternoon.
Could I get used to this? Maybe,
if Jim is willing to go tandem again…but I think he missed the autonomy of his
own bike. We loaded up the bikes and had a bite to eat before going separate
ways. Jim and I had a long, long drive
back to Charlotte.
Which went pretty well until we got off at an exit for a
gas/soda/bathroom break and an inattentive driver ran his red light and
broadsided my dear old Honda Pilot. No
physical injuries, but there we were at a gas station, our total loss car towed
away, 100 miles from home on a Sunday night, no rental cars available, and a
borrowed tandem bike. A story for another
day.
"Get a bicycle. You will certainly not
regret it, if you live." ~Mark Twain
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