A down-and-back to Charles City is my first real touring test
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If I’m going to trek 300 miles next month, I’ve got to get in shape. Also, I’ve got new panniers for my bike and need to get used to living out of them, so the weekend of March 25-26 I rode down to the Edgewood Plantation from Richmond as a first training ride for the big one in April.
It was a beautiful day in Richmond, as I crossed the Lee Bridge on the way to Capital Trail that would take me to Charles City.
I didn’t take any pictures on the trail on the way down because I’ve done the Cap Trail a couple dozen times. I did capture this silly shot of me chowing down on pizza to pack in some cards, bought from the Dairy Queen at 4 Mile Creek.
I made decent time and arrived at the plantation just after 7pm. I didn’t really know what to expect when I got there but what I found was eccentricity to the nth degree. Here’s the house and the foyer when you first walk in.
The couple who run the place are nice enough but they are very old southern folks and talking with them will a little like walking through molasses. As quick as I could get away from them, I did, repairing to my room to watch some basketball before fading off to bed.
The next day after breakfast, I packed up and rolled another mile and a half to Berkeley Plantation. It’s famous for being the location of the first Thanksgiving (apparently). Here’s a view of the plantation behind be and the monument to that first gathering:
It was a nice enough day but windy as all get out, and I was riding against it most of the day as I was heading west. I was good and tired by the time I made it back to RVA after almost 41 miles on the road.
Day 1 and 2 of this ride approximate the distance of days 2 and 1 of The Ride for April. I feel moderately confident I can make it through those two days now, at least. The 5 or 6 days after the first two, well, I’m still not convinced…
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